Mikel Arteta has been praised for the resilience he has shown as Arsenal manager.
Victory for Arsenal against Brentford on Sunday would send them into the international break top of the Premier League, with the Gunners winning their first five matches of the season and Arteta named Manager of the Month for August.
A defeat at Old Trafford brought an end to that run, but it has done little to dampen the mood at the club with new signings Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko in particular making a flying start to life in north London.
It comes 12 months after Arsenal started last season with three defeats on the bounce, failing to score a single goal in those matches, as Arteta found himself under pressure not for the first time.
The turnaround since then has been huge, and one that Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard believes is an example for other top-flight managers to follow.
“A lot of managers have shown that sometimes you’ve got to have tough periods, setbacks, and show that you can cope in them moments,” Gerrard said.
“Show that you can come through them, build on them. You’ve got to be patient and try and get to the stage where the building process continues. There’s a lot of examples of that – Ralph [Hasenhuttl] is one.
“You’re looking at Mikel Arteta, obviously flying high now at the top of the Premier League now. I bet if you spoke to him, it wasn’t all about ups and fantastic times and enjoying it all.
“But what he did do in the tough moments, he stepped forward.”
