Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard praises Arsenal board for Mikel Arteta decision

Mikel Arteta has done a ‘fantastic job’ at Arsenal and the north London club’s board deserve credit for backing the Spanish boss, according to Steven Gerrard.

The pressure was piled on Arteta at the start of the season after his Gunners team lost all three of their opening Premier League matches.

But the north London side turned things around, and now find themselves in a battle to finish in the Champions League qualification places.

Arteta’s side recently went on a five-match unbeaten run, which was ended by Liverpool on Wednesday night.

Ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Aston Villa on Saturday, Villa boss Gerrard praised the Gunners board for giving Arteta time.

‘He’s come through a couple of periods where the pressure was certainly on him and his team,’ Gerrard said.

‘You’ve got to give people at Arsenal credit for supporting him, backing him and giving him the time to stamp his identity and philosophy on how he wants the team to play.

‘With that time and with that support, they’ve grown, improved and got better. Now, they’re showing everyone what a consistent and strong team they can be.

‘They’ve got some real top talents within the team. Defensively, they’ve improved. Set-piece wise, they’ve improved. Credit to the coach and his coaching staff.’

‘Arsenal are in great form since September and I think Mikel Arteta’s done a fantastic job,’ Gerrard added.

‘He’s really found that consistency that Arsenal have been looking for for a long time.

‘Credit to him for that. This game will be different tactically to West Ham. We need to try and find the solutions and a game plan ready for this fixture.

‘I’m not sure it’ll look too similar to West Ham because we’re talking about two different styles and two different teams.’

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