Alan Smith Exclusive Interview - Pep Guardiola reminded Arteta who's boss

Q: Arteta called it an incredible battle between two teams. Do you agree?

Yeah I think so. These are two in-form teams, along with Manchester United of course, but both Arsenal and Manchester City played really well at times. Arsenal’s football reached the various heights it has this season, but without getting the end product. Defensively City were as good as they have been, when they had to be.

Haaland and de Bruyne stepped it up on the night, big games, big names!

It was a fascinating game and decided by composure as much as anything - when it mattered.

Q: Arteta thought his Arsenal side matched City but felt his Arsenal side gave his ball away too easily and gave the goals away cheaply. What positives can Arsenal take

Of course there were mistakes from Arsenal, notably Tomiyasu’s back pass, but he doesn’t need reminding of that. He’s been out the side most of this season and often he’s come on for Ben White - maybe it was a big call to make that change. I think there have been a few issues with Ben injury wise and that’s affected his form, so on the face of it, it looked like a good call.

To give City a leg up in that fashion was less than ideal, and obviously Gabriel gave the ball away for the Grealish goal which didn’t help. In games like that you can’t afford to make mistakes against a team of City’s quality.

Q: Pep suggested Arsenal were much better in the first half but implied his second half tactics changed the game in their favour. Did he out-think Arteta?

I think it was a stark reminder of who’s boss, both on the pitch and off it. He’s still the sorcerer to Arteta’s apprentice. He’s still the man and will be remembered as one of the best - if not the best - most innovative coaches ever. Those are the standards you need to try and match.

On the pitch they had that composure. De Bruyne’s goal was just fantastic, he made a difficult chance look easy. Haaland’s finish was superb. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Eddie Nketiah didn’t have his best day in front of goal. He snatched at those couple of headers when he could have buried at least one of them. But those are the big occasions - players can tighten up and City have got that experience, that maturity in terms of where they’ve been before. But it’s all part of the learning experience for Arsenal.

Q: On Eddie Nketiah missing some chance - do you think there’ll be any element of regret about not adding a striker? Or is that too harsh on Eddie’s contribution which has been largely well received?

It’s a difficult one. Arteta may have wanted to add a striker as there were a few rumours. Getting strikers is the most difficult thing to do, and getting players in January is notoriously hard. Having him resign his contract and investing some faith in him when Gabriel Jesus got injured, he’s come in and done well.

It would have been nice to have another option but you can’t knock the club for the money they have put into it - recruitment wise they’re very switched on. I think the Jorginho move proved how quickly they can move. Come summer, that may be another conversation to have. It’s always difficult juggling two central strikers - one is playing and the other isn’t. If you have three it can be a bit of a nightmare for a manager.

Graham Potter is going to find that out in the coming months at Chelsea.

Q: You mentioned Tomiyasu before who Arteta brought in for White. What did you make of that decision? Given his mistake, who do you expect to start at right back at Aston Villa on Saturday?

You never know what’s going on injury wise and maybe Ben White has been nursing something. I think leaving Tomiyasu out now after that mistake could be quite damaging to his morale. I think you have to believe in your players and trust them.

When Tomiyasu first came in he was excellent, defensively as much as anything, he didn’t make any mistakes. I think you have to keep faith with him.

Gabriel [Magalhães] - he would be a concern for Arteta in the future. He can be so emotional on these occasions and that can affect his game. If you look at Saliba, you hardly notice him because he’s so calm. He does the simple things really effectively. Whereas Gabriel catches the eye for a number of reasons and I think it’s something Arteta will consider if he can rely on him going into these big games. That’s an issue for Arsenal I think.

Q: Do you think there is any chance of Kiwior coming into the side?

I would doubt it. To incorporate Kiwior on the bench at the moment would be a big call, as he has been getting used to the first team environment. I don’t think Rob Holding is the answer unfortunately - I don’t think he’s quite at the required level.

We’ve been speaking for a long time about bringing in a striker and a central midfielder, but I think perhaps centre back is another area to focus on.

Q: Jorginho, the new arrival started his first match for Arsenal. What did you make of his move and his contribution last night coming in for Partey?

