Arteta on Emirates connection, Auba exit, Saka rise and summer plans

Mikel Arteta is becoming animated, eyes widening and hands gesticulating enthusiastically as our conversation turns to the connection between his team and the Arsenal supporters.

The 39-year-old is known for staying cool and composed during his media dealings but on this subject, in a small office at the club's London Colney headquarters, his passion shines through.

The atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium, he says, is "completely different" from the start of his tenure, when rows of empty seats had come to reflect the general malaise around the club.

"You can feel it," Arteta tells Sky Sports. "You can try to tell people about it, but when you are there, you just feel it, that it's genuine, that it's happening, that there is this interaction of energy and emotions. I feel a real unity between the supporters and the team."

The pandemic proved a significant and unforeseen interruption but Arteta describes building that sense of unity as one of his "main goals" following his appointment in December 2019.

"If you had asked me what I wanted to do here, I would have said that I would like to make the Emirates the toughest stadium to play at in England, to create a really unique atmosphere that you feel on your skin when you go there," he says.

"An atmosphere where our fans feel, 'I can't wait until Saturday to go and support the team', where people are walking to the Emirates thinking, 'I'm ready, I want to support these guys, they are really worth it, and I feel really engaged with them'.

"If we can do that, it's going to be a big, big win."

There is work still ahead if the Emirates is to become quite as fearsome as Arteta desires but the progress is already clear.

It can be seen in their record - only Liverpool and