O'Leary is still at Arsenal and believes the club is firmly moving in the right direction. Photo: Charlotte Graham «He's a Rolls-Royce,» says David O'Leary, and as he talks you can almost feel Arsenal's cap record holder purring at the thought of William Saliba nullified Erling Haaland at the Emirates on Sunday.
“Arsenal have always had a great defense — you look at people like Tony Adams and Sol Campbell, great players, and Saliba will be for his era.” , he says.
“He’s fast, calm, reads the game well. He's good in the air and strong. He is a good passer and can get on the field. A great quality is the additional equipment for catching the ball. Where other defenders might be running to clear the ball out of play, he can get there in time to return the ball to the goalkeeper or another defender.
Against Manchester City, the Frenchman gave another masterclass on how to deal with Erling Haaland (right) Photo: Getty Images/Ian Kington
“I think we have a player who can be very, very special. We have a good match with Gabriel, but for me he is the Rolls-Royce that we were missing at the most important moment of last year. He can be great if he keeps this up.”
A certain modesty prevents O'Leary from openly placing himself in that company, but after a career at Arsenal spanning three decades, 722 games and winning a major domestic trophy twice, his place among the club's all-time greatest players is firmly established.
«I have never seen a better atmosphere at the club»
From a perspective that stretches from arriving as a 15-year-old from Dublin under Bertie Mee exactly 50 years ago to attending almost every match as a club representative, O'Leary's observations of the recent atmosphere at the Emirates are also instructive.
“Since I've been at the club, I've never seen a better atmosphere,” he says. “Yes, it was an accidental goal… but for the first time in a long time in the match against Manchester City I felt confident in victory. The goal came at the right time and was the icing on the cake. At the end there was a concert atmosphere.”
As he now does before every home game, O'Leary also left the directors' lounge about 10 minutes before kick-off to soak up the pre-match atmosphere: «In all my years at Anfield, there was nothing better than going early and listen to the song when the players come out — it has now been created at Arsenal.
O'Leary believes the signings of Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, as well as the continued development of players such as Saliba, mean Arsenal have definitely improved, but knows they must also show relentless consistency.
< img src= "/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2b50c7d7272c4852869c5257ef596616.jpg" /> O'Leary believes Mikel Arteta (left) has the right squad to beat Manchester City. Photo: Getty Images/Glyn Kirk
“I think the teams that can knock Manchester City off are us and Liverpool,” he says. Tottenham have improved but I don't see them putting pressure on City. It is important not to lose certain players. Big games need big players and Saliba and Rice give you that core.”
Arsenal's wider management also gives O'Leary long-term optimism. “Even though everyone will say, 'We've had a great season,' I think Mikel [Arteta] is determined to win. I remember sitting on the plane to Athens [in February 2020], Mikel sat down and his presence was immediately felt among the players. It was something like: “The boss is here.” There is intensity and fighting spirit. He's a great young manager. Many thought he got the job right after Arsene. But I think he benefited greatly from training under Guardiola.»
«I think they were treated unfairly.»
The Kroenke family, O'Leary claims, were also often subjected to «harsh» judgment and he says it's «your dream» as a manager or executive to have the support of owners who then won't try to intervene in the way that appears to have contributed to the chaos at Chelsea.
«I'm not on their payroll, [but] … I think they were treated unfairly,» he says. “They trusted people. I think they invested a lot of money. A lot of money was wasted.
“I think by spending stupid money on certain players, like Pepe (£75m), we are buying good players overall. You'll never get 100 percent, [but] it's a very well-run club.»
O'Leary then smiles, thinking about Bukayo Saka. “If you hope anyone will succeed, it’s him. I hope he ends up the same way he started — as a wonderful, sweet man.»
«I peaked at least 20 years early»
Talking about modern players and value for money brings us to O'Leary's disputes with former Arsenal managing director Ken Friar after he played 70 first-team games by the age of 18 during his first two seasons. “Ken said: 'The club thinks you have a bright future.' And then they offered me a 10-year contract for another 10 pounds a week.”
