Mikel Arteta has been hailed as the "boss of the club" by Alexandre Lacazette as the Arsenal coach is credited with changing the mentality in north London.
The Spaniard is into his second full season at the Emirates and has remain loyal to his principles and ideals during difficult periods. Now he has the Gunners in the top four as they eye a place in next season's Champions League after several years away.
Arteta inherited a squad that had struggled under Unai Emery and he quickly made moves to rid of certain individuals, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the most high profile of those. Lacazette has become the team's No 9 as a result, linking play effectively in the final third.
The Frenchman is now into the final few months of his current deal and may leave for nothing this summer. His focus though remains on securing a place at Europe's top table next term with the team now on an upward trajectory - which Lacazette puts down to Arteta's influence.
"We’re focused on being in the top four," he told Mundo Deportivo. "We want to get the team into the Champions League next season. We work for it all week, and at the moment, it’s working. We want to continue like this, working hard every day to play well at the weekend.
"Arteta is the leader, the boss, even the boss of the club. Since he arrived, a lot of things have changed, including everyone’s mentality… It’s all because of him."
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Arteta had worked under Arsene Wenger during his playing days. The Frenchman was very much seen as an old school manager - someone who managed all aspects of the club rather than just the playing group. The Spaniard has claimed he always wanted to enact his vision when he eventually did take to the dugout.
"Well when I went into management I had a clear vision of what I wanted to accomplish with Arsenal," he told the club’s official website. "I wanted to build a winning team that was also financially sustainable and that could transmit the values, the identity and the passion that the club has had over the years.
"To do that we had to make some important decisions and get the club moving in the right direction, so that we could also achieve that in the long-term. There have been some very difficult decisions to make. First of all you need to come up with a plan. You have to have a lot of support from within the club to do it, and then the decisions need to be right."
