Arsenal: Calum Chambers’ Mikel Arteta comments revealing

It is fair to say that Calum Chambers is ‘excited’ to work with new Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta. And his joyous comments about the new boss are extremely revealing.

After he sat in the stands and watched Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Everton in Freddie Ljungberg’s last game in charge as interim head coach, the Arsenal players got to work with newly appointed head coach Mikel Arteta for the first time on Sunday.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — After Everton, good luck Mikel Arteta

Quite what transpired in the training session and how positively it impacted the team, only those involved will know, but it is an exciting step in the right direction: the club is now moving forward in the post-Arsene Wenger, post-Unai Emery era, and Arteta will be the man to lead them.

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Having worked under Pep Guardiola for three-and-a-half years, garnering quite the reputation as an elite coach, especially when working with players on an individual basis, Arteta arrives in north London with little experience but a lot of furore and fanfare. And it is not just the supporters who are eager to see the impact the Spaniard might have on a talented but underperforming squad.

After the 0-0 draw with Everton, Calum Chambers, who is a former teammate of Arteta’s, having both played for Arsenal during the latter stages of Arteta’s playing career, spoke about the excitement rippling through the squad as they prepare to work with a highly-regarded coach:

"“When I first came here he was one of the senior players. He helped me and gave me advice on positional play. He was a very intelligent player, you could always tell he had that side to him. I’m excited, everyone’s excited to learn his philosophy. We just need to get our identity back. I know he wants to do that. It will take time but I know he can get that out of us. The message is we’re all excited to start working with him <…> We’re all excited to work with him, that’s the main feeling around the camp. We all showed good spirit and are excited to go in and start working with him next week.”"

Quite how much work Arteta could have gotten through in the first training session of his tenure is up for debate. With the matches coming thick and fast through the ever-busy festive period, there is little time for Arteta to drill down into a detailed overhaul of the tactical system that the players have been learning and executing under Emery and now Ljungberg.

But that does not mean he cannot have an impact on the team. As we have seen with Brendan Rodgers and Leicester City, who also took over midseason, and Frank Lampard and Chelsea, it is possible for capable coaches to enact change within a team relatively quickly. And given the underwhelming nature of Arsenal’s performances and results of late, there is a lot of improvement to be found.

This is not to pile the pressure on Arteta. I do not expect him to win matches from day one, and patience for his coaching to take true effect is undoubtedly critical. He needs years, not weeks or months. But it is extremely revealing just how excited Chambers — and presumably, by extension, other players — is to work under Arteta.

There is a ripple of excitement and expectation through London Colney. A seemingly elite coach is now in charge and the players cannot wait to work with him. And I cannot wait to see the results.