Alan Shearer has paid tribute to Mikel Arteta for transforming Arsenal.
The Gunners go into this international break as top dogs in the Premier League following a 3-0 victory at Brentford on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal have won six of their first seven Premier League outings this season, with the only blemish being a 3-1 defeat at Manchester United.
If things continue like this, Arteta’s side will be heavily tipped to challenge for the title.
What a difference a year can make because after seven games of the 2021-22 campaign, Arsenal had lost three and drawn once.
The North Londoners wound up missing out on Champions League qualification by a point last term, but Shearer can see a massive improvement in the team this time around and has praised the Spanish manager for bringing about the difference.
He told BBC Sport: “In just over a year, Arteta has not just built a different team, he has transformed the mood of the whole club. He deserves great credit for that, because he got a lot of criticism after the way they started last season, with three straight defeats.
Eyebrows were raised when Arsenal handed Arteta a new £160,000-a-week contract before last season had finished – and even more eyebrows were raised when they ultimately failed to finish fourth.
However, the former Manchester City assistant clearly has believers in the club’s hierarchy and those believers are looking vindicated at the moment.
It’s taken a while, but Arsenal are definitely headed in the right direction under Arteta and long may it last from their perspective.
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