Granit Xhaka reveals action Mikel Arteta took to immediately raise Arsenal standards

Granit Xhaka has disclosed that Mikel Arteta made an immediate and profound impression on Arsenal during his debut day as manager. The Swiss midfielder described working under the Spaniard as 'unbelievable' and noted how he instantly elevated standards upon his arrival at the club in 2019.

Xhaka had represented the north London outfit for over three years before Arteta assumed control at the Emirates. The midfielder remained with the club until 2023, when he moved to Bayer Leverkusen.

The former Arsenal star has now revealed that Arteta employed a distinctive approach to communicate his vision. The Gunners boss has established a reputation for utilising various methods to motivate his squad.

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Fromincorporating light bulbs in tactical discussions to welcoming chocolate labrador Win into the fold, Arteta adopts a comprehensive strategy to deliver results - something evident from day one.

"I will never forget the first day Mikel came in," Xhaka told the Athletic. "At the training ground, we had a big room and there were some chairs in there, but the chairs were everywhere - chaos.

"He took all the people who were working in the building into this room and said: 'Guys, from the outside, you look like this. Chaos'. So everyone takes a chair and puts it in the right place and he says: 'I want you to be like this every day'.

"You think 'wow', he's started already with these standards - the first day. After that, he was building our mentality, standards in training, pre-training, activation, recovery. He brought people in who did a great job. It was unbelievable to work with him because he saw football in a different way."

Xhaka also revealed that Arteta played a crucial role in persuading him to remain at the Emirates. The Switzerland captain was on the verge of leaving Arsenal before holding discussions with the incoming manager.

"When Mikel came, he had a very open conversation with myself," Xhaka said. "My luggage was already done (packed). I was ready to leave. I already had a contract on the table from another football club.

"Mikel had two conversations with me and he convinced me to stay, to give me another chance. He wanted to show me that I am in the right place.

"From this day, I just had the feeling that every word he told me in this first conversation, everything was exactly like he said.

"That's why I say that in 2019, when Mikel came, he changed me completely - as a human being, on the pitch, outside the pitch."