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Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has warned Mikel Arteta that his tactics are not magic."

The ex-Inter Milan, Roma, Real Madrid, Porto, Tottenham, and Manchester United coach spoke about how Arsenal defended for a draw at Manchester City earlier this season.

Mourinho felt that Arteta was heavily praised for those tactics, even though he is often criticized for setting up his own teams too defensively.

I am happy because I like the kid," Mourinho told The Telegraph.

And I am happy everything goes for him. But the way they [Arsenal] played to get that point - and the way the media spoke about a magic strategy.

In my time, it was not a magic strategy. And I won at Manchester City a few times. But it was not an amazing strategy. It was a defensive game. Park the bus. Park the double bus. It was a different perspective.

"How many central defenders do they have in the team? Sometimes they have six. As a matter of principle. Then they play in other positions. They play right-back, left-back, they play midfield. But they play with five or six central defenders on the pitch. They feel the need for defensive stability and a defensive compactness."

This article first appeared on Tribal Football and was syndicated with permission.

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