I was really pleased with the move. I thought for the money it was a snip. 31 years of age and he’s that sort of player that has a good 3 or 4 years left at the top level. He’s a really clever player.

It’s hard to come into a team like Arsenal, similar in the way that it is with City. Arsenal have a set way of playing so it’s hard to hit the ground running. Especially last night it was such a late shout by all accounts with Thomas Partey falling out of contention. So that would have upset the plans a little bit.

But moving forward I think he’s a really good signing. Of course he’s got that track record of winning at the highest level and he can add a little bit of calmness. I thought in difficult circumstances he had a good game.

Q: Trossard was the other key January arrival. Some thought he may start last night but he didn’t. Would you have started him? Do you think he will start this weekend, perhaps instead of Martinelli?

I think Arteta might have thought about it. Martinelli is just having a little bit of a dip. He set high standards and has been a whirlwind for much of the season, and when you run about as fast and as much as he does, maybe he needs a rest.

Going into that game against Villa and Leicester away it’s a great option to have. Trossard has definitely strengthened the squad. The strength off the bench was notable as well, City are in a better position in that direction and are entitled to be after spending so much money over a number of years.

But yes I think Trossard is in with a shout for a start against Villa.

Q: Post match Pep played down City’s chances in the title race, saying Arsenal are the ones with a game in hand. How do you now assess the title race with Arsenal having taken just one point of the last nine?

Mathematically it’s Arsenal’s to lose. But to say that with so many games left is not a true reflection on what’s going on. I think most people thought City were going to win the league, I know I did. It’s just in the past few weeks where you thought, ‘hold on a minute, if Arsenal can beat City and increase that gap, who knows?’

But there’s an awful lot of points to play for. Arsenal have to get back in the saddle and get a couple of away wins against Villa and Leicester, but City are still the team to beat. There’s been one or two glimpses of vulnerability with City but come the big occasion they show they’re still the team to beat.

Whether they drop too many points from here until the end of the season we’ll have to wait and see, but if you finish a point above City you’re going to win the league.

Q: Gabriel Jesus should be back available soon. As well as Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson. What impact do you think that will have for Arsenal and trying to resurrect this title bid?

It adds to your options. Smith-Rowe has been out for a long, long time. He’s something a little bit different. He can carry the ball, move the ball in tight spaces and that would be a bonus.

I hope Jesus can be back fairly soon. For all Eddie Nketiah’s finishing qualities, and he has improved with his overall game, Jesus just gives you something extra. With his strength, his movement and his knowledge - that would be a big boost.

Reiss Nelson had a couple good games which surprised me. I didn’t think he was going to be in Arteta’s plans but he showed he can contribute.

You’re going to get injuries, every team gets them. Arsenal haven’t suffered as much as some, but Jesus is a big one.

Q: It’s now 11 Premier League games in a row that Arsenal have lost to Manchester City. Do you think there is any sense of inferiority when they face them?

I think there has been in the past, but I think that’s less the case now. You look at some of the football Arsenal played last night, the way they knocked it around and played from the back. It was a little nervous sometimes, but they did beat the press.

Arsenal need a marquee win against them. They beat Spurs twice, United, Chelsea and Liverpool. It’s something they were struggling to do in recent seasons and City are the last remaining one. Maybe they go to the Etihad in April and get their own back! That would be a huge boost.

Q: How good is this Manchester City side in comparison to other Man City sides we’ve seen in recent Premier League seasons?

They have amassed some amazing points totals. This side is different because of Erling Haaland. He was in fine form last night - what a handful! I think he also had a point to prove, one or two people were questioning whether he had made the team any better.

It’s different now. If you’re going on points they’re not as good as they have been, but you always wonder with teams like City if the hunger is still there - given that they’ve won 4 of the last 5 titles. Last night the hunger certainly looked to be present. You have players coming in like Jack Grealish desperate to do well, he’s already won one title but he wants to win more.

This City side is right up there, you could still describe it as the best team in the world.

Q: We saw Haaland score his 26th League goal last night, a joint Manchester City Premier League record (with Aguero) and it’s fair to assume he’ll beat that. Are he and De Bruyne critical for City’s title ambitions this season?

