Theo Walcott Explains How Mikel Arteta Scared Wenger At Arsenal

Former Arsenal forward, Theo Walcott revealed that the current coach of the side, Mikel Arteta, scared the former manager of the side, Arsene Wenger, during his active days.

Mikel Arteta played under coach Arsene Wenger from 2011 to 2016. Before Arteta’s arrival, Theo Walcott, who is a product of Arsenal academy, had played under the French tactician for five years.

Arteta decided to retire from professional football in 2016 and went to Manchester City to serve as coach Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager until 2019, when Arsenal appointed him the club’s head coach.

The Spanish tactician struggled in his first two seasons but was able to bounce back and made Arsenal one of the major Premier League title contenders in the last two seasons.

Theo Walcott, who has now retired from football, said he knew that Arteta was born to be a manager when he locked all his Arsenal teammates in the dressing room ahead of a training session. He said Arteta decided to do this to charge the players after the Gunners failed to finish in the top four.

During the said incident, coach Wenger was on the training pitch, waiting for them to join him for the day’s training. According to Walcott, the French legendary coach was scared of Arteta’s strong character.

“The turning point for me in terms of how I viewed Mikel Arteta was an experience I had with him as a player at Arsenal,” Walcott told William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan. ‌

“It was at a time when we weren’t making the top four. We had training in 30 minutes and he locked all the players in the dressing room as if he was the manager. He was taking control of the whole space and telling us how it is. At that moment, it was like he was the manager, and that was the turning point for me.

“That’s when I thought he could go on to be a manager. Arsene Wenger was waiting for us to come outside for training but we weren’t coming out because Mikel stopped the training session. He was such a strong character that even Arsene was afraid of him.”