Mourinho admits Arteta's Arsenal patience would never be granted at Real Madrid

José Mourinho has admitted that the patience Arsenal have shown Mikel Arteta would never be extended to him at Real Madrid, speaking out days after the Spaniard signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until 2030.

Mourinho, 63, returned to the Bernabéu in the summer following a spell with Benfica and was reflecting on the contrasting cultures at two of Europe’s biggest clubs. Since his first stint in charge of Real Madrid, the club have cycled through nine different managers — even if Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane each served multiple terms. Arsenal, by contrast, have trusted just three managers in the same period: Arsène Wenger, Unai Emery, and Arteta.

“Yesterday, I read something interesting that would not happen at Real Madrid,” Mourinho said. “Mikel Arteta renewed his contract and said something like ‘we are still starting’ and ‘this is just the beginning’ and he has been there for years. The demands here are just different.”

Arteta’s renewal has drawn praise from within the Arsenal dressing room too. Midfielder Declan Rice, speaking to ESPN Brazil, was effusive about his manager’s influence. “It’s just tactically, training, managing, the detail he goes into, the things he sees that you would never see,” Rice said. “He’s constantly watching you when you don’t think you’re being watched. He’s always keeping you on your toes, making sure that you’re ready.”

Rice added: “Every time we go into games, tactically we know what we’re doing — defensively, with the ball, how we’re going to beat the opposition. It’s just the fine details, the way he breaks everything down, which makes him the best for me. It’s amazing that he signed a new contract and we get to have him as our manager for the next four years.”

The remarks from Mourinho carry an added edge given that Arsenal are set to host Real Madrid in a Champions League fixture in December, meaning the two managers will go head-to-head as direct rivals. The pair have met three times previously, with Mourinho winning two of those encounters, though the most recent meeting — in March 2021 — ended in Arteta’s favour.