In March 2018, he was Manchester United manager and Sevilla had knocked his side out of the Champions League, beating them 2-1 at Old Trafford in the round of 16. In a press conference three days later, the Portuguese embarked on a rant about “football heritage”.
While some may view his infamous 12-minute monologue as comical or self-serving, his dissection of Manchester United’s performances in Europe over the seven years before his arrival was critical. It painted a picture of the rot at the club in that moment but also provided an objective view of their progress from which other teams could learn.
“The last time Manchester United reached the Champions League final, which didn’t happen a lot of times, was 2011…” Mourinho said. “In seven years with four different managers, once not qualified for Europe. Twice out at the group phase. And the best was a quarter-final. This is football heritage.”
Mikel Arteta knows about this Mourinho phrase and while he would prefer to use it “in relation to big trophies”, on Friday he recognised that clubs “have to start somewhere'”.
That is what the last few years have been about in Europe for both Arsenal’s men and women’s teams.
Arteta’s men spent seven years out of the Champions League and reached the quarter-final for the first time in 14 years when they returned to the competition last season. Meanwhile, Arsenal Women became the first — and thus far only — English side to win the Champions League in 2007 but spent five seasons out of the competition between 2015 and 2019 and took a leap by reaching the semi-finals in 2022-23, and have done so again this term.
This season is the first since 2010 that both teams have reached the Champions League quarter-finals, and the parallels don’t end there.
Both drawn against Real Madrid, the home legs at the Emirates Stadium were eerily similar. The men and women went in 0-0 at half-time after strong starts only to both run away as 3-0 winners with two goals from an England international and another from a Spaniard.
Arteta and his squad still have a job to do in the second leg in Madrid next week but building on last year’s return to Europe’s top table has been exactly what this year’s campaign was about.
Arsenal’s men played 10 Champions League matches last season. They won five — four at home and one away. In the group stage, they scored 12 goals and conceded zero at home, scored four and conceded four away, and lost both knockout away games 1-0. They have played 11 Champions League matches this season, winning eight and losing just one (away at Inter). In this year’s new league phase, with two extra matches, they won four home games again but improved away with three wins.
Speaking on the biggest lessons taken from last season before thrashing PSV 7-1, Arteta said: “We have played very differently home and away in the last year, especially in Europe. We have been much more consistent, we have scored a lot of ...
