Sunday’s early Premier League kick-off of Watford vs Arsenal was an enthralling exhibition for the fans. It featured a fantastic bicycle kick from Cucho Hernandez that is surely going to be a goal of the season contender as well as a couple of really well-worked team goals by Arsenal, almost throwing it back to the days of Arsene Wenger’s flowing football. The goals ensured that Arsenal went on to win 3-2 at Vicarage Road which also sent them into the top 4 spots.
Mikel Arteta has been much lauded by fans for instilling the club’s playing style of yore amongst the youngsters at Arsenal such as Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli and helping the club set themselves up for the future with a strong foundation.
However, for Sunday’s game, the Spaniard also received a lot of praise for doing much more than coaching as the Arsenal manager was spotted fetching the ball to ensure a quick throw-in which ultimately led to the decisive Martinelli goal.
Following the 3-2 win, Arteta was asked about his role in the build-up of the winner and the manager’s answer had Gunners fans loving him even more as Arteta said, “We all have to be alive, that’s the way I live the game.”
🗣 "We all have to be alive, that’s the way I live the game."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 6, 2022
Mikel Arteta on his part in the third goal after he fetched the ball for a quick throw-in pic.twitter.com/ReByLgjbmW
Even the players noticed what their manager did from the sidelines as Saka and Lacazette praised Arteta for aiding the throw-in.
Saka & Laca praising Arteta for the quick throw in for the 3rd goal pic.twitter.com/ABBn9aQvYm
— Osman 🎗 (@OsmanZtheGooner) March 6, 2022
The manager’s all-around effort would be needed much more if Arsenal are going to break their recent bad spell of missing out on Champion’s League qualification and want to make a return back to the top of Europe.