Arteta suggests his transformation of Arsenal is unprecedented
Mikel Arteta admits that the level of upheaval he has overseen as Arsenal manager is unprecedented.
Arteta has recovered from a difficult start to the season, during which the Gunners lost their opening three Premier League games without scoring, to guide them towards Champions League qualification.
Arsenal are sixth and two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United with three games in hand.
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Their improvement has been to the surprise of many, considering the degree to which Arteta has modified the squad he inherited.
The Spaniard has sold nine and loaned out three of the 18 players that started or were on the bench for his first game, a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth in December 2019.
“It’s unheard of,” Arteta told Sky Sports of the squad transformation. “I think it’s very difficult to explain externally what it takes to do that, the thinking behind the decisions you have to make and the unpopular decisions you have to make.
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“But our responsibility is to look further into the future, to say, ‘I want to get here and I have to work backwards from there because this is the aim and if I don’t do this now, we are never going to get there’.
“That is very difficult to explain but I think between all of us, starting from the ownership, the board, Edu as our technical director and all the people in between us to make final decisions on the squad, we have been very consistent and very united.
“Because normally, when a turnaround like this happens, there is internal conflict, 100 per cent, because you cannot agree on 36 players in two years – it’s impossible.”
Asked whether he and technical director Edu had ever argued over decisions, Arteta replied: “Not rows.
“The good thing is that we have people who say what they think, then go away and work on it and present their reasons why, and that makes other people think.
“And the really important thing is that we decide whatever we decide on this table, then we leave the room, and it’s our decision.
“It’s not yours or mine, it’s our decision and we stick by it – even if we make mistakes.”
