Mikel Arteta believes England fans should take “pride” in the fact the best foreign coaches in the world want to manage their national team.
Thomas Tuchel was appointed by the FA earlier this week, but it was met with a backlash in some quarters because it was argued an English coach should have been placed in charge.
Arteta says he can understand people’s desire for that, however he also believes it should be viewed as a compliment that top coaches like Tuchel want the England job.
Arteta explained how he views England as “home”, so much so he was eager to represent the national team during his playing days, and that is down to the way foreigners are welcomed into the country.
“I understand the opinions and the feelings,” said Arteta. “That’s the responsibility for the FA to say the first filter is only English managers or the filters are any manager from any country and we select the best for the moment that we’re in right now.
“I understand that it can feel sad for some people not to have an English manager. History tells you how important this could be as well. I think I would take a lot of pride as well that a lot managers and a lot of people would do anything to be the England manager.
“That’s related to how we’re treated in this country as foreigners. How much we love the passion, the respect, the history and the way that things are done in this country.
“I can say personally that you feel so related to where you are even if you are not from here. I think there are very few countries that could say that.
“I’ll tell you right now, the feeling I have, for me this is like home. I've been here for 22 years. I have that feeling towards it because I always feel respected, welcomed and inspired by this country and the history of football and how you get treated daily. I think that’s something you should be really proud of as a country.”
Arteta has hailed Tuchel as “one of the best coaches in the world” and revealed his English players are excited to work under him.
The Gunners have a number of England players, including Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Raheem Sterling.
“They’re gonna learn a lot,” said Arteta. “He’s one of the best coaches in the world in my opinion, the way his teams are set up.
“It’s very exciting times. I spoke to a few of the players and they had a smile on their faces straight away. That’s a good sign.”
Arteta has confirmed he was not interviewed for the England job, despite only having a year left on his contract when the FA were sounding out.
The Spaniard was eager to play for England during his career, after qualifying through residency, but he was unable to due playing for Spain’s youth teams.
“I was thinking about that the other day,” said Arteta. “I was actually talking to Edu about that at lunch. Yeah, I would have done it (played for England).
“I would have done it. I feel very proud about it. I was very realistic, looking at the players Spain had at the time, and how big a challenge I had.
“You need to know your level, that is very important. Look in the mirror. At the end it didn’t happen. But it was good, at least to think about it.”
