Arteta took Arsenal job in their toughest period in football: Venkatesham heap praise on Gunners boss

The Spaniard joined on the back of a horrible run of results which led to Unai Emery's sack.

Arteta has turned things around, both on and off the pitch, the latter through impressive dedication and communication.

He has recently been upgraded to manager instead of simple head coach - and our CEO Venkatesham is sure that reflects the Spaniard's value.

"Mikel joined as head coach and, I think as you all know, he hasn’t been a head coach from the very first day he walked in the door. He has been doing much more than that," Arsenal's CEO Venkatesham said on Arteta's impact at the club.

"So we have changed his job to first-team manager and that is really a recognition of what he has been doing from the day he walked in the door and also the capabilities that we believe Mikel has.

"He has walked into probably the toughest nine-month period this football club has had in its 134-year history. I say probably, but I checked with Ken Friar and he has been here for 70 of those years and he says it is the toughest period the club has ever had. So take it from him if you don’t want to take it from me."

Arteta really did inherit a club in a precarious position but managed to improve its overall morale, performances and results. The Spaniard won the FA Cup 7 months after joining and the success has only bumped up his credentials.

Mikel is now set to play a larger role at the club following head of football Raul Sanllehi's departure and the Spaniard's recently-changed job title surely reflects this. He's played a massive role in persuading all of our newcomers to join and has also convinced Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to extend by the looks of it.