As the Spaniard gears up to face off against his countryman Luis Enrique, he reflected on their shared history.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised his counterpart at Paris Saint-Germain.AdvertisementAdvertisementArteta and Enrique were both at Barcelona at one stage of their respective careers.
Asked about memories of Enrique, Arteta stated: “A smile on my face. I am a huge admirer of him. He has an unbelievable personality, huge charisma, huge energy. He was always very supportive with the young players and what I love about him is that, whatever he has been as a player, as a manager his fingerprints are all over the place. You can sense that is his team.
“You can see at PSG that's his team - the way the players behave, the way they want to attack, they want to dominate games, the spirit, the energy that they have. He has this unbelievable power. He has done it at all the clubs he has been at, with Spain's national team. And then there is his approach to life and his profession, it's something to really look at and I learn a lot things from him.”
On his influence, Arteta added: “Well, what he has done is that he is straight forward. He looks in your eyes and tells you one thing, and I think at the end players appreciate that.
“You might like it more or less - depending on how it happens - but the way everybody talks, I have two or three players who have been in the national team with him, they always say the same thing and they all enjoy playing under him. When someone can make you feel like that in your profession, that's a big quality to have.”