Arsenal is being cured of sickness by Mikel Arteta according to Gunners’ legend, Emmanuel Petit.
The Frenchman claims that his former side was “sick” all-around before Arteta became their manager and he has hailed the job being done by the former Manchester City assistant manager.
Arteta was named Arsenal manager late last year as Unai Emery was struggling to keep the team together and get good results.
The Spaniard has since changed a few things around the Emirates most notably a defence that has struggled all year round.
There have also been changes in players’ performance with stars who were struggling under Emery now exceeding fans’ expectations.
Petit credits Mikel Arteta with these positive changes and claims that the players seem to buy into his philosophy of how the club should be run and that has brought those changes.
“When Mikel Arteta took over at Arsenal, the team was sick,” Petit said as quoted by Goal.com.
“Sick on the pitch and in the dressing room. They were losing shape and blindly going nowhere. They were weak.
“Now, after several weeks of the Arteta regime I’ve seen different things happening in terms of intensity, togetherness and work rate off the ball.
“The mentality is different and some players are getting back to form, like Granit Xhaka. I’m very pleased with how he has played and the mentality he has shown.
“Mesut Ozil has looked better on occasion and I’m happy with what I see from Lucas Torreira.
“The players seem to be getting the message from Arteta and I think it’s clear what he wants from them on and off the pitch in terms of discipline and commitment. It looks like they’re following the rules he sets out on the training pitch.
“They haven’t been winning as many games as they’d like but they also haven’t been losing. More goals are needed if they want to win, which is the major problem.
“The first priority when Arteta took over was to stop the team conceding stupid goals, and he has done that. But in the meantime they’re suffering a bit up front – I think if they keep playing like this that, sooner or later, they’re going to win games.”
Arsenal is currently 10th on the league table, but the fans will be hopeful that they can go on a run of wins when they return from their camp in Dubai.
Certainly MA deserves credit for having changed the mindset of the Arsenal players. They look better physically and mentally. The only problem is that we are not scoring of late but it will improve soon starting from the Newcastle game.