Tony Adams says Arsenal u23 boss Steve Bould has plenty of praise for Mikel Arteta, suggesting the club’s first-team manager has ‘got it all’.

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Steve Bould coaching the Arsenal u23s in a match against Derby County (Photo via Twitter / ArsenalAcademy)

Speaking on the Astro SuperSport show after an impressive and rare Arsenal Premier League win at Old Trafford, Tony Adams was keen to give full credit to manager Mikel Arteta for his work so far.

The former Arsenal defender likes what he’s seen from Arteta in the first year of his tenure, and he knows those inside the club are just as impressed. Adams’ old teammate and current u23 coach Steve Bould tells him as much.

“[Arteta’s] got a fantastic ability to work with this team, he puts hours into the training pitch,” Adams said. “He’s his own man, if Özil’s not in his thinking, he’s out. You know, it’s as simple as that.

“I can’t speak highly enough of the guy. When I talk to my mate Steve Bould, who’s still in the club taking the u23s at the moment, he said to me: ‘Tone, this guy, he’s got it all. He’s the Governor.’

“He’s the best he’s seen in a long time. He really does understand the game. He expresses himself, he’s very confident. You know it’s his first job, for god’s sake. He’s doing a remarkable, remarkable job.”

It’s definitely worth stressing how fresh Arteta is in this profession. Barring a few years working as an assistant with Manchester City, he had no experience of management at all before this year.

He’s not always going to get the big decisions right, simply because he hasn’t made most of them before.

Despite that, he’s won Arsenal an FA Cup and a Community Shield, he’s made the team a threat in the big games, and they’re clearly making progress from month to month. It’s just a case of keeping that going.