Frank Lampard has opened up on his admiration for Arsenal as a club following their stance over Mikel Arteta in recent seasons.
During his early days at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta came under fire with the Gunners underperforming but unlike a lot of clubs in modern day football, they stuck with the Spaniard. Now, about three-and-a-half seasons into his tenure, Arsenal are reaping the rewards of sticking with the process as they look to win their first Premier League title since 2004.
The Gunners have been one of the best teams in the Premier League this season and doing that while playing an attractive and attacking brand of football. We all saw a glimpse of what it is like behind the scenes at the Emirates Stadium thanks to the Amazon 'All or Nothing' documentary series, something interim Chelsea head coach Lampard eluded to just over 24 hours before the two London sides go head-to-head in the capital.
READ MORE: Every word Frank Lampard said on Arsenal vs Chelsea, Aubameyang, Havertz and Jorginho
"It's interesting to compare the Arsenal story," Lampard told reporters. "We all had a little insight in the Amazon series. When you see what they are producing now and myself as a football person, the interesting thing about watching the series and before that I went up against Mikel at Chelsea in my first year, there is a long process to get to where you want to get to.
"I remember playing against Mikel's teams in the early stages which were sometimes five at the back, sometimes four, sometimes they build with a four and defend with a five. Now they have a very, very clear identity, and they have a clear, through recruitment, change of squad.
"Other than maybe the players that have come through, and you always need academy players to come through with a high level and they've had that. There has been a lot of work to that, through Mikel, through the team, through alignment, through good recruitment. If we talk about it as just happening this season, it's come overnight. I think you go back to the beginning and all those tougher periods.
"Do we have the possibility to do that? Yes. Will it take a lot of time and good decisions along the way? Absolutely yes. You can get there. Those things have been a credit to Arsenal because I saw and you remember the times when the manager was being questioned, the owners were being questioned and players were being questioned.
"That process can take two or three years which it has done. Within that two or three years you have to make a lot of right decisions and keep working in a good way. To be fair, from the coaching side, it's great to see a club stick with a manager when maybe at another club they may have changed a manager two or three times. They're a great example of that done well and part of the answer to why they are where they are now, alongside very good coaching and good players."
A lot has been said about Arsenal's approach with Arteta with how the club have given him the time to build on his long-term project and it's definitely something Chelsea can look at for inspiration. Graham Potter was viewed by the owners as the right man to spearhead their long-term ambition but after a lack of progress, he was sacked just months into his tenure.
Chelsea now view Mauricio Pochettino as their man with the Argentine currently the clear front-runner to land the job, although there is still no agreement in place yet, football.london understands. If Chelsea can give Pochettino the sort of time Arteta has been handed at Arsenal, then who knows where the club will be in three-and-a-half seasons' time?
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