Arsenal fans will love what José Mourinho just said about Mikel Arteta

Arsenal fans will love what José Mourinho has been saying about Mikel Arteta and their club's style of play. Mourinho recently returned to Real Madrid under a similar mandate as the one that took him to the Bernabeu the first time.

When he was first appointed, Mourinho was asked to do whatever he could to disrupt a dominant Barcelona side that had Pep Guardiola in charge of a golden generation. Mourinho's Real Madrid did not become dominant at the time, but they did win a LaLiga title, which was an impressive feat at that point in time.

Mourinho now arrives at Real Madrid again after Barcelona won back-to-back LaLiga titles, hoping to be the disruptive force Los Blancos need to get back to winning silverware.

Mourinho defends Arsenal

After taking the Bernabeu mantle, Mourinho has given an interview to Vanity Fair, and during that interview, he defended Arteta and Arsenal over their sometimes criticised style of play.

“Nowadays, but even before, there was a silly theory of, ‘You can be great without winning’. For me, it’s totally silly. It goes against the nature of sport because in sport, the objective is to win.

“I don’t like that [stylistic criticism]. I don’t agree with that. I think people work and try to win with the best qualities that your team can have. In relation to Arsenal, I believe that if Arsenal tried to be a second Man City, probably they wouldn’t win.

“So they won. You have to respect the winners. This is what I do in relation to Arsenal, but no, no, I don’t look back, I don’t compare ourselves with them.

“Because at the end of the day, that Inter team that won that Champions League – before that iconic defensive match where we played with 10 men for more than one hour – one week before, we beat Barcelona 3-1. And people don’t speak about scoring three goals and winning 3-1 against Barcelona.

“They prefer to talk about what I consider one of the best-ever defensive performances by a team that with 10 men resisted for more than one hour against the best team in the world at that time.”

Mourinho hits the nail on the head

While it's nice to play an attractive brand of football, it very rarely ends in success. Even among the very best managers in the world, there are very few who manage it consistently with a glamorous style of play, with Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique both standing out, and taking nothing away from those managers, both have called upon some legendary players during their careers.

This is a sport where no one remembers your name unless you win, and Arsenal fans will certainly take winning and sometimes employing a more structured style of play than playing with an open and fun style of play that brings no silverware.

Mourinho can take it to the extreme at times, but he will someday retire as one of the best managers of all time due to the success he has managed, and that's all that will be remembered.

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