Mikel Arteta was appointed as the new Arsenal manager last weekend and the Premier League match against Bournemouth was his first match in charge for the Emirates outfit.
The Gunners managed to pick up only a draw at Dean Court on Boxing Day despite being the better side for most of the match.
And speaking after the match, Mikel Arteta revealed that he still has a lot of work to do but most of it will be to bring up the psychological aspect of his players.
The new boss said: “It will be a process. I was worried what would happen if we conceded a goal. We did and I was very pleased with the character they showed.
“They came in at half-time and their faces, their reactions [were spot on]. It was about how much they wanted it. Normally, when you are in this process and you concede a goal, the confidence goes down and a lot of things that have happened in the past can come back.
“It didn’t happen, it happened in the complete opposite sense and that’s a really positive thing to take on board.
“I’m very pleased with some of the things I’ve seen, in terms of attitude, character, the passion we showed, and the fight and spirit the team showed. It was spot on.
“Probably better than I expected over 90 minutes. A lot of things that happened in the game, we prepared.
“They understood them and they tried to take them on board. We lacked the final product at the end.”
Bringing up the confidence of the Arsenal players will be one of the toughest jobs that Mikel Arteta currently has on his hands and surely this is something that can only be solved over a period of time.
