‘I was terrified’: Mikel Arteta recalls fear during first days as Arsenal boss
The IndependentSign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Mikel Arteta admits he was initially “terrified” when he took over at Arsenal five years ago but he is now relishing the challenge of pursuing perfection. The only way of doing it is to start day by day, to start to experience that, to start to get close to the players and the staff and see it can work.” Remoulding Arsenal’s ethos was a paramount priority for the former club captain, who three weeks after Unai Emery’s sacking took over a 10th-placed side languishing as close to the bottom of the Premier League table as they were to the top. open image in gallery Mikel Arteta prioritised transforming Arsenal’s club culture “Whether its players, as staff, in all kinds of roles, in all kinds of responsibilities. “So in the first season, we had to put the energy and big decisions into making sure those roots were clean and were in the right context and in the right place to be able to create and build what we wanted to build.” While Arteta would not reveal the identity of his mystery consultant, he said the person was “special a really good friend of mine.” Silverware has eluded Arteta so far, but his side took a step closer to securing some on Wednesday night when Gabriel Jesus’ hat-trick secured a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace to set up a meeting with Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.