Arsenal’s captain Mikel Arteta has been at the club since the summer of 2011 and he is really impressed with our massive improvement in that short time. The Spanish magician missed most of last season through injury but it seems the 33 year-old will be given a one-year extension by Wenger and if so he will probably retain the captainship.
So now he has given his captains end-of-term report on Arsenal.com, and it seems that he has been extremely impressed! “The development of this group in the last three or four years has been magnificent,” he said. ”To get to a stage where we are now, the people we have in the dressing room, the way we behave, the way we believe, the way we play for each other and look after each other is phenomenal.
“That’s not up to me, it’s up to all the players and all the effort from the staff and everyone involved at the club. So I’m very pleased with what we’ve got.
“I’m not a captain that likes to do everything by himself. We’ve got players and characters here that are very good for the group and I keep them involved all the time. It’s not about my ideas or my beliefs, it’s about getting a taste of what players need.
“They are different ages and different cultures and they come in at different times as well. With processes that we go through during the season, I get a lot of help from the lads.”
I am sure that he is right that the team spirit and the culture may well have improved in his 4 years, and Arsenal even improved their points total every year until this season….
2011/12 3rd 70pts
2012/13 4th 73pts
2013/14 4th 79pts
2014/15 3rd 75pts
…but our position in the League pecking order hasn’t changed that much in the four years that Arteta has been here. I know we are all extra confident of pushing on next season, and really challenging for the League title, but I can’t help thinking back to this time last summer when we were all thinking exactly the same thing….