Former Everton and West Brom boss Sam Allardyce has heaped praise on Arsenal's Mikel Arteta.
Arteta took over the managerial reins at the Emirates Stadium from Unai Emery back in December 2019 and has since clinched the club's record-14th FA Cup trophy.
The Spaniard had struggled domestically, finishing eighth in back-to-back Premier League campaigns but has enjoyed a more consistent time so far this season, with the Gunners currently four points behind Manchester United despite having played three less league matches.
Now, Allardyce has hailed the former Manchester City assistant coach for dealing with a number of challenges in north London.
"Arsenal are a good young team who seem to be improving all the time," he told Ladbrokes.
"Mikel Arteta has faced so many challenges in such a short time as a manager, and he’s dealt with them head-on. He’s decided that he’s going to be strong, which you have to admire; I certainly admire him for that.
"He’s had a lot of big, senior players who haven’t been pulling their weight, and personally I think he’s dealt with those situations very well."
Allardyce also praised Arteta for his handling of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with the 39-year-old stripping the Gabon international of the club's captaincy before allowing him to leave for Barcelona last month.
When discussing Aubameyang, the former Bolton coach: "That incident showed everyone at the football club that it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter how big you think you are – if you’ve been honoured with the captain’s armband for a club like Arsenal, to disrespect that, to disrespect the manager, and to disrespect Arsenal Football Club, I can’t sympathise with how Arteta deals with you.
‘"He dealt with that magnificently well, because it shows the rest of the team that there’s a certain level of expectation when it comes to discipline, and if you’re not going to adhere to that, you’re gone."
