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Mikel Arteta has already achieved something Emery couldn’t – opinion

Arsenal played Leeds United in the FA Cup on Monday night in a game that finished 1-0 to the hosts, but the main focus was on both managers in the dugout and their tactical decisions unfolding on the pitch. It is safe to say Marcelo Bielsa got the better of the first half as the visitors were utterly dominant, but they failed to apply the finishing touch and put the ball past Emiliano Martinez in the Arsenal goal.

But after the interval the Gunners were a side transformed, they came out and battled back, finding the back of the net along with brushing the crossbar. It was a telling sign of the early effects Mikel Arteta is having on this group of players and how in tune their ears must be to his voice to come back out and re-energise their display. One of the significant issues of Unai Emery’s tenure is that when Arsenal were flat, it seemed like there was nothing he could do to get his side going again because Emery did not galvanise his squad, Arteta is already showing signs that he is in charge.

After the game, Alexandre Lacazette admitted his manager had “shouted a lot” at half time, while Arteta admitted after 30 minutes he felt his players started to “wander”. Regardless of how the Spaniard garnered a response out of his side, it worked. It is the first sign of this squad reacting to their manager and making a noticeable improvement in their performance after half time.

One player who embodied the Arsenal turnaround was Mesut Ozil. The German appeared lost in the first half, devoid of any time or space to operate as Leeds exquisite positional play left him as a bystander in the eye of the storm. But in the opening minutes of the second period, the mercurial playmaker was a different man, creating opportunities for teammates at will, finishing the game with four key passes.

On the face of things, the result for Arsenal looks like a slightly nervy win over the best side in the second division. But in reality, Arteta has already achieved something Emery could not; his players are listening to what he has to say and applying his ideas on the pitch. It is not an immediate process, but the signs are there it is starting to come together.

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