Arsenal: 4 reasons we absolutely love this team

4. Mikel Arteta

It has taken time for many to warm to the manager. Which is actually quite peculiar when you consider he captained the club to trophies during his time as a player.

Firmly behind him to begin with, the dip in performances and results, his poor signings, and his frosty and almost unwelcoming persona all contributed to a fracture in the relationship. He arrived into toxicity, added to it to some degree, and the ruthlessness of some of his decisions, such as ousting Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, contributed to the divisions in the fanbase.

But why has he done what he’s done? Everything he’s done has been for the benefit of the club. The cultural reset and turnover of players has been unprecedented, and while he’s made many mistakes during his tenure, this is clearly a very intelligent and diligent man.

He’s building something here. What we’re seeing wouldn’t be in place were it not for him.

Arsenal play and exciting brand of football now, have a clear recruitment strategy in place, and have the best connection with the supporters than perhaps during the entirety of the Emirates era.

Arteta is on course to be one of the finest managers in the game. He has all the tools, and he is still less than 40 years old.

To believe in this team is to also believe in Arteta. Right now that is very much the case. You can tell that these are his players and that they will jump through hoops for him, and the end result is what we’re seeing every week.

He isn’t so bad after all.