Speaking in an interview with MARCA, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hailed his Barcelona counterpart Xavi Hernandez, claiming that the Catalans needed someone like him to take the club back to success.
Xavi took over the reins at Barcelona in November 2021, replacing Ronald Koeman. At the time when he arrived, the Catalans were in a difficult position. But the 43-year-old led the team to a runners-up finish in La Liga in his debut season.
Xavi followed it up by guiding Barcelona to the La Liga title as well as the Spanish Super Cup this past season, ending the Catalans’ drought in the Spanish top flight.
The manager has come in for plenty of praise from his players, club president Joan Laporta, and several others, with Arteta also now joining in to hail the Barcelona head coach.
“I have known him since we played together at Barça. Only by knowing his character and how he feels about the game, it was clear to me that Barça needed a figure like him,” Arteta told MARCA.
“He has been able to withstand the pressure and has been true to his ideas, always defending the club and the players. The team has been very reliable all year,” he added.
Arteta himself has done quite well at Arsenal, who missed out on the Premier League title by whiskers this past season. There have been talks about the former midfielder being a future managerial candidate for Barcelona.
As such, the Gunners’ boss was asked if he would like to manage a La Liga club like Barça or Real Madrid in the future, to which he replied:
“Spain is my country. I have been away for many years and at some point it could be an option to return to La Liga and have different experiences. But now…”