They don’t have to play every week, but for the big matches they are pivotal. De Bruyne was left out at Tottenham, which raised a lot of eyebrows but maybe that spurred him on. He was determined to influence that game. Going forward he’s one of the best players in the world.

The way he has struck up that relationship with Haaland has been a bonus for Pep Guardiola, but top players get on the same wavelength quickly. Those two just seem to just gel naturally. De Bruyne looks for Haaland and that was a brilliantly crafted goal so they are going to be vital going forward.

Q: Do you expect City now to pull away? Or do we have a gripping title race ahead of us?

It’s difficult to say. Looking at City last night you’d think it would be hard to see them dropping many more points. But then you think if Arsenal hadn’t made a couple of mistakes and taken their chances, last night could have been a lot different.

There’s been one of two glimpses of encouragement in the way City have let the opposition score goals - will that be the same going forward? At this stage of the season they normally tighten up and go on a run, as they have quite often in the past. If it does you can see a gap opening up. But hopefully Arsenal won’t be too far away.

Manchester United can’t be ignored either when you look at the table. A team no one thought would be anywhere near it, all of a sudden the players are thinking ‘nobody fancies us, nobody is tipping us for the title, we can play with that bit more freedom and give it a good go’.

Q: Arsenal go to Aston Villa on Saturday. What would your prediction be for the game?

It’s a hard game. Coming up against Emery, Arsenal’s former manager. He’s had a couple of poor results but he’ll have them well organised and Villa Park will be bouncing. It’s going to be a game where Arsenal will have to be at their best.

It’s definitely winnable and I think they are going to need to win it, if they were to lose that then morale properly starts seeping away from the dressing room and that belief that they can go all the way.

It’s a big big game. Unai Emery might feel he has a point to prove against Arsenal because it didn’t quite work out. It was probably the wrong club at the wrong time. But there’s no question about his capabilities as a coach, he’ll have them well set up.

Q: The atmosphere at The Emirates is widely accepted to be as good as it has ever been – what have you made of it and how important is that for this Arsenal side for the rest of the campaign?

It’s been really noisy this season - last night was probably the loudest. My daughter went and said it was amazing and on the TV it came across. Arteta said it was incredible and he’s made a point of remarking on the fans' input.

I think that is really important for any team chasing silverware. No wonder the Emirates is an uncomfortable place to come and visit as it once was. The fans are right at you. There was a little undercurrent of aggression from the crowd. We saw things thrown at Kevin de Bruyne as he walked round the pitch and that’s not something you normally see at Arsenal. You certainly don’t condone it, but that’s a reflection of how the atmosphere has become a little more intimidating and aggressive. So long may it continue if it helps the team get results! Excluding throwing things at opposition players of course.

But the noise they are generating, the support they are giving even when they are struggling a little bit. That’s bound to help the players.

Q: Arsenal seem to have a lot of vocal leaders on the pitch - namely Xhaka and Zinchenko. How much of a difference has these leadership qualities made this season?

I think it has. There are plenty of characters in there. I don’t know what Jorginho is like off the pitch but his experience will certainly add to it. I was looking at old clips of City and Zinchenko is always right amongst it. You don’t necessarily notice it but when you look at it with Arsenal eyes you could see he was at the centre of it for City, and now he’s a big voice at Arsenal.

Xhaka likewise - he’s been that way most of his time at the club and has always been a forceful presence, demanding high standards.

Arsenal have been accused in the past of not having leaders, and you can’t say that anymore. Physically they won’t get rolled over and they can’t get bullied so easily so that all helps.

Q: Your Arsenal side that won the Cup Winners Cup in 1994 (with your goal!) remains the last Arsenal side to win a European Trophy. How do you expect Arsenal to handle the Europa League when that resumes?

Arteta hasn’t really rotated to any great extent and you can really name his first choice XI. Ideally you wouldn’t want to work those players so hard. Pep Guardiola has managed to rotate, but when Europe comes into play you have to think more about it.

Before Christmas, Arteta did rotate his squad and that was enough. However in the latter stages it gets harder when you’re playing against better teams. You have to ask if they have the squad depth to rotate and still win football matches?

City are coming up to their Champions League game against Leipzig so they’ll be thinking about that and what they can do. It's not such a big problem for Pep but Arteta has to be quite clever.

