Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been praised for his tactical changes to protect his defence.
Arteta took over in December after the sacking of Unai Emery and inherited a side with a tendency to leak goals.
Despite reverting to type and conceding twice in their 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday, Arteta has gone a long way to fixing their problems at the back.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville believes the Spaniard deserves credit for his different approach - and he has highlighted how he has been able to cleverly cover up the weaknesses at the heart of defence still present within his squad.
" Arsenal have threatened to be better under Mikel Arteta, with a lot of draws and perhaps they haven’t got the victories they would have wanted," said Neville (via Metro).
"There have been improvements in defence, up until Sunday, where they reverted to type with some really sloppy play. Everton could have scored three or four goals in that last 10 or 15 minutes.
"We always expect a bounce from new managers. You can spot the differences in Arsenal since Arteta took over.
"Arteta is trying to build from a base whereby his team have been shambolic defensively all season, trying to correct that. You have to try and stop the conceding of goals initially.
"Arsenal are well away from getting to the top, top level, and we can’t expect too many changes overnight, just small steps in the right direction.
"It’s key to get the right players in the right positions, and cover up the weaknesses, which is what Arteta is trying to do; play a system that covers for the fact his centre-backs still struggle defensively and his goalkeeper as well at times."
Arsenal still have hopes of a late run for the European places as they sit ninth in the table after three straight wins in all competitions.
They host Olympiacos on Thursday night with a 1-0 lead from the first leg of their Europa League tie.
