Hector Bellerin explains why Mikel Arteta is the right man to take Arsenal forward

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  • Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has no doubt that Mikel Arteta will be a long-term success at the club.

    According to the Spain full-back, Unai Emery’s replacement has set about laying the foundations for a bright future.

    “Mikel has been an appointment to build upon. He has the philosophy of Arsenal from the start, when he came as a player,” Bellerin said at Arsenal’s training camp at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex in Dubai, UAE.

    “They knew that he was the right person to lead the dressing room because he became a captain as well. I think it’s a great choice and that it’s [good] for the future.

    “That’s the way we’re training as well. We obviously want to win the games that we have in hand but we also want to build a good foundation.

    “It doesn’t matter what first XI is starting on the pitch, everyone knows what their job is.”

    Asked about the difference between Emery and Arteta as managers, Bellerin highlights the latter’s tactical insight and effect on the dressing room.

    He said:They’re very different types of managers. Mikel has always been very tactical in the way he’s worked. His whole life he’s been very professional and with very clear ideas.

    “He’s put that into the team really quickly and the discipline in the dressing room has changed a lot.”

    Arsenal are already starting to benefit from Arteta’s impact but results haven’t always reflected that with the new boss overseeing three wins, five draws and a defeat in his opening nine games.

    Bellerin is, nevertheless, confident that the team is on the right track and it’s only a matter of time until they turn draws into victories.

    He said: “It’s early doors. He has a new philosophy and new ideas. I think that the way the team has implemented that in the last few games, it’s clear that there’s been a big change.

    “I think sometimes we just need to be a bit more efficient in front of goal but that’s something that’s also due to confidence.

    “When you see that you’re playing better and you’re controlling games better, that’s something that will come at the end of the day and I’m sure you’re going to see that very quickly.”

    Arsenal are 10-points adrift of Chelsea in fourth place, but Bellerin insists qualifying for the Champions League remains the minimum target for the club.

    He said: “We can always make top four. That’s the least target that Arsenal can have.

    “For now we need to get the ideas that the boss wants to implement, get it to a hundred per cent and then we can build from there.

    “If we can play every game and control every game the way we want to, then top four is just something that is going to come.”

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