Mikel Arteta has recalled a game against Arsenal which left the former Manchester City assistant keen to work his magic at the Emirates Stadium.
Before Arteta arrived, Arsenal found themselves in a real slump and were struggling to qualify for the Champions League, while his City side were routinely flying right at the very top of the Premier League.
It was during a meeting with Arsenal shortly before he joined the club that Arteta became aware of the problems at the Emirates and vowed to help his former side recover.
“This started three years ago,” Arteta explained to Marca. “I was Pep’s assistant at City, we played against Arsenal and I saw that the soul of the club had been lost. You couldn’t enjoy it, you couldn’t feel it.
“I knew that there was the option of, shortly after, being on the other bench and I knew that this club is so big that you had to connect the team with the fans. It has been hard to do and undo… and now I feel happy.
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“We have a clear identity, there is union and we are full of energy. That’s the biggest. From top to bottom, they all push in the same direction. We give the fan something to dream about and be proud of. And now, you have to earn more.”
Arsenal’s decline had begun towards the end of the Arsene Wenger era at the Emirates and Arteta spoke of the need to go back to basics to revert the downward spiral.
“It was very clear. I drew a tree and its roots, and said that the problem was ours,” he explained.
“All that had to be cured, and cured with people who got involved. Without it, there would be no public entertainment.”
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