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Chelsea boss Frank Lampard proven right on Mikel Arteta as Arsenal comments now ring true
Frank Lampard's opinion on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta dates back to his first spell in charge of Chelsea.
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has been proven right with what he has previously said about Mikel Arteta. The former midfielder's comments ring true ahead of the Blues' trip to face Arsenal on Tuesday.
Lampard and Arteta were both thrust into high-profile jobs early in their coaching careers. Lampard had just one season in charge of Derby County in the Championship before taking over at Chelsea.
Arteta, meanwhile, became Arsenal boss in December 2019 after three-and-a-half years as assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Some felt it was too early for the Spaniard to take the reins at the Emirates but many have been proven wrong in the last 12 months.
Lampard, however, always had faith that Arteta would prove to be a successful coach. Shortly after he was appointed by the Gunners, Lampard said experience as a manager is not as important as many think.
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He claimed Arteta had the right coaching background to ensure he would succeed in the dugout. Lampard said in December 2019: "He’s worked with one of the greatest coaches, if not the greatest, for a couple of years at Man City and he was always an intelligent player so I don’t buy the whole inexperience thing.
"You don’t know until you take the chance with somebody, and who’s to say that a manager is better or worse because they’re in their first year or their 50th year of management? There are challenges daily and I’m sure he would have seen that at City but he would have observed it more and obviously been a big support for Guardiola.
"Now it’s his turn to make those decisions himself but from the years he’s had working with Guardiola at a huge club who have been successful, I think it puts him in great stead. He was a very good player, very intelligent and very technical.
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"He seemed to be a leader, not in a fist-pumping way but a leader in whatever team he was playing in so it looks like he could be well-suited for management. I do wish him well on a personal level because when you see a fresh manager come into a job like that, I can understand the strains and the pressures of it."
Lampard has seen his coaching career go in the opposite direction to Arteta ever since. He was sacked by Chelsea in January 2021 and had an unsuccessful spell at Everton before returning to the Blues as interim boss.
The Premier League title may be out of Arsenal's reach this season. But ahead of Arsenal's match against Chelsea on Tuesday, it is clear to see Lampard was right that Arteta had the potential to become a success at the top level.
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