Monk, 89, is now president for life and recently told O'Leary he would be worth at least £200,000 a week in today's market.
«I peaked at least 20 years early,» says O'Leary, who chose Arsenal over Manchester United despite a memorable training session at United's Cliff training ground in 1973. “George Best was there and I have never seen anything like it before or since. » he says. «He had this Jaguar E-Type and there were crowds waiting for him. He was like the Beatles.»
So why Arsenal? «I fell in love with the club — I was born in North London [the family moved to Ireland when he was four] and my father was an Arsenal fan.
David O'Leary (right) spent most of his career as a centre-back at Arsenal, where he made a club record 722 appearances.Photo: Brian Smith
Arsenal sent you home every seven or eight weeks. I remember these trips: landing at Heathrow, picking up my bags, bus to Hounslow West, tube to Cockfosters. The longest and saddest journey.
“Sometimes I cried at night in the excavations after returning. But I wanted to show my parents that one day I could play for Arsenal. They wouldn't be ashamed [if he came home], but I myself would be ashamed. If I was going to fail, I was willing to fail and try.
“When I made my debut [aged 17 in 1975], Liam Brady said, 'Now you're good enough to fuck… I want to stay in this team.' At the end of the game Bertie Mee said: «David, I want to bring someone into the dressing room.» It was my father. I had no idea he was there. He was crying.»
«People almost ended up on stretchers before getting a yellow card»
A centre-back whose pace and cultural touch would have been accessible to managers such as Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola, O'Leary still winces at the physicality of the sport when he made his debut in 1975, aged just 17 . “I remember Peter Whit and Kenny. Burns in Birmingham,” he says. “They kept hitting me in the ear or in the face. They would pick you up and say, “Are you okay?” I thought: «Good guys.» Pat Rice said, “Are you a fucking idiot?” They do this on purpose.”
“People almost ended up on stretchers in front of a yellow card. Liam Brady was a great player. S— kicked him out of himself. What would it be like now with the fields and defense? I never thought that good defense was kicking someone.” O'Leary was also ahead of his time off the field, and Adams warned his teetotal roommate that he would be «stretched to death» by his diligent preparation.
“They said I was boring,” O’Leary smiles. “Now I love going out to eat and drinking good wine. But then it’s not good to live like a monk. Live like a monk from the start and it will last for years to come.”
“If Sir Alex was too friendly, I was worried because you weren't a threat.”
O'Leary has now witnessed this first hand. half a century of successive Arsenal managers, notably George Graham, who actively sought his advice long before offering him the job as Leeds assistant manager.
It was a remarkable learning experience, and over the next seven Premier League seasons as manager of Leeds and then Aston Villa, O'Leary's side finished in the top six five times, finished in the top four three times and reached the semi-finals of both UEFA Cups. and the Champions League. This drew a compliment from Sir Alex Ferguson when, at a time when Leeds were in serious trouble, the United manager personally recommended him for the Celtic job. “Alex was tactical off the field too,” he says. «I always found him wonderful, but if he was too friendly, I was worried because you weren't a threat.»
David O'Leary has had a wonderful four years as Leeds United manager. Photo: PA/Tom Hevezi
The various trials and tribulations at Leeds could fill several books, but now there is a feeling that life is coming full circle. after a decade spent at Arsenal. «I think the thing that probably won't break my record for most appearances is that there were a lot of games where I woke up on a Saturday morning, felt terrible about some injury, but played anyway,» he says. O'Leary. “Can a psychologist get into my head now and say, 'You're playing too many minutes?' I've been hanging around here off and on for 50 years. In fact, on Sunday, in this wonderful atmosphere, I looked down and thought, “Oh my God, Dave, you're so lucky.”
“We know how things change, but if no one gets carried away, and if handled correctly, I think the club is moving in such a great direction.»
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