MX23RW : Monday, January 13 17:05:01| >> :60:954:954:

Calum Chambers: 'Arsenal must rediscover identity under Mikel Arteta'

Mikel Arteta watched the goalless draw with Everton from the stands before taking up his new role on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta's primary job is to restore Arsenal's identity, according to defender Calum Chambers.

Former Gunners midfielder Arteta officially takes up his role as manager on Sunday, succeeding Unai Emery with the club in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Arteta was in the directors' box for Saturday's goalless draw with Everton on Saturday, which laid bare the deficiencies in the current Arsenal side.

Chambers said: "We just need to get our identity back. I know he wants to do that. It will take time but I know he can get that out of us.

"We're all excited to work with him, that's the main feeling around the camp. He came in (on Friday) and said some words, said some more before the game. We all showed good spirit.

"He said that we put into play what he wanted from us. The message before the game was be brave, take responsibility and work hard for each other. We did that on the pitch.

"He said afterwards it's a good start and there's things to work on. He was proud of the way we worked and how we worked hard."

Everton v Arsenal – Premier League – Goodison Park
Calum Chambers, right, helped the Gunners keep a rare clean sheet (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Chambers is one of the only current Arsenal players who was at the club when Arteta made his final appearance in 2016.

Asked if he thought then that the 37-year-old would be a good manager, Chambers said: "For sure. When I came here he was one of the senior players, he helped me and gave me advice on positional play.

"He was a very intelligent player, you could always tell he had that side to him. I'm excited, everyone's excited to work with him and learn his philosophy."

The main positive on Saturday was Arsenal's defensive solidity. Everton did not have a single effort on target and the clean sheet was the Gunners' first since a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on October 6.

Despite the game being widely derided by pundits and fans, Chambers believes it can be a positive stepping stone, particularly given the youthful make-up of the side.

"It's a good feeling," he said. "I feel we deserved a clean sheet, everybody worked really hard as a team.

"Obviously we're a bit disappointed we didn't get the win but there's a lot of good things to come out of that game. I know we'll be working hard on the training pitch but it's a good building block for us.

"I'm really proud of how much effort (the young players) put in. They've been working hard all season and it showed. It's promising for the future when you have a lot of young players like that. Good times ahead."

ID:383785: cacheID:383785:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6461:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Dries Mertens in action for Napoli on October 2, 2019
Read Next:
Arsenal showing interest in Mertens?
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool19144147192846
2Arsenal20117239182140
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest20124429191040
4Chelsea20106439241536
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle20105534221235
6Manchester CityMan City2010463627934
7Bournemouth209653023733
8Aston Villa209563032-232
9Fulham207943027330
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2061043029128
11Brentford208393835327
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs20731042301224
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd206592328-523
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham206592439-1523
15Crystal Palace204972128-721
16Everton193881525-1017
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2044123145-1416
18Ipswich TownIpswich2037102035-1516
19Leicester CityLeicester2035122344-2114
20Southampton2013161244-326


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!