Bern Leno gave us an insight into what Mikel Arteta addressed in his first training session.
The Spaniard has arrived at Arsenal with a clear picture of reigniting their fire as a team.
He watched from the stands as a lacklusture Gunners side drew against Everton last Saturday. This was after the 0-3 drubbing they took from Manchester City at the Emirates. Arteta was in the bleachers right next to Pep Guardiola for that one.
He has recognized one of the main issues percolating within the Arsenal ranks, which is a lack of passion and fighting spirit. Arteta held his first training session with the players on Monday, looking very animated just like Pep while he was at it.
When asked about the 37-year-old’s approach, Leno revealed, “He didn’t speak too much about quality or about tactics, he just said he wants to see players who run, who support their team-mates, who defend the goal, play as a team.
“I think this was our main problem [before]. We played this season some good games, like this, but many games we were not good enough on this point. I think this is the way he needs to push us. We understood the message.
“We didn’t let [Everton] have any transitions and the distances [between our defenders and their attackers] were much closer. This is the only way to play, because the Premier League is too strong to have one, two or three players that don’t defend.”
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