Mikel Arteta is well on his way towards becoming one of the great Arsenal managers.
Yes, he’s not had the success of a George Graham or an Arsene Wenger just yet, but it feels as though he is building something special at the Emirates right now.
However, in another world, Arteta could have ended up on the other side of north London at Tottenham.
Indeed, speaking on ESPN, James Olley has now shared a story of how Mauricio Pochettino actually offered Mikel Arteta a coaching role back when he was Spurs manager, with the journalist suggesting that Arteta could well have ended up being Spurs’ manager one day if he’d taken on such a task.
Arteta could have been at Spurs
Olley shared what he knows about the ‘next level’ Arsenal manager
“It’s quite rare for Arteta to eulogise over a manager that isn’t Pep Guardiola in the way he did today. It will be a different feeling on the touchline at Stamford Bridge,” Olley said.
“Their relationship goes back a long way. Another interesting aspect of this is that when Arteta retired in 2016 our understanding was that he was actually offered a job by Mauricio Pochettino who was then at Tottenham. It’s one of those sliding doors moments where Arteta made a different decision, he could’ve been on the coaching staff at Tottenham under Pochettino and could’ve ended up managing Spurs and been in a very different part of north London to where he is now.”
Imagine
This is one of the great sliding doors moments in football history.
Not to blow Arteta’s trumpet too much for him, but he is an incredible coach, and maybe if he was at Spurs alongside Pochettino he could’ve helped them reach the next level.
Let’s not forget, Tottenham were one game away from being European champions under Pochettino, and maybe, just maybe, with that extra bit of tactical nous on his coaching staff, Pochettino could’ve gotten Tottenham over the line in that game.
This is certainly an interesting alternative reality to ponder.