The players we mentioned - Reiss Nelson, Smith-Rowe and Jesus - are going to need game time and that’s going to help. But you have to try and keep that freshness because not many teams run as hard and fast as Arsenal.

Even in training it’s absolutely 100mph, it’s so intense. You have to try and maintain that energy.

Q: Arsenal have been linked with Declan Rice - what are your thoughts on these rumours of his possible arrival this summer? Is Arsenal a good fit?

He’s a top player there’s no question, and his best years are ahead of him. He’s a really good character, I think he’d fit in well.

You’d then have him, Partey, Jorginho and Xhaka. It’s going to be interesting, he’s going to cost a lot of money!

Is Arsenal now a more attractive proposition than Chelsea for Declan? Chelsea were of course his team where he started off. But with so many bodies there it may depend on how they do this season. Also, of course, who else is in the mix to buy him - I’m sure there’ll be a few more.

Considering his price it could be too much for Arsenal as they’ll want to bring in other players for other positions. So that’s going to be the story of next summer from day one when the window opens!

Q: Having lost four in a row, Leicester now have seven points from their last three games. What do you put their turn in form down to?

They have good players who have been underperforming. Confidence was low and there was talk Brendan Rodgers had lost the players, which doesn’t seem the case now. James Maddison has come into some fantastic form - he captained the team at the weekend and I think he loved that!

Players like Harvey Barnes are doing well. Iheanacho has come into the team, someone who has been in and out, and you can see they are trying to replace Jamie Vardy. Patson Daka has been up and down, same as Iheanacho - is that going to hold them back moving forward? Defensively they’ve had so many problems over the last couple of seasons so hopefully Wout Faes and Harry Souttar coming in can give them some solidity and a platform - they looked like a decent partnership on the weekend.

I’m pleased for my old club. When they were down at the bottom, seven years after winning the title, I was thinking: ‘oh no, surely they’re not going to get relegated!’ But they’re not. The owners are loath to spend as much money. Perhaps they don’t have as much money after the pandemic and how it affected their company.

Rodgers has got them going again which is good to see.

They are 13th on 26 points - are Leicester still in a relegation battle or do you expect them to reach safety quite easily?

Without question the squad needs adding to. At the moment I see them as a mid-table team and I think that’s where they’ll finish this season, around 10th or 11th. I think they’ll be fine and that feel good factor is back.

The King Power was lively the other day - the way they comfortably swept Spurs aside. It’s one of those transition seasons and then all eyes on the summer. What direction do the owners want to go? Do they want to spend money again? They’ve had a brilliant recruitment policy and a great record in the transfer market in recent years. But that never lasts forever.

So you hope there is a bit of investment so they can kick on again and start competing in that Top six / eight that they were before.

Q: You’ve got Southampton, Bournemouth and Everton in the relegation zone at the minute. What do you make of the relegation battle at the moment - who are your three to go down?

Southampton are in all sorts of trouble at the moment without a manager. There is so much turbulence there, it might be difficult for them.

Bournemouth are another side I think will find it difficult to stay up.

I would like to see Nottingham Forest stay up but I just wonder… I love Steve Cooper as a coach and they are in a decent position, better than I thought they would be, but who is going to score the goals? I’m not quite sure that they have enough to keep their heads above water.

I do hope I’m wrong though. I went to Forest the other day and I’ve not been for years and years, one of the great old clubs, so it would be nice to see them stay in the top flight for a few seasons but it may be difficult.

Q: Chelsea went down 1-0 in Dortmund. What do you make of Chelsea over the last few weeks with so many new players in?

It is a big thing if they can have a good run in the competition. They had a good few chances with some nice approach play, but nobody put the ball in the net. It’s a crazy situation. We of course know the money they have invested into the team, but they don’t have a centre forward.

How much is Aubameyang getting paid? And he isn’t even in the Champions League squad! So it’s a crazy situation from that point of view. Can Potter be innovative and work without an orthodox centre forward? Kai Havertz is doing a job there at the moment, Joao Felix has come in and made an impression. But with so many players it’s difficult and I’m sure Potter is still just getting to grips with it and figuring out who he wants and what kind of shape he needs to get the best out of the squad.

