Mikel Arteta's ruthlessness as Arsenal manager has been revealed by a former player.
The Spaniard took charge at the Emirates Stadium in December 2019 following the departure of Unai Emery – and his first signing was defender Pablo Mari.
Mari, who is now plying his trade in Italy's Seria A with Udinese, has opened up on the candid talks he held with his old boss which sealed his move away from the club.
It comes as Matteo Guendouzi has sealed his permanent move away from the Gunners after meeting clauses in his loan deal at Ligue 1 side Marseille.
And Martin Odegaard's hidden influence at the club has been captured perfectly by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
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Odegaard's hidden influence
Pep Guardiola's comments this week have been largely welcomed, as the Manchester City manager has insisted statistics are not everything when evaluating a player's performance.
Speaking about City's Jack Grealish's struggles since moving to the Etihad Stadium last summer, Guardiola said: "There are players that make the team play good but they are not in the statistics."
And Guardiola's former assistant Mikel Arteta appears to be cut from the same cloth, with the comments also perfectly describing Martin Odegaard's impact at Arsenal this season.
Arteta's ruthlessness revealed
Pablo Mari has disclosed the conversation he held with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta that helped him decide his future lay elsewhere.
The former Gunners defender was Arteta's first signing at the club in January 2020 but he struggled to hold down a place in the club's starting XI.
But that led to Mari approaching his former boss to ask for more first-team football, and Arteta's response to his player's request shows just how ruthless the Arsenal manager is.
Guendouzi's parting swipe
Matteo Guendouzi has aimed a parting swipe at Arsenal after sealing his permanent switch to Marseille.
The French midfielder joined the Ligue 1 side on loan last summer and club president Pablo Longoria has now confirmed that clauses in that agreement have now been met in order to make the move permanent.
Guendouzi had joined the Gunners when Unai Emery was in charge but fell out of favour under Arteta following a number of incidents.
He spent last season on loan at Hertha Berlin after Arteta decided he was surplus to requirements.
And after sealing a permanent switch away from the club, the midfielder appears to have been unable to resist the temptation to aim a parting shot at his former employers.
