Mikel Arteta did not walk into an Arsenal that were primed and ready to challenge for the game's biggest honours anytime soon.
He himself admitted upon his arrival that the morale around the Emirates was particularly flat, that something had gone wrong in the red half of north London. He was entrusted to fix it. Nearly four years on exactly, it certainly looks like he has.
When the former Gunners midfielder was named as Arsenal boss, he was told that the squad didn't have the personalities required to fight for titles with the likes of Manchester City, the club he left as assistant coach to become a manager for the first time.
That was at least according to club legend Emmanuel Petit, who was brutally honest in his assessment of the Arsenal crop Arteta inherited. "You can see now that when Arsenal players don't have the ball, they apply pressure and want to get the ball back very quickly," Petit told Mirror Football.
"It's just like Guardiola wants to do with his team - they want to control the game with the ball and show composure against opponents, especially at home. For me, the two main things Arteta wants to bring from Guardiola at Arsenal is applying pressure without the ball and to want to score goals."
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Petit added: "But I don't believe he can do that with the quality of his players - especially in midfield. In the midfield area, with the lack of Kevin de Bruyne and the likes of Riyad Mahrez on the flanks, you cannot control a game like City does. They don't have the same personalities.
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Signings like Declan Rice have elevated Arsenal (Getty Images)"You could do it with Mesut Ozil, and I was pleased with the way he came back on the pitch recently. But they do not possess the personalities. If you want Arteta to bring what Guardiola does at Arsenal, he needs personality as well as quality players."
It's taken time, there have been highs and lows, but Arteta at long last seems to have got an Arsenal squad singing from the same hymn sheet with the perfect blend of everything required to launch a title charge. The signing of Declan Rice went a long way, with the £105million man offering the Gunners something different in midfield.
However, what Rice offers away the pitch is just as important, with the England international already establishing himself as one of the most respected figures in the Arsenal dressing room. With that being said, it's not just the mega-money signings pulling their weight.
Bukayo Saka cost Arsenal nothing in transfer fees and is arguably their most important player. Though it was actually Arteta's predecessor Unai Emery who handed the winger his debut, it is the current Gunners boss who has overseen Saka's best days so far.
Rice, Saka and players of a similar quality, the bulk of which have either been bought on the cheap or justified their high price tags are the reason why now, finally, Arteta's Arsenal can fight for titles against the winning machine that is City.
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