Cesc Fabregas praises ‘courageous’ Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for ‘taking all the toxicity’ from his former club that ‘hurt the players’