Arteta has already made a big difference at Arsenal, says Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has praised the early work done by new Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, believing the Spaniard is just what the club requires as they move in a “different direction”.

Arteta started his reign with a 1-1 draw away at Bournemouth on December 26, with Aubameyang scoring a second-half equaliser to secure a point.

His first home game sees Chelsea visit Emirates Stadium on Sunday, the London derby a key fixture for the Gunners as they look to make up ground and get back involved in the battle to finish in the top four in the Premier League.

In his programme notes, Aubameyang revealed how Arteta has been “very rigorous and demanding” during training sessions as he aims to put his imprint on the team – something you could already see in their performance against Bournemouth.

“He’s only been in charge for a few days, but we’ve seen a big difference already. We needed someone who would come in and shake the whole squad up,” Aubameyang wrote.

“We needed someone with new ideas, with a new message and someone who would take us in a different direction. Mikel has brought all of that. We needed a fresh new start and something different and we can feel it already.

“He is very rigorous and demanding on the training pitch. It’s all about details with him so he talks a lot, repositions us, explains a lot of little things.

“If you analyse our display against Bournemouth closely, you can see tactically the changes that Mikel made, like the positions of our two full-backs, Mesut [Ozil] and I playing between the lines behind Laca [Alexandre Lacazette], Granit [Xhaka]’s position as well in the build-up play.”

The homecoming.

 @m8arteta#ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/dD8VyNyvbf

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 29, 2019

Arteta left his role as assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City to return to Arsenal and has quickly lifted spirits within the club, according to Aubameyang.

“His message to the players was clear and well received. It was about attitude and commitment,” the Gabon international continued.

“He wants us to be at 200 per cent all the time, to give everything we have and leave it all on the pitch. It’s exciting for us because it’s so different to everything we have done and experimented with before.

“It is a new dawn and you can feel how positive everyone is at the club about it.”