"It was a very difficult summer because half the dressing room wanted to leave. You're preparing for a season where you don't know who's going to come in, the players who are staying are asking themselves what's going on at the club, you've got a pre-season tour of Asia.
"It was extraordinarily difficult. What saved us is that we're a club that are extremely solid and united. Other clubs would surely have gone to pieces in those circumstances.
"What people forget is that we lost three key players because we've also lost Wilshere. Three who were important in our midfield. Nasri, Fabregas and Wilshere have all been lost and they were the basis of our midfield last season.
"We've had to reconstruct our midfield entirely because Wilshere won't be back until January. Still, we've disappointed this season so far, given what's expected of us, but I think we're on the up again. The problem is you can only climb the table slowly. We're not too far away in terms of points from fourth place. We're too far away from the top two."
Frankly, if you compare what Manchester City have won in the past and what Arsenal have won, then you don't go to Manchester City to win titles. Players go to Manchester City because they pay much better than Arsenal. They are a force clearly, because they have exceptional financial clout, so it's not surprising what they've done."