Alan Shearer has explained why he would ‘hate’ to have played under Mikel Arteta.
Arteta has helped transform the Gunners into title contenders once again since taking as manager in 2019, with the club currently third in the Premier League, just two points off leaders Liverpool.
The Spaniard will be hoping he go one step further than last season and deliver the club’s first title since 2004, having come up short in the run-in to Manchester City last season.
Writing for The Athletic, the former Newcastle man explained how he liked to take things into his own hands as a players, something Arteta doesn’t seem to allow to happen.
Alan Shearer (pictured) has explained why he would have ‘HATED’ playing under Mikel Arteta
The Arsenal boss (pictured) has turned the Gunners into title challengers after taking over five years ago
Shearer wrote that Arteta’s instructions on the touchline would not have sat well with him
‘I never worked under an Arteta kind of manager,’ he wrote. ‘Someone manically cajoling, telling you exactly where to stand or exactly what to do.
‘I’ve always been of the opinion that if you’re a good player, then you know that stuff anyway. If I felt I needed to drift out to the right wing or the left wing or even drop deep, I would do it myself.
‘And as a captain, I felt I had the authority to tell my fellow players to do something. If it needed saying, I would say it.’
Shearer scored 260 Premier League goals for Newcastle and Blackburn but failed in his brief career as a manager, failing to save United from relegation in 2009 as interim boss.
He was also club captain for much of his career, and explained his understanding of players and how different personalities can react to different coaching styles.
Shearer is the Premier League’s all-time top scorer and had a failed, brief management career
He acknowledged that some players will perform better when ‘given precise instructions and forced to stick to them’
‘Not everybody is like that, though,’ he continued. ‘Some footballers are brighter than others. Some are needier than others. Some are more effective when they are given precise instructions and are forced to stick to them. Shouting, repeating, shouting again and reiterating straightforward messages might be the best way to get through.
‘What I wanted from my manager was to be led, to be guided. I wouldn’t have enjoyed being ranted and raved at from the touchline and I can’t remember it happening too many times.
‘Why would I have hated it? Professional pride. You’re playing in front of thousands of people in the stadium and millions at home on television and you don’t want to be embarrassed. It might sound thin-skinned, but teams are delicate. Relationships hold them together.’
