Mikel Arteta Explains That the 'Energy' Wasn't Right at Arsenal When He Arrived at the Club

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed that it wasn't 'easy' to take over at the club at the time that he did, while he has further added that there was a clear disconnect at the Emirates upon first arrival.

After a woeful start to the 2019/20 season, the Gunners parted ways with Unai Emery. Arteta was soon appointed as his successor, following Freddie Ljungberg's brief spell in charge as interim boss.

The Spaniard has now opened up on the situation at the club when he arrived, explaining that the energy wasn't right. Speaking to former Arsenal player Ian Wright, Arteta said: "Coming into the club in that moment wasn’t easy but you mention a key word which is ‘energy’, and I felt that the energy around the training ground and the stadium wasn’t right for this magnificent club.

"I was here and was lucky to play here so everyone first of all has to feel in that way. There was a lot of disconnection in many areas and I wanted to bring everyone together.

"First of all to make everyone understand how lucky we are to be here and then a very clear direction of where we have to be."

Wright went on to ask the 38-year-old whether he believes it will be easier to convince top transfer targets to make the switch to north London once Arteta has fully implemented his plans. In response, Arteta was keen to stress that he only wants players who want to join for the right reasons, and doesn't want players who will need much convincing.

"The moment we mention Arsenal, Ian, you know what it means around the world - everyone wants to come here," Arteta added. "We have a really clear idea of what we are, it doesn't need much convincing. And if they do, for me, it's not a good starting point. If I have to convince a player to stay or to join us...it holds me back a little bit."

Elsewhere, Arteta went on to heap praise on Kieran Tierney, who has struggled in his first season with the club, while the boss has also encouraged him to continue improving his game and challenging himself.

He said: "I'm really looking forward to working with him and giving him the opportunity to play. His attitude, his commitment, his will; it's incredible. I think he's going to bring something special to us. It's been a shame, but it's part of his development.

"In your career you go through these moments and I challenged Kieran to say, 'Kieran, how are you going to react to that? You cannot feel sorry for yourself that this happened. Okay, the level of expectation now is a bit higher, you have to deal with it."