Mikel Arteta was recently named as the new Arsenal head coach and the Spaniard’s first game in charge will be against Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
He was in the stands during the Gunners 0-0 draw against Everton as Freddie Ljungberg took charge of that game. Ahead of the Boxing day fixture, Arteta has revealed that he has seen encouraging signs from his players already. He told BBC:
“We are much more committed, we have a different kind of aggression every time we lose the ball. The body language was much, much better than in the past few games.”
“Obviously there were things to improve but those things have to be non-negotiable.
“Those things have to be on the table in every game, every training session and the way we’re going to live together.”
It has not been an ideal start to the season for the North London club as they currently sit in 11th place, nine points behind 4th placed Chelsea.
If they are to reduce that gap, they will have to be committed and it is good to know that Arteta is already seeing that on the training ground. The Spaniard has a difficult task at hand as he looks to get the club back on track after a run of disastrous results that resulted in the departure of Unai Emery.
Arteta has already confirmed that interim boss Freddie Ljungberg will continue to remain on his coaching staff along with new additions Stuivenberg and Steve Round. Hopefully, all of them together will be able to bring Arsenal back into the Champions League.
This is easier said than done but if Arteta will be able to pull off this feat then it will be an impressive achievement. Though he has not managed a game of club football, he is considered to be an exciting appointment.
And adding to that is the time that he has spent under Arsene Wenger as a player and Pep Guardiola as a coach. It will be interesting to see how much both these men influence the Spaniard’s managerial style.
The first step in this journey will be to get a win against Bournemouth and get the ball rolling.
