Congratulations will be passing between two old friends, young for their current jobs but with a bond that goes back more than 30 years, as they ease into a fortnight’s break from the demands of elite club management. Welcome to the summit, Xabi Alonso can say to his compatriot, his fellow Basque and former schoolboy teammate, Mikel Arteta.
Both Xabi and Arteta reached rite-of-passage moments in their managerial careers at the weekend and, knowing each other as well as they do, since their childhood adventures together in San Sebastian, northern Spain, they will appreciate each other’s success.
Arteta’s Arsenal on Sunday rose to joint-top of the Premier League, a position they have held before but not by climbing such a significant rung of the ladder. By beating the reigning champions, Manchester City, Arteta has, at the very least, shifted a monkey off his back. Seven times he has taken on City as a Premier League manager. The first six of those contests were all Arsenal losses.
The same weekend, in Germany, Xabi marked 12 months in his first job as a head coach in a top division. When he started at Bayer Leverkusen, they held the penultimate spot in the Bundesliga. A year on, Leverkusen are top, with two points clearance over serial champions Bayern Munich, from whom they pickpocketed a point last month, thanks to a stoppage time goal from a substitute Exequiel Palacios.
For a coach, those sort of late gains are exhilarating, an endorsement of competitive stamina, evidence that if you can keep pace with an established champion over 90 minutes, you can believe in doing so over the course of a whole campaign. When the decisive, last-gasp hero is a player who has come off the bench, the decision-making coach is instantly awarded much of the credit.
Arteta found that as he was hailed for the combination of Arsenal players who sealed victory over City at the Emirates Stadium. The name on the scoresheet for the 1-0 victory was substitute Gabriel Martinelli; the three players directly involved in the move up to the goal were the trio Arteta had brought on in the 75th minute: Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey.
Never mind that a fifth individual was very decisive. Martinelli’s shot took a substantial deflection off of City’s Nathan Ake on its way past goalkeeper Ederson.
But Arteta can argue you make your own luck, or that, in this fixture, Arsenal were owed some blessings. He has been managing the club for approaching four years – always, until now, on the losing side in league meetings with City. Rewind another four years and he was watching the imbalance from the opposite dugout, as assistant to Pep Guardiola at City. There Arteta had a role in overseeing six City wins out of seven Premier League encounters with Arsenal in the period between 2016 and December 2019.
Like Arteta and City, Xabi and Bayern have a recent past. The former Spain, Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder won three Bundesliga titles with Bayern as a player. Arteta and Xabi are both ‘Guardiolistas’ to a degree that they both acknowledge. Arteta was an insistent Guardiola’s choice to be his deputy when he joined City as manager. Guardiola had made Xabi a priority signing ahead of his second season as Bayern head coach, to add authority, vision and direction to central midfield.
As coaches, they have learned from the best. But they will instinctively challenge the idea that, in the leagues of City and Bayern, of Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel, other clubs are obliged to aim only at second-best. Xabi and Arteta have brought determination, tactical imagination and a clarity to their first jobs as senior coaches. “Xabi communicates everything very well,” said the Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky after the weekend’s 3-0 derby win over Cologne.
To watch Leverkusen and Arsenal is to appreciate that while the Premier League club have the vastly superior budget, there is a shared emphasis in Arteta and Xabi’s teams. There’s energy and width. Alex Grimaldo, on Leverkusen’s left, and Jeremie Frimpong, on the opposite flank, are key dynamos in the Xabi machine; for Arteta, a gratifying aspect of Sunday’s close victory over City was that Arsenal achieved it without the injured Bukayo Saka, whose influence from the flank has often seemed essential. In Martinelli, Arsenal had an alternative, match-winning winger.
“The team showed a real maturity,” beamed Arteta after the beating of City. Over in Germany, Xabi was echoing that about his Leverkusen side. “The youngsters really understood what was needed." he said.
And up on a hillside overlooking the bay at San Sebastian, a small but proud football club is celebrating a notable double, appreciating how far two of the youngsters they call their own have travelled. Those who knew Arteta and Xabi as boys at the Antiguoko club always recognised their leadership potential. They see it now in a pair of precocious managers disrupting hierarchies in two of the strongest leagues in Europe.
