Arsenal has come under a scanner a lot lately and has also been called many names but we can see somewhat of a more calm and composed feeling with the appointment of Manager Mikel Arteta.
Arteta has managed to make a few changes but we have to be realistic and say that it will certainly take him sometime before Arsenal can go back to their glory days of being invincibles or maybe even playing in the champions league.
Its been a mixed start to life under Arteta but they have certainly shown signs of promise. Arteta has been a hugely inspirational figure for Arsenal and that is evident even in the way that the players in the dressing room look up to him.
Arteta was an appointment that was made keeping Arsenal’s culture in mind and looks like a great deal, to be honest. Let us take a look at some of the finer details of his personality and relatively young coaching career.
He has two assistants who work along with him: Steve Round and Albert Staivenberg with the former more focused on establishing the elite culture and navigating through the personal relations of the coach and his players whereas the latter focuses more on the tactical and technical development of the team.
Arteta likes to diversify and constantly expand his thinking which is why he also took part in several webinars when he was in the lockdown one of which involved meeting with the likes of the Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay and England Rugby Union boss Eddie Jones.
Arteta prefers to play from the back which I would like to think gets its influence from the time that he spent under the apprenticeship of Pep Guardiola who is a big promoter of possession-based football and playing from the back rather than just hoicking the ball forward in the hope that your players can get to it.
Arteta has the ability to inspire belief in his players and is not afraid to make big decisions such as omitting Pepe and Ozil for the game against Man City. He has a much better rapport with his team players and fans than his predecessor Unai Emery had.
He demands utter professionalism from his players but also has a better sense of humor and is referred to as Mister or Mikel by his players rather than ‘Boss’.
Mikel has also taken a fun part of the man city dressing room called the Wheel of Fortune and brought it to the Arsenal Dressing room. Where people will be punished for minor incidents such as being late to a team meeting by spinning the wheel that includes a list of petty tasks that can be cleaning the dressing room or even polishing the captain’s car.
Arteta seems like a great choice and a lot of the youngsters are getting their due and his presence will only help speed up their growth process but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. Arsenal still needs some strengthening to do in some very important positions.
They have a relatively good attack and a midfield that can-do wonders on its day but a consistently performing central defensive partnership is still something that they lack.
If they can make some transfers that will solidify this defence and maybe another defensive midfielder to cement the back can really do wonders for a team that certainly has the potential to do a lot of damage if they are nurtured and given the optimal resources.
Hopefully, they will be able to reach the heights of the Arsenal Invincibles one day and there is still a long way ahead but the appointment of Mikel Arteta is certainly a step in the right direction. We just hope that he can contribute to them as much as a manager as he did as a player.
