Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has heaped praise on Gunners head coach Mikel Arteta after his first few weeks in charge at the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta was appointed as the permanent successor to Unai Emery in December after a poor start to the season left the Gunners some way adrift of the Premier League top four.
Pep Guardiola's former assistant has overseen some positive performances since taking charge, although Arsenal still find themselves in 10th place in the table, 10 points adrift of fourth place Chelsea.
But, speaking to Paddy Power, Petit says he is optimistic over the Gunners' future under Arteta, as he delivered a scathing verdict on the situation he inherited after Emery's time in charge.
"When Mikel Arteta took over at Arsenal, the team was sick,” he said.
“Sick on the pitch and in the dressing room. They were losing shape and blindly going nowhere. They were weak.
“Now, after several weeks of the Arteta regime I’ve seen different things happening in terms of intensity, togetherness and work rate off the ball.
“The mentality is different and some players are getting back to form, like Granit Xhaka. I’m very pleased with how he has played and the mentality he has shown.
“Mesut Ozil has looked better on occasion and I’m happy with what I see from Lucas Torreira.
“The players seem to be getting the message from Arteta and I think it’s clear what he wants from them on and off the pitch in terms of discipline and commitment. It looks like they’re following the rules he sets out on the training pitch."
Since Arteta took charge in north London, Arsenal have won three, drawn five and lost one match in all competitions.
The Gunners are currently unbeaten in 2020, but a 0-0 draw with Burnley was their fourth stalemate in a row in the Premier League.
“They haven’t been winning as many games as they’d like but they also haven’t been losing. More goals are needed if they want to win, which is the major problem," Petit added.
“The first priority when Arteta took over was to stop the team conceding stupid goals, and he has done that. But in the meantime they’re suffering a bit up front – I think if they keep playing like this that, sooner or later, they’re going to win games.”
