Mikel Arteta says he is happy if his Arsenal team stir memories of George Graham’s famously miserly champion vintage at the club as he prepared to face another defensive master – Diego Simeone, who brings Atlético Madrid to the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Arteta’s players are fresh from their 1-0 win at Fulham on Saturday, a result that has left them three points clear at the top of the Premier League with an eye-catching defensive record. After eight games in the competition, they have let in three goals and not conceded in two Champions League ties and one Carabao Cup game this season.
“One-nil to the Ars-en-nal” was a popular chant for Graham’s team, who won the league title in 1989 and 1991. Arteta, who is seeking to end the club’s 21-year wait for a similar triumph, made the point that if victory was everything to Graham, no matter the margin, it remained the case for him.
“Yes, it is and especially now,” he said. “In modern football, the margins and the results you see … it’s one goal most of the time. That defines whether you win or not so we have to be happy and comfortable with those small margins and find ways to win.
“I’m not so much aware of the detail [of Graham’s team] as it was a different era. But to be associated with successful teams and teams that brought joy to our supporters and the club is, for me, more than welcome.
“Collectively, we acknowledge the importance of defending. We know that if we excel in that part of the game, the chances and the probabilities to win more matches is going to be very, very high.”
George Graham hugs Alan Smith after Arsenal won the First Division title at Anfield in 1989. Photograph: Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images
Arteta was asked for his reaction to Arsenal being installed by bookmakers as the favourites for the title. “The only thing that I embrace is when I see the team, the energy, the temperature, the commitment and the quality that they can deliver … it gives me that conviction that we can go all the way,” he said.
Arteta was full of praise for Simeone, who has been in charge at Atlético since December 2011. When the Argentinian took over, the club were 10th in La Liga and he would lift them to a fifth-placed finish. They have never come in outside the top four in any of his full seasons.
It is possible to see the similarities between Arteta and Simeone; the passionate way that they live the matches on the touchline, their love of unyielding, physical lineups – with gamechangers in particular areas. But Arteta knows that there is a major difference. Simeone has won La Liga twice.
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Thiago Almada scored the only goal of the game as Atlético Madrid beat Osasuna 1-0 in La Liga on Saturday. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
“Atlético have won major trophies, been in two Champions League finals [losing both to Real Madrid] and made all the right steps when they need to do the important step,” Arteta said. “We need to try and do that and we are on the journey to try and achieve that.
“First of all [with Simeone’s team], it is the willingness to win. You can sense that in every single ball, in every single yard, the way that they play. It’s about how they compete and then after how they play. They are two very different things.
“The levels of organisation and discipline are really high and then they have acquired a lot of talents throughout the years that are very specific for the way they want to play. They are very good at exploiting those opportunities.”
