Ex-Arsenal star who played under Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta picks who is better manager
Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta are set to go head-to-head in the Premier League next season after the former Real Madrid boss agreed to join Chelsea
Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta will meet in the Premier League next season(Image: David Price, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Former Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso is set to go head-to-head with Mikel Arteta in next season’s Premier League after accepting the Chelsea managerial role. Granit Xhaka finds himself in the unusual position of having worked under both managers – an honour he shares with Piero Hincapie – and has had plenty to say about how they differ.
Xhaka featured in Arteta’s FA Cup-winning side in 2020 as the manager won at Wembley in his first season at the club. The midfielder didn’t win a league title during a seven-year stint in north London but celebrated a domestic double in his first campaign under Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.
Both Arteta and Alonso were in the formative stages of their managerial journeys when they coached the Swiss midfielder. Still, there was a clear distinction between the two, most notably in Alonso’s greater readiness to adapt his tactical setups.
“Mikel has his philosophy and that’s it,” Xhaka told the PFA in 2024. “You know this always change the sides, the free man, let him jump for example.”
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
He continued: “Even to play always with a back four and never change to a back five for example, or never change like a 4-4-2 with two proper strikers. So you had this 4-3-3, with one six and two eights.
“Xabi is a little bit different. I think that Xabi can play a back four, but he can play as well a back five… What he wants is always two number sixes, not running everywhere or more of the time be in the position.
“But I think that if you are a coach you need your own philosophy, your own tactical, your own ideas. Of course you can always change one or two (things) but you can’t change so many things about it you know?”
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
Alonso played in England for Liverpool and will now get his first chance to manage in the Premier League after agreeing a four-year deal with Chelsea. It is his first job since he left Real Madrid just months into his three-year stint at the Bernabeu.
“Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club,” the new Blues boss stated upon confirmation of his appointment. The 44-year-old will take over at Stamford Bridge on July 1.
“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition,” Alonso added. “We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.
‘”There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.”
