9 key Arsenal players explain Mikel Arteta’s influence: ‘He is next level’

Mikel Arteta has done a brilliant job in taking Arsenal from their lowest ebb into genuine challengers.

Don't take our word for it, ask his players – most of the key figures in the Gunners dressing room would run through brick walls for their manager and credit him for improving them as players.

We've collated quotes from nine of Arsenal's best players to tell the story of Arteta's influence and impact at the Emirates.

“As long as the right people believe in you, and they see how hard you work and what you can bring to a team, it doesn't matter what the haters say. Mikel Arteta saw something special in me, and that's all that mattered. I remember I met with him for the first time, he said, 'Just be yourself.'” Ramsdale wrote in The Players Tribune.

“Maybe some people think we make a funny match, because he's just unbelievably driven and might come across as serious. And I'm a lad who likes a joke. But for some reason, it just works.

“I remember him explaining to me that he wanted me to play a lot higher, and a lot more aggressive. And so every day in training, I would play higher, and more aggressive.”

“We spoke a bit at the beginning of the season. He was happy with what I did whilst on loan. He's a very good coach, who really knows what he's doing. He is clear in everything that he says,” Saliba told Canal Plus after returning to his parent club last summer.

“He has helped me integrate quickly into this system of play. Every day he gives advice to be better on the pitch. I came back here [to Arsenal] to impose myself and it's nice to start well, as I have.”

“When I arrived at Man City, he was ready to be the head coach since day one,” the Ukrainian told Sky Sports.

“Every single bit of his advice was so important – it was