Arsenal hero Charlie Nicholas has already been impressed by Mikel Arteta, identifying how the Spaniard has quickly shown his leadership qualities.
The former club captain returned to the Emirates Stadium last week and was in the stands for the goalless draw against Everton at Goodison Park.
That result left Arsenal in the bottom half of the Premier League for Christmas, nine points behind Chelsea in fourth spot, and facing a stern fight to claw their way up the table.
However, fans are optimistic that Arteta can steady the ship following a disappointing 18 months since the great Arsene Wenger saw his time at the club end.
While Arteta is a long way off replicating his former manager, Nicholas has been impressed with one aspect of his reign so far and has predicted a 3-1 win for the Gunners.
"I hope it is a good news story for Mikel Arteta's first game. As much as I am pleased, Freddie Ljungberg will be most pleased that Arteta is in. His comments on the Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette situations were shameful. What was he saying?" he told Sky Sports.
"I will support all of the youngsters wholeheartedly, but the one thing I already like about Arteta is that he had them in on Sunday, which shows his leadership qualities already, to say this is poor and start straight away to get them in and rebuild.
"When Nicolas Pepe settles in, with Lacazette through middle, Arsenal are a really encouraging front three with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Arteta cannot sort the defence, and he will go with a more aggressive mentality, and this will begin to pay off in this match.
