Barely three weeks into it and already Arteta has begun turning things around.
The Spaniard is fast getting his antenna wired across to his team and the initial results are encouraging and positive with Arsenal feeling the benefits since he stepped in as head coach.
Noticeably, the vibes and mood around the club are no longer that of a pervasive doom and gloom but of hope and optimism.
Mikel Arteta is certainly beginning to succeed where Unai Emery has defintely failed.
The brooding cloud of questions and doubts surrounding his relative lack of experience in club and player management has been dispelled and his players, coaching staff, club bosses, fans and even notable rival managers with impressive accolades of achievement have seen it fit to heap praise and compliments upon Arteta.
Where only a few short weeks ago he was perceived as a total management novice who might not be able to command the respect and attention of his players, he has now got their attention firmly rivetted on him and hanging on to his every word.
Only less than three weeks and only four games into the job, Arteta’s brand of discipline and unyielding attempts at cultivating a renewed Arsenal culture, brandishing terms like “non-negotiables” in media appearances, are already beginning to augur well for all and sundry at the Emirates.
When the need arose, he actually practised what he preached and gave his players a royal bollocking after their half-time debacle in their Leeds FA Cup clash.
“He shouted a lot,” accoding to Alexandre Lacazette. “He was really angry, but that’s what we need,” goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez piped in.
Arteta’s point of view was, “When I see what I don’t want to see, and I’m not talking about technically or even tactically, I cannot be happy and I have to let them know.”
And the harsh ticking off produced the desired effect Arteta wanted on his players.
It was like a totally different team that strode out onto the pitch for the second half and turned the tide against Marcelo Bielsa’s boys. Arteta’s messages had hit the bull’s eye spot on. Everyone learned from this valuable lesson, Arteta included.
He quipped that it was a “really good lesson for the team. I am learning every day about them. What they need when they lose, what they need when they win, and how they can react when they want to.”
In the space of a few weeks, Arteta has implemented a far clearer playing style than Emery managed in 18 months.
It consists of a more concerted collective effort without the ball – the kind of coordinated pressing tactics already in place at Arteta’s former club Manchester City – and a greater emphasis on dominating games with it.
This is management prudence distilled to the core basics, something that perhaps some of the more belaboured managers could pick up on in addressing their own problems at their respective clubs.