If the sporting yield is small, the hope for improvement is great. For the fans of FC Arsenal, Mikel Arteta (37) is the symbol of this hope. The Spanish coach has been with the Gunners since 22 December, and since then much has changed at the Premier League club.
What exactly has changed, German keeper Bernd Leno (27) explained before Arsenal FC’s home game against Newcastle United on Sunday. The goalkeeper said: “He has already influenced a lot of things in the short time he has been here. You can tell by the intensity with which we play. The structure within the team and the mentality on the pitch is quite different.”
Leno, who moved from Bayer Leverkusen to England in 2018 for 25 million euros, continues: “I wouldn’t say it was all crap before his time, but it was a bit confusing, everyone did their thing, we weren’t a team. Not in the dressing room, not on the pitch. And you could see that.”
By the end of Arsene Wenger’s term of office, Arsenal had already had major problems that his successor Unai Emery (who came in July 2018) was unable to solve. The Spaniard was dismissed at the end of November.
Leno has conceded seven goals in the seven league games with Arteta on the sidelines, and 27 in the 18 Premier League games before that. The German keeper says: “I think with Mikel, things have changed completely. On the day he came, he didn’t talk much about tactics, he talked about how to behave in the dressing room. Before matches we should behave more professionally, act more like a team.”