There is no doubt that with three managers and an 8th place finish, this has not been one of Arsenal’s better years, but we have improved dramatically under Mikel Arteta and can only be proud that he has led us to his first trophy after just 8 months at the club, while having to deal with a global pandemic.
When he arrived he explained that he knew how the club worked and wanted the Gunners to return to their former glory, and so far he has stuck to his word completely. After our historic 14th FA cup win yesterday he sent a heartfelt message to the fans. “It’s a great start!” he said on Arsenal.com.
“Thank you so much for being so supportive all the time and for the reception I got on the first day when I walked through this incredible door.
“I completely understood that the needs of this football club are so high and I want to meet those demands. I know that there are expectations and this trophy is for them, for them to enjoy and for them to be proud of their club and their support and the players that they always cheer for.
“Hopefully they can enjoy it together and maintain the distance, please. I want them to enjoy it because it’s all yours!
“I had only one mission when I came here and it was to make the players and the staff believe that we could do it,’ he added. “We had to change that energy and that mentality.
“Just by seeing them in the dressing room all together, the way they enjoy the professionalism and their time together… it makes me more proud and it’s a consequence of that, that afterwards we can achieve things and win titles together.”
He certainly has made an excellent start to his managerial career after so many years as Arsenal’s midfielder and captain under Arsene Wenger. If Arteta is half as successful as his mentors Guardiola and Wenger, I for one will be over the moon…
My manager
Up the Gunners! Down the chickens!
AdminPat, there is an older fans school of thought that thnks any season with silverware won is by definition a successful one. We have deservedly won and in some style, against all odds and mainstream predictions(including my own)theoldest and most famous trophy in football history. I’d say that makes this a highly successful season with Europa qual as a lovely bonus. This would never have happened without MA in hisposition. Would it Mogunna, with your juvenile “assistant coach” jibe!
I should also add that any Gooner who cannot see the stand out a mile leadership qualities , drive and dynamism of MA is not only short sighted but none too bright. He has transformed a gloomy picture when he came into a “can do and will do” thinking with all the players( bar Ozil and Guendouzi, more fool them both) on board and obviously so!
No more silly comments please from wet behind the ears “would be” fans who have regularly insulted him ever since he arrived here, with jibes like ” just an assistant coach ” and “no pedigree.”
Some rash and unthinking people just cannot and will not see what almost every other Gooner sees so very clearly. Let them now be quiet and hang their silly heads in shame. At least until they learn a little about life !
I agree with everything @ Jon Fox wrote/said!by the way there is no shame in admitting to doubting MA or not wanting him in the first place…in any case it is time for those people to admit the progess, improvements made since he came in and give him the credit and respect he has earned!
My non Arsenal supporting husband kept saying to me, ‘how on Earth are Arsenal still winning games under Emery?’ ‘It’s awful football’. After Baku and into season 2 the breakdown in trust between him and the players became ever more obvious and bit by bit it was drawing the team towards the bottom of the league. I really feared a relegation scrap. Confidence drained away from the players and this in turn caused a dreadful relationship to develop between the fans and Emery, with ultimately brought the Xhaka and Ozil sagas to centre stage and most of the squad being vilified for poor performances and criticised mercilessly by all of us.
Arteta has been an absolute revelation to me. He was so articulate and sensible. I could believe in him. Right from the off, even when results were slow to improve and the doublers were still doubting.
Such was the task that lay in front of him I’m actually gobsmacked that we finished 8th and won the cup. To completely change a bunch of no hopers into a cup winning team shows just how much those same players believed in Arteta and were prepared to fight.
Having been written off, I love the video that circulated last night of Arteta and the players dancing round the trophy going nuts in the dressing room. It was a team effort and that camaraderie was in full display
By winning the FA cup Arteta has made the team proud to be gunners and as a fan my faith has been restored and I’m a proud gooner
At SueP
Not all of us. You call players all sorts of dirty names my fellow gunner but not all of us.
I realised that mistake Jah son soon after I posted that but it was too late to retract it – but of course you are absolutely right
It should have been ‘many’ not all
I’ve just re read your post
Can you tell me when I have called players dirty names??