Mikel Arteta has often been scrutinised for his man-management abilities after making a number of cut-throat decisions early into his managerial career.
He has made some calls that have raised the eyebrows of fans but they have been done to improve the dressing room atmosphere amongst the team.
It is potentially for this reason that Martin Odegaard has praised the atmosphere at the club and even described it as being better than the feeling around thirteen-time Champions League winners, Real Madrid.
Speaking about the dressing room atmosphere at Real Madrid to Norwegian outlet TV2 (via AS) , Odegaard said : “It is not easy to integrate into core of the locker room.”
However, when asked about Arsenal he said: "I think it's like that in the bigger clubs. Everything becomes a little more dispersed. I'm very happy where I am now at Arsenal, which has a very nice dressing room."
It is Arteta that certainly deserves credit for this because in the past Arsenal have been criticised for the lack of seriousness amongst the squad due to the toxic presence the team was possessed with.
And since the Spaniard’s arrival at the club, he has not accepted behaviour from any figure which could potentially damage the squad’s morale.
This was proven through the exit of Matteo Guendouzi. The Frenchman had been constantly criticised for his attitude problems which was seen by fans after his antics against Brighton in 2020 after his altercation with Neal Maupay led to the Seagull players complaining that Guendouzi was belittling them.
Arteta never gave him a Premier League start after this and shipped him out on loan to German side Hertha Berlin as soon as the transfer window opened.
The current Arsenal boss was also quick to sell Mesut Ozil at the earliest given opportunity as he was a player that caused numerous of issues in the dressing room.
It hasn’t just been the sale of players that has restored a respectable dressing room atmosphere, but it has also been down to the sanctioning of unacceptable behaviour.
An example of this was when club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived late for a team meeting before the North London derby against Spurs and because of this he was left out of the squad.
Arsenal managed to win the match 2-1 and doubts over Arteta’s handling of the situation were quickly squashed.
Only having players who are serious about the club and respect the integrity goes a long way in building a successful squad harmony which Odegaard was eluding to when speaking about the Gunners.
Whilst Arteta has been heavily questioned for being too harsh towards some of his players, clearly members of the squad appreciate the atmosphere he has created and this is a possible reason as to why the Gunners have succeeded in being able to begin turning the season on it’s head after such a poor start.
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