Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has suggested to the club’s official website that his wide-players are now completely transformed from when he first took over.
The Gunners have kept three clean sheets in a row and now conceded just eight goals in their last 11 matches, after beating Olympiacos 1-0 in the Europa League last night.
Some will say that is some turnaround from when Unai Emery was in charge, as the Gunners looked particularly vulnerable at the back during that time.
It is credit to Arteta that he has got the likes of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Pepe buying into his philosophy.
Aubameyang has not always been the most willing player to defend, but he really has been putting in a shift since Arteta took over.
And Arteta suggests that Arsenal’s wide-players are now doing so much defensive work than they were over the early part of the season.
“I was telling them that they have to enjoy defending as well, it is a big part of the game and like tonight, if you give simple balls away, you better run back and get that ball back as quickly as possible,” he said.
“The wide players before used to have different behaviours, now they are tracking back everybody.”
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Arsenal’s win last night now have them in a strong position to qualify for the next round of the Europa League.
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 years ago
