https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1781664134389457147?t=yzdzjMdbZTHWKrQ7rBOQTA&s=19
Santi Cazorla on Arteta: “Injured, watching games together, he would get the remote & pause it. ‘What are you doing?’. He would say, ‘Go back, go back’, rewind 30 seconds & ask, ‘What do you see?’. ‘I see a paused screen! What do you want me to see?!’”
“He would say, ‘Look at this guy here, how badly he’s positioned. If he goes here & he goes there, this space opens’. Every game, pausing every 20 seconds. The match has finished & we’re still in the 20th minute. I’m thinking, ‘What’s with this guy?’”
“He sees it. I love football but I don’t. I think it’s a gift. He’s pausing. ‘Can’t you see we’re doing this badly? Don’t you think the left-back should be deeper? That he should draw out his marker? Don’t you think we can create a space there?’. I said yes to everything, ‘Yes, you’re completely right Mikel. Now, press play’.”
“I’d say, ‘Mate, you’re a coach already’. He said, ‘Yeah, I see things that make me think I should be’. We talked a lot. He still loved playing, but working with Pep Guardiola at [Man] City was an opportunity, the best apprenticeship. I said, ‘Mikel, if that’s what moves you, go for it.’ It’s worked out well.”