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ARSENAL PLAYER RATINGS: Must have breathed a huge sigh of relief after he took too long to make a clearance and almost allowed Alvarez to nick the ball and put City ahead. Improved his distribution in the second half and played lovely passes into midfield. Getty -
Solid performance on the right from White. Wasn’t as adventurous as he normally is but stuck to his duties at the back. PA -
Zinchenko looked solid and helped the Gunners win control of the midfield for most of the game. Reuters -
An impeccable performance during which he kept Haaland quiet. He didn’t put a foot wrong all game. Getty -
Combined well with Saliba and dealt with the physical threat of Haaland. Made an incredible acrobatic clearance to stop Alvarez’s cross from finding Haaland during the first half. PA -
Provided a crucial block to stop Alvarez from testing Raya in the 58th minute. Kept things simple and made intelligent fouls. EPA -
A splendid performance in front of the Arsenal defence. Repeatedly pinched the ball back for the home side in dangerous positions. Came to the rescue with a goal-line clearance. AFP -
A below-average performance by his usual sky-high standards. He was guilty of playing a number of needless shots. PA -
Enjoyed a lot of space on the right wing, but he was guilty of overplaying the ball at times. On one occasion, he bamboozled Gvardiol with a brilliant first touch in the penalty area, but his cross was cut out by Ake. Getty -
Another uneventful game where he failed to assert himself. Couldn’t sort out his feet quickly enough when Odegaard found him at the edge of the penalty area in the first half. EPA -
A quiet game for the England international, where he made a number of questionable decisions. Had the Gunners’ first chance of the game, but his effort was wayward. AFP -
SUBS: (Trossard 46') Announced his introduction by registering the Gunners’ first shot on target in the 50th minute. Grabbed his first goal of the season at the perfect time, albeit with the help of Ake’s deflection. AFP -
(Nketiah 75') Played a huge part in Arsenal's goal by laying the ball for Martinelli to put the home side ahead. AP -
(Zinchenko 75') Played his part in the goal by pushing upfield and playing the ball into the path of Havertz. PA -
(Jorginho 75') Making his return from injury, Partey brought calmness to the Arsenal midfield and dovetailed well with Rice. Getty -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Made a mess of a cross that almost cost the visitors in the 49th minute. Could do little about the Gunners’ goal due to a huge deflection from Ake. Reuters -
Another solid performance on the right. Attacked and defended well against Trossard and Martinelli. Getty -
Had a good chance to put City ahead with a shot from close range, but he failed to keep his effort on target. Unlucky to see Martinelli’s effort deflect off him for the winner. Getty -
A good performance in the centre of defence. Kept Nketiah quiet and dealt with everything thrown at him. EPA -
Thought he had given the visitors the lead with an effort that was cleared off the line by Rice. Endured a tough first half against the double threat of Jesus and White on the right. PA -
Lucky to remain on the field after he made a studs-up challenge on Odegaard, which could have easily led to a red card. Guilty of making another dangerous tackle five minutes later, which could have easily been a second yellow card. Getty -
Held his own in midfield as City matched Arsenal in the first-half midfield battle. Must have felt aggrieved after the referee failed to play advantage when Martinelli brought him down on the edge of the penalty area, as he managed to slot the ball home. Getty -
Adopted a deeper role than usual. Regularly dropped back to receive passes from Ederson and helped the visitors build out from the back. Getty -
A busy afternoon for Foden as he tried to make things happen in the final third. Rice paid close attention to him all game. EPA -
Failed to do much against Arsenal's disciplined backline. Had a go from range in the 33rd minute but failed to keep his effort on target. EPA -
An anonymous performance from Haaland up front. He was well marshalled by Gabriel and Saliba. Getty -
SUBS: (Kovacic 68') Not the best of cameos from the summer signing. Repeatedly made backward passes when he could have pushed up in a bid to make things happen in the final third. Reuters -
(Lewis 68') Brought on in a bid to shore the visitors’ midfield, looked calm on the ball but didn't offer much going forward. AFP -
(Alvarez 68') Came on and offered a lot more threat on the right side. Has to make better decisions when it comes to choosing the time and moments to attempt a dribble. Reuters
