NO ONE LAUGHS AT ARTETA’S ARSENAL NOW

THIS time last year Arsenal had become a laughing stock. The team were drifting, it was all too much for Unai Emery and — while you may disagree — one of the things I feel made the situation even worse was the reaction and hysteria on Arsenal Fan TV. Supporters from other clubs were rubbing their hands together after every bad result, so they could log on, watch the shouting and screaming and how fans were turning on their own players. It’s nearly 12 months to the day, remember, since they booed their own captain, Granit Xhaka, in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at the Emirates. I thought it would be a long way back for Arsenal. However, it’s proven to be anything but. Nobody is laughing at them now, and that’s credit to Mikel Arteta. The start he has made to his managerial career is outstanding — and not just because he has won two trophies. Losing Arteta was a big, big blow to tonight’s opponents Manchester City. I got a glimpse into the way he works last year, when I was at the training ground on ambassadorial work. Arteta was taking a session and I was struck by the way he was dictating what he wanted — and how the players responded. He’s taken everything great from Pep Guardiola and then put his own twist on things. He’s instilled discipline and made it clear there will be no messing around. Just look at how he’s dealt with Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil. Ozil isn’t playing because he will not press the way Arteta wants him to do. It’s no coincidence Guendouzi has been sent on loan to Hertha Berlin, having not kicked a ball since Arsenal’s game at Brighton in June. He was involved in a spat with Neal Maupay and was said to have asked their players how much they were earning. Whatever happened, Arteta sent him on his way. It’s important to point out, however, that this is only a start. Let’s be honest, Arteta hasn’t lifted a side who were marooned at the bottom of the table and then taken them to unprecedented heights. He walked into a club who had one of the world’s best strikers in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a £72million winger in Nicolas Pepe; he signed Willian and he has a brilliant talent emerging in 21-year-old Eddie Nketiah. When you add in the fact they have just signed Thomas Partey — and what an unbelievable piece of business that could prove, as the Ghanaian was outstanding for Atletico Madrid — Arteta has a lot of quality to choose from. Really, Arsenal should be looking at the top four, but their defence still bothers me — is Gabriel the right standard? They are moving in the right direction. Although they are a long way from the peaks of Arsene Wenger’s reign, the picture is improving. And no one is laughing at them any more.