Cesc Fabregas believes Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta deserves plenty of praise for completely changing the atmosphere at his former club.
Fabregas made his name with the Gunners but departed as the club started to drift away from being title contenders and fan unrest began to grow.
The years that followed saw huge amounts of division and negativity within the Arsenal fanbase with Arsene Wenger making his way and his replacement Unai Emery failing to turn things around.
Arteta took charge midway through the 2019-20 campaign and immediately went on to win the FA Cup.
The club has been on an upwards trajectory ever since and Fabregas says Arteta has done brilliantly in masterminding the transformation.
Speaking on the Planet Premier League podcast, Fabregas said: ‘I think it’s quite simple. Arsenal was merged into a big mess.
‘I think there was too many people talking. There was a lot of toxicity I would say within the club. It doesn’t necessarily need to be in the club, but around the club and he [Arteta] just came in.
‘He had an idea, he had his methodology, style of play, and he put it all together. He had the bravery, even though he’s a young coach, to put it all together and to say, right, this is the standards, this is what I want to do.
‘I think he keeps repeating those words. In press conferences, he talks about intentions, he talks about character, about running, about standards.
‘This is what he put in place – hardworking people, young people that really want to play for the badge, want to be there for the club, want to make the club grow.
‘He took away all this toxicity around the club that was hurting the players, was hurting the managers and he’s doing really well.’
