ARTETA'S ASSESSMENT: HIS FIRST five years AND SEASON SO FAR

Mikel, when you look back to your first day here as manager, how have you changed over the five years?

It was a dream. It became reality and it’s been five years since then. A lot has changed around myself, about my personal life and around the club and where the club stands today. If I had to overview it, a lot of it would be very positive and within that journey some very difficult moments as well that I think were necessary to be where we are today.

What is the greatest tool you have learned while being a manager?

Keep going – that’s it! Because it doesn’t matter how well or difficult the previous day was, you need to continue to go. You need to have good people on board, you have to bring the energy because, in the end, they need to be looking at you and feeling inspired and to feel part of something. When they do it’s so powerful and probably the nicest thing in my job – when you work with people around you that feel they belong here and they enjoy what they do daily.

When you arrived you said you wanted to raise the level of the players and build a connection with the supporters. How do you look back on that?

I think we’ve certainly done that and that’s one of the things I feel most proud of – that all of us have contributed to create a club and environment where we feel part of something and feel proud of what we’re doing. Now we have to win major trophies, we know that.

What did you feel the mood was around the club when you arrived?

There was that fraction and distance, a lack of belief and a lot of negativity. So many people have contributed to turn it around in a really powerful way, bring joy and belief back to the club, competing at the highest level again. Players feeling happy to be where they are, happy to come to our football club. It’s a joy to share these moments with our people. The stadium is completely transformed, so there are a lot of positives to take.

We reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2010 last season. Was that the point when you could focus more on being the coach of the team, rather than rebuilding the club?

On the sporting side, probably, because obviously to talk about Arsenal and not to talk about the Champions League, that cannot be. Achieving that and actually playing the way we did and getting to the quarter-finals after so many years was a great moment. The good thing is that now you raise expectations, you want more, the club is very ambitious, we all are. We’re not going to stop here and we want much more.

Can you see an indication of the progress by the reaction to our draws at Manchester City last season and this season?

It’s step by step. Sometimes you have an idea of what you can do and the opposition forces you to play a game that is not ideal for you and that’s credit to them, but we came so far. We were there until the last day, until the last second of the Premier League. It was a difficult one to take because of what we did with the numbers that we had in the Premier League. Not to win it was tough, but that’s what makes you better – having the opposition that has the capacity and quality to take you a step further. You know that you have to raise the level again.

Is there one match so far this season that tells you about what the team can achieve?

You learn constantly about your team and, this season, already in this period we’ve gone through a lot. A lot of unexpected things that we had to deal with and I’m amazed the way the team is reacting and continuing to evolve. They continue to improve in many areas and don’t look for excuses. Just go for it and be ruthless in the aim that we have to be the best that we can be.

And now Liverpool are top and there is another direct rival for the title...

Well, there are going to be many more changes in the next few years in this league when you look at the squads that all the clubs have and the quality they have, the managers, the structures that they have in place. I’ve never seen the league like this and I’ve been here a long time. It’s out of this world. Those are the demands and that’s the level that we have to hit. We are right there. We have our noses right in the middle of that and we want to be first.

How do you see the title race now?

It’s impossible to say because there’s so much to play for and a lot of teams are going to have to go through a lot of unexpected things. Losing a game in this league is very easy and losing the next one is very easy. You can draw the next one and in three weeks you’re in a very different position, so let’s see what happens.

The January transfer window opens soon. What can you tell us about the strategy next month?

Let’s see how we get there, hopefully the squad is going to be in a much healthier position than it is right now, but who knows? We are prepared if we need to do something, we’re capable of doing something, but then that transfer window is very tricky and difficult to control. The opportunities are very limited but we’ll be there.

How much have the injuries so far this season impacted the results and position in the table?

First of all, credit to Liverpool because they’ve been incredibly consistent and, when a team does that, normally it’s going to be leading the way. It’s true that we’ve played three games with 10 men for long periods and that has cost us points that are crucial. On top of that, we had injuries, but again that’s part of football. We cannot look at it as an excuse. We want to be better and that’s what we try to do.

We have been strong from set-pieces again this season. Does it matter to you where the goals come from?

No, it doesn’t matter. Beautiful goals, what people call ugly goals, open play, set-pieces, transition moments, fast build-ups, restarts... it doesn’t matter. At this level, the team needs many resources to surprise the opponent, to make the opponent work in different ways, to draw attention to other places and use advantages somewhere else. That’s what we do every day.

Is there a concern that the team are relying on set-pieces?

Well, we have to. Obviously when you’re attacking a very low block and the spaces are minimal and you don’t have the ability to put so many players in the box unless you want to be punished on the counter, set pieces are a great way to do it because they have to commit in a very disorganised way with a lot of players who aren’t defenders in the box. That’s an opportunity and we take everything that we can.

This is your first ever job in management, and you are now the third longest-serving manager in the Premier League. What does that mean to you?

From my side it’s just gratitude. Someone has to believe in you first and I’ve been very lucky that it was people at the football club who had a lot of courage to make the decision that they made to appoint me as manager. Then you have to earn it day by day, bring people along with you, and we did it quite quickly.

You have to start to win football matches, there’s no secret about that. The players have to start to improve, the team has to start to have a very clear idea and philosophy of how it wants to play, the supporters have to support that idea and then you have to be consistent, so for me the word is to be grateful for where I am, who I work with and the ambition.