A manager is one big reason a player may sign for a particular team. This is the reason players do, on occasions, change their mind when another manager calls them to join his team instead.
Arsenal could beat teams to some very important signings because of Arsene Wenger when the Frenchman was in charge of the Gunners, I wonder if Mikel Arteta will have the same pull.
This is the Spaniard’s first job as a senior manager after being an assistant manager to Pep Guardiola for a while.
He signed two players in the last transfer window. To be fair, no one was competing with him for either player. So his attraction as a manager has yet to be tested.
With the summer transfer window looming, several players have been linked with a move to the Emirates.
Does Arteta have the reputation that Arsenal can sell to these players yet? I doubt that.
I know that Arteta is undeniably talented as a manager, but even Jurgen Klopp, who had been very successful at Borussia Dortmund, struggled to sign top players when he came to Liverpool.
The German signed players that few teams wanted to buy like Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, yet he has made them top stars and enhanced his reputation, now most players want to play for him, well, that is how it looks from where I am sat.
I think Arteta can follow that pattern; he doesn’t have the reputation that would make top players choose Arsenal, however, he can do a magnificent job with those at his disposal.
With time players will be eager to play for Arsenal again, that I am absolutely convinced of.