However, I don’t think they are going to compete until the latter stages of the Champions League. I don’t think they have enough but they can get past Dortmund. But it won’t be easy. Dortmund have such pace on the counter you can easily see them nicking one they way they did last night.

Q: Do you believe there is any truth in the rumours this week about Pochettino being a likely replacement if Potter leaves?

Whenever people like Pochettino are out of work there are going to be those kinds of rumours! Nobody knows the relationship between Todd Boehly, the owners, and Potter- they’re all insisting he’s the long term choice. Common sense tells you when you’re bringing in that many players, you need a good amount of time to sort it all out.

Potter is a very talented coach, there’s no question. Right now he’s getting to grips with managing a big, big club and that’s a big change for him. The media scrutiny, different attitudes from players, more egos in the changing room.

It’s still early days for him understanding and coping with all that. So I hope he does get time but he still has to pick up results. Nobody gets time if you lose every week.

Q: Spurs went down 1-0 in Milan. How do you rate their chances of turning that tie around?

It was a bit of a battle. It was the worst start really, which is a recurring theme for Spurs. But then they got a foothold in the game. They of course have a lot of injuries - Bentancur out for the season is a massive blow. But Skipp and Sarr did well in midfield.

But you look at that defence and you can’t hang your hat on it, you’d never bank on a clean sheet which must be a big concern for Antonio Conte.

Back at Tottenham, I could see them winning because I don’t think Milan are any great. But I do think it’ll be tight.

Q: John Brooks was replaced for Arsenal v Man City after his incorrect VAR ruling in Brighton’s game on Sunday - what do you make of the decision to move an official in this manner?

It seems to be done to placate managers and maybe fans. What it does for the person himself, who has to go back into the VAR hub, is a different matter entirely.

It’s like Tomiyasu with his back pass, do you drop him after? Do you keep him in? I don’t think it helps and is more of a PR move more than anything else. It was a mistake, a huge one, but an honest one and you hope he’ll learn from it and I’m sure he will.

Q: ESPN described last weekend as the “worst ever” for VAR in the Premier League with big errors at Brentford v Arsenal, West Ham vs Chelsea and Palace v Brighton) – do you agree? What if anything do you want to see change?

It’s been said a lot, but to get former players involved would be a help. The Soucek handball was a case and point. They tried to go by the letter of the law, using his arm to break his fall, but that wasn’t the case. He dived down to try and block the ball and it was a clear handball, and that’s where that little bit of understanding referees can miss out, trying to stick exactly to the rule book.

I don’t think it’s going to happen in the near future. It was a fiasco last weekend and it all came at the same time. There’ll be lots of private conversations going on there so let's just hope it doesn’t happen again.

Q: You are well known to many as being a commentator from FIFA 12 through to FIFA 20 – how surreal was it having the younger generation become so familiar with your voice?

It was great fun, it really was. Of course I did it with Martin Tyler, we bounced off each other really well. It’s quite hard work recording it at times! 5 hours of constantly thinking on your feet, looking at new ways to describe the same situation so you don’t get repetition in the game.

You’d get lots of kids coming up to you and wanting your picture taken. I still get it now when people hear my voice - as much as seeing my face! It’s been great and I look back on that time with a lot of fondness and people attach it to memories of their childhood and beyond. So it’s been great!

Q: You were an England teammate of Paul Gascoigne. Did you ever play with a bigger character?

I think so. He was just so different. I roomed with him on one occasion at Burnham Beeches and he just never sat still. I was lying on my bed watching TV and he was just in and out all afternoon, all night, playing table tennis, snooker, cards - whatever you want. He just couldn’t sit still!

He woke me up at 4am one night watching Ceefax looking at the news. I said, ‘what you doing Gazza, it’s 4am?’ He goes ‘I can’t sleep!’. And he couldn’t, he just lived on his nerves.

He was an amazing character and I was lucky enough to play with him at his peak really. Training against him, he was so quick! We used to play four v four in boxes and his acceleration over a couple yards along with his strength to hold people off was amazing. He’d lend the ball and play that one-two - it was brilliant to see him at close quarters. We often say there’ll never be anyone like him, and I think with Gazza that couldn’t be more true. He was a one off.

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