ARTETA’S GETTING IT RIGHT OFF THE PITCH BUT ARSENAL ARE STILL IN A MESS ON IT

Mesut Ozil talks of going ‘back to the old Arsenal virtues’ and shkodran Mustafi says there is a clearer ‘structure’ and a better understanding. Mikel Arteta has made a positive impact in the dressing room and lifted the mood around the club. Keen to extend his message to all departments, he popped into the ticket office at the emirates stadium ahead of the sheffield united game to thank everyone for their hard work. Arteta has re-established lines of communication and brought people back together in his short time in charge. Perhaps it feels more like the old Arsenal on the inside, although some things will be harder to change. the habit of conceding late goals, for example, and surrendering a lead, and failing to kill a game when they are in control. Arteta has been unable to jolt them from the habit of drawing too often and surrendering points. No Premier league team has drawn more than Arsenal’s 11 and only three have won fewer after 23 games: Watford, Norwich and Bournemouth. they are 15 points adrift of the top four as they prepare to visit Chelsea tomorrow. ‘When you are first or second in the league, you always want to look at the table and you enjoy looking at the table,’ said Mustafi. ‘But at the moment it is not important. ‘We have a lot of games to go. We just need to go from game to game to win games. to work, try to put into games things we are told by the boss. everyone is trusting him and the ideas he has.’ if Arsenal were disappointed with a draw, then so were visitors sheffield united. Chris Wilder joked that those players who were negotiating new contracts on the back of an impressive start to life at this level ought to be careful. ‘A few of them might have to hurry up and sign them,’ said Wilder with a smile. ‘they might have to liven up because the contracts might be getting whipped out from underneath them.’ the Blades started and finished the game with their trademark energy and claimed a point when John Fleck equalised in the 83rd minute. ‘the lads aren’t used to losing games,’ said Callum Robinson, who supplied the cross. ‘We could have got the win in the end.’ Arsenal controlled long periods with little threat and should have built on the opener

created by one teenager, Bukayo Saka, and scored by another, Gabriel Martinelli, in the last minute of the first half. It was a ninth of the season for 18-year-old Brazilian Martinelli and he rose to the challenge of replacing Pierre-emerick Aubameyang, who was starting a three-match ban. Arteta insisted the late collapse was no repeat of the lost concentration which cost them two points on their previous outing at Crystal Palace. ‘Against Palace we switched off and paid the price,’ said Arteta. ‘But I don’t think this was concentration. I think it is game management. ‘There are one hundred million decisions to make in one football match and 22 players making them 180 beats per minute.’ There is much work to do for Arteta but at least he has senior players with him. ‘everyone is smiling, laughing, enjoying their time at the moment and this will hopefully make us more successful,’ said Ozil. ‘It is basically getting us back to the old Arsenal virtues. Fighting and having possession, being in control of the game, having the ball all the time.’ His thoughts were echoed by Mustafi, who added: ‘we struggled a bit with our structure. For us, it was important to get someone in like Mikel who knows exactly what he wants from each player. This is the way we can perform only when someone like him comes in and tells us exactly what he wants and stick to the plan. It makes everything a lot easier.’