Mikel Arteta has a key managerial quality that can’t be taught.
That’s according to former Arsenal player Carl Jenkinson, who joined talkSPORT Drive in the studio on Wednesday.
Jenkinson, now 32 years old and a free agent having last played at Newcastle Jets in the Australian A-League, played with Arteta during his time with the Gunners.
Arteta and Jenkinson both joined Arsenal in 2011, with the former becoming Arsenal captain in 2014 up until his retirement in 2016.
Asked if he could see Arteta was going to be a manager in the future, Jenkinson said: “Yeah, Arteta has an aura you can’t manufacture if you know what I mean.
“The way he speaks and when he walks in the room and talks, you listen.
“Obviously he has the football knowledge to go along with it, but that’s something you can’t sort of teach.”
And according to Jenkinson, Arteta is in fine company on his list of former teammates who possessed this quality.
He continued: “He just had that aura. I haven’t met many people with that.
“Thierry Henry would probably be the only other one I would say was similar.
“But Mikel just had that. If he spoke, you listened.”
Arteta was part of the Gunners squads that won the FA Cup in 2014 and 2015 under Arsene Wenger.
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Jenkinson was part of the 2014 winning side, too.
Having worked with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City after his retirement, Arteta became manager of Arsenal in 2019.
He’s since led the Gunners into two title races, with his side finishing second in the Premier League in consecutive seasons.
Arteta also managed the side that won the FA Cup in 2020.
Jenkinson, meanwhile, left Arsenal in 2019, signing for Nottingham Forest after loan spells with West Ham and Birmingham, before leaving for Australia in 2022.
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