Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling has never made any secret of his admiration for Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta.
Amid rumours that the Gunners are interested in the England winger with City reportedly open to selling the 26-year-old in the summer, Sterling’s comments will of course be of interest to Arsenal fans.
Any move to the Emirates Stadium would reunite Sterling with Arteta, who served as Pep Guardiola's assistant coach in Manchester.
That relationship came to an end in December 2019 after the Spaniard replaced compatriot Unai Emery as head coach in North London.
However, even after the move, Sterling was full of praise for the job that the 39-year-old has done.
Speaking in October, the Manchester City attacker said: "[Arteta is] a person that had a lot of say here [at Man City]. The manager trusted him here and he had a lot of influence on the players here and the team as well.
"So I knew once he went into Arsenal that it would be a great opportunity for him but also he would definitely implement what he wanted to bring in.
"And he's a person that will put his foot down and not let things slide as you can see with the boys at Arsenal. They know if they don't run they are most likely not going to play.”
Sterling also admitted that he had been impressed by Arteta's influence on Arsenal and praised the Spaniard for improving their fortunes despite what transpired during a tricky 2020/21 campaign.
"You can see the change that he's brought in there, you can see the energy, you can see how much he's put into them with their off-ball work," Sterling continued.
"We all knew before Mikel got in how much good football they could play, how technically good they were but probably off the field they weren't as aggressive as they are with Mikel.
"They run their socks off now, you can see why they benefited with some good results recently."
