Mikel Arteta has explained how Arsenal were in a "difficult state" when he took over as boss in December.
The Gunners were struggling in mid-table after a disappointing start to the season under former manager Unai Emery.
In addition to their poor results, a toxic atmosphere amongst the club's support led to a bitter exchange with Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka.
Arteta's arrival was seen as a sign of a fresh start, and the Spaniard admitted he has been buoyed by the reaction he has received from those at the Emirates.
"I went through a lot when I got here... I had eight or 10 players injured, and there were a lot of issues to deal with," Arteta told Sky Sports.
"The connection between fans, players and club was in a difficult state at that moment. We had to change that energy, the belief and the commitment from the players."
It took Arsenal a few weeks to get show any signs of improvement under Arteta, with the turning point coming in a New Years' Day win over Man Utd.
He added: "I was very pleased because everyone was on board with what we were doing. We started to win three or four games in a row and there was a much more positive mindset around the place."
Arteta's problems have not gone away yet though, with Arsenal still needing a significant rebuild if they are to challenge for major honours.
Despite the loan arrivals of Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares in the January transfer window, Arteta has largely had to make do with his current crop of stars until the coming summer.
But the Arsenal boss has now revealed the coronavirus crisis could put his transfer plans on ice, due to the economic uncertainty.
“I’m planning two or three different scenarios that we can face and depending on one of those three we can may be do more, less or nothing. We don’t know," he said.
“We have to react daily to that, we don’t know the financial situation and what the rules are going to be, the timing, we don’t know the window and there’s so many things we can’t control at the moment."
