David Seaman hailed “amazing” Mikel Arteta for Arsenal’s transformation which has seen them rival Manchester City at the top of the Premier League this season.
The Gunners will play in the Champions League next year for the first time since 2016-17 after an impressive campaign which saw them lead the title race until recent weeks.
And the former Arsenal and England goalkeeper commended the Spanish manager for his impact, despite it being his first managerial role, as he called for his former side to take further steps towards their long-term ambitions of silverware next season.
“It’s his first job, he’s doing an amazing job and it’s a massive job but he’s making it work,” Seaman told the PA news agency.
“It’s all down to Arteta, the way he’s got the lads playing, believing, the demands he makes on them, that’s what ends up being put out on the pitch.
“The process that Arteta goes on about is now really showing through. Even before when he was talking about the process when he first got there, people were questioning that because the performances were not the best but I see what Mikel does on the training field and I see the enthusiasm and his amazing coaching.
“Arsenal will judge him on his Champions League performances but I’m hoping for silverware, that’s the ultimate game, that’s where the club needs to be, back into the frame of winning silverware.”
Arteta joined Arsenal in 2019 and led the club to FA Cup glory in 2020, before masterminding consistent improvement in their league positions over the last three seasons – they finished eighth in 2020-21, fifth the following season and are currently second.
Seaman believes the hard-working culture Arteta has instilled is behind the improved performances his young squad have produced this season.
The 59-year-old who will also be goalkeeper coach for the England team in this year’s Soccer Aid, added: “He’s doing his first job really well and he’s getting the best out of the team, his coaching team and all the people at the training ground, they all totally respect him.
“Not only is he a great manager, he’s a gent as well, he’s a great bloke. I know I’m waxing lyrical about him but he’s a nice guy and everybody around the training ground knows that and they all want to do the best for him.
Arsenal’s form dwindled in recent months, they have lost top spot to treble-chasing Manchester City as a result of just two wins in seven matches.
Although the Gunners’ chances of winning their first league title since 2004 have faded, their former goalkeeper is delighted with his former side’s development this year.
He said: “I’m massively proud (of Arsenal), second in the Premier League is another huge improvement on the last few seasons and we’ve got to take that into next season.”
Seaman, who won three league championships, four FA Cups, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup during his 13-year career with the club, added: “Arsenal can now contend, it’s been a long time since they’ve been able to do that.”
::Tickets for Soccer Aid For UNICEF on Sunday, June 11 at Old Trafford, are on sale via www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets, with a family of four able to attend for just £60 — two adults and two children.
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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