Laura Woods reveals she sat next to Mikel Arteta at dinner and spoke to him about two sports but not Arsenal
LAURA WOODS has revealed that she sat next to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta at dinner on Tuesday – and hardly mentioned the Gunners.
The talkSPORT host and Gunners fan attended an event at the Emirates that saw her get to chat with Arteta over a meal.
While Woodsy is loving the work the Spaniard is doing in North London, Arsenal didn’t actually come up much in their conversation.
Instead, the duo chatted away about two other sports.
Recounting her evening with co-host Ally McCoist, Woods said: “I went to the Diamond Club. At the Emirates, they have this event for the Diamond Club and box holders.
“Mikel Arteta was there, Edu was supposed to be there but couldn’t make it. Vinai Venkatesham was also there.
“It was very cool. Before you go and do the event with the Diamond Club members, you get to sit down and have a private dinner with everybody.
“I got to sit next to Mikel Arteta. It was very cool.”
When McCoist asked her what Arteta’s table manners are like, she replied: “Exceptional. Speaking of table manners, mine aren’t.
“What do you think we talked about?”
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McCoist, 60, logically guessed: “Arsenal?”
But he was wrong, with Woodsy revealing: “No, not at dinner. Eventually we did at the event later on.
“We spoke about boxing and darts. I said, ‘Have you ever been?’ He said no and I said here’s my tip.
“Go dressed up and no one will know who you are and you can go right in the pits and enjoy it.”
Woods then went on to gush over Arteta’s positive impact at her beloved club, adding: “The event was great. He was wonderful and very personable.
“You know how sometimes managers in press conferences and in the media they get asked the same questions and want to get through it and have a certain way of addressing the media.
“That’s the way managers are, but he was really relaxed last night. I can see why he has such a positive effect on the players and everyone around him.
“He’s very inspiring and talked a lot about the end of the season and what they’ve got to do. He’s literally just win, win, win.
“We spoke about the women’s team and the tickets and all of that.”
Arteta, 41, also had plenty of positive things to say about his former team-mate Jack Wilshere.
Following his retirement from playing last year, Wilshere took on a new job as Arsenal Under-18s boss.
Woods added: “We also spoke about Jack Wilshere. Jack is there with the youth team and got them to the FA Youth Cup final.
“I asked him about the qualities of Jack and does he see him as a coach in the future. He was glowing about Jack.”