Mikel Arteta has admitted he felt the energy was not right at Arsenal when he first arrived at the club.
The Spaniard took over from interim boss Freddie Ljungberg in December after previous manager Unai Emery departed in November following a largely disappointing tenure.
When Arteta arrived as head coach, Arsenal sat 10th in the Premier League and seven points behind Chelsea in fourth place; they have since moved up a place to ninth in the table, but are now eight points adrift of their London rivals.
The former Arsenal midfielder initially acknowledged there would be no quick fix, stating: "I'm realistic enough to know it won't happen overnight, but the current squad has plenty of talent and there is a great pipeline of young players coming through from the academy."
Arteta has now revealed he feels he inherited a disconnected squad, and believes there was a negative energy both within the squad and at the stadium.
Speaking to Arsenal legend Ian Wright as part of Adidas' 'I’m Going To Call You' campaign, Arteta said: "Coming into the club in that moment wasn't easy. You [Wright] mentioned a keyword, which is energy.
"I felt that the energy at the training ground and the stadium wasn't right for this magnificent club.
"I was lucky enough to play here, so everybody has to feel first of all in that way.
"There was a lot of disconnection and I wanted to bring everyone together.
"Firstly, for everyone to understand how lucky we are to be here, and then a very clear direction of where we want to be."
