Kieran Tierney insists the "belief" in Arsenal's squad supersedes their youthful element as they aim for a Champions League spot.
The Gunners' recruitment drive in the summer saw them target a certain type of player with many of the new faces under the age of 23.
Benjamin White, Aaron Ramsdale, Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard were among those to arrive.
A poor start saw people immediately question the lack of experience in the squad as they attempted to negotiate three successive defeats and a barrage of criticism.
However, they've turned it around with their youthful squad now eyeing a place in the Champions League next season.
Tierney joined Arsenal in 2019, and, at 24, is one of the more experienced players at the club.
But the Scotland international insists the average age of the squad is irrelevant provided they all believe in what they're trying to do.
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He told The Face: "Very positive. We know what we’re doing, we know where we want to be and we know it’s going to be hard. But we’re positive and we believe.
"We know we’ve got a young squad, but what we do have is that belief and that’s the main thing."
Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe are two of the leading stars at the Emirates. Gabriel Martinelli too is expected to grow in stature over the coming years.
Mikel Arteta never veered from his beliefs and the club's strategy and is slowly beginning to prove the doubters wrong.
Several of his stars were somewhat thrown in at the deep end as teenagers.
The Arsenal boss admits there will always be question marks in that situation, but giving them the opportunity was key.
He said: "You always question that but when you make the decision to go through that route, you want them to get some consistency.
"Because they have never done it at that level and we had a lot of them.
"But they have proven that they can do it and they have been really demanding with themselves and at the same time they have handled difficult situations in a great way."
Arteta also highlighted the turnaround in north London after their win over over Wolves last time out.
Sat bottom of the table after three games, they could now finish in fourth, with the coach citing the need to stick to your principles.
He said: "After three defeats in the first three games we had to avoid relegation. You just have to be consistent with your vision and the way you prepare and believe the result will come.
"At the end of May, we want to be fighting for those places."
