Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe believes the amount of money Arsenal have spent is “irrelevant” to the job Mikel Arteta has done.
Arteta has transformed Arsenal from something of a circus into one of the best teams in Europe.
The Gunners have come second in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons now and, while that has been used as a stick to beat Arteta with, there’s little doubt it has been a vast improvement on what came before.
Arteta, like Howe, has been backed in the transfer market. Arsenal’s spending power is generally seen as greater than Newcastle’s but Howe does not believe that has much to do with the work the Gunners boss has done.
Speaking ahead of Newcastle United vs Arsenal on Sunday, Howe was full of praise.
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Eddie Howe praises Mikel Arteta ahead of Newcastle United vs Arsenal
The Newcastle United manager believes that Arteta’s relative success is not down to just the money he’s spent.
Obviously, having funds to bring in brilliant players helps but it is not the only thing in play.
Howe, of course, has been given funds by PIF but the money spent alone does not fully explain just what a fantastic job he has done on Tyneside.
“Seems crazy, doesn’t it? The transfer fees keep going up and up. Mikel’s done a great job,” he said (via The Chronicle).
“I really do think that. When you look at the journey that they’ve been on. They’ve improved every season in my opinion.
“They continue to improve. So I wouldn’t look at the money spent. That’s irrelevant really.
“It’s about the strength of the squad and how they work and how they play. They’ll be very close this year.”
How much Newcastle United spent this summer
Indeed, having funds to play with is not the only way to improve. There have been countless examples over the years of teams spending lots of money, only to see that eventually backfire.
Newcastle’s success is not down to just the money spent on new players. Howe has transformed those he inherited, while developing the players he did sign into even better talents.
Newcastle spent around £250million in the summer transfer window, although a lot of that was offset by the British record sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool.
Under Howe’s management, that sum could end up looking like a bargain if he brings his summer signings along like he has done with his other players.
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