Mikel Arteta Calls for Patience as Arsenal 'Need Time' to Adapt to New Philosophy

​Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on the work of his Arsenal squad, but insists that it will take more time for his players to adapt to their new philosophy.

The Spaniard was appointed following the sacking of Unai Emery - with Freddie Ljungberg temporarily taking charge in between - and has since lost just one game in his 11-match tenure as the Gunners remain unbeaten in all competitions in 2020.

​Arsenal are still in the hunt for two trophies this season, while Manchester City's European ban has seen their outside hopes of earning a ​Champions League place this season significantly improve; the Gunners being just six points off fifth place ahead of their ​Premier League clash with Everton.

Arteta's influence has been clear since taking the post, but the rookie coach has called for patience as he embeds a new philosophy into his squad.

"What I can tell you is I am really proud to manage this football club at the moment and really happy with how everyone is reacting around the club," he said, via ​Sky Sports. "The players - the passion and energy they are showing every day and the same with the staff and everybody who works here. 

"We have a lot of things to improve and it feels like it was eight months ago but it was not that far away. We have a long way to go in this process, to develop a lot of things that I want to implement. We need time. I don't want to accelerate the process and take them somewhere they cannot do because it would not be productive.

"We have to maintain the things we do good and maybe then we have little margins of improvement that we have to aim to achieve."

Instilling confidence into the side has been at the forefront of Arteta's thinking, aiming to head into every match with the focus on 'confronting' the opponent. It is something they will be looking to do on Sunday, as the Gunners host one of Arteta's former clubs, ​Everton.

"The attitude I want the players to play with is to confront the opponent," he added. "It does not matter where we play, we have to go there and we have to face them. We have to feel that we are ready to go, not just when we have the ball but when we don't have it as well, with the same attitude and aggression.

"They are doing it. I can only praise them because they are trying hard - sometimes we can be better or worse but they are very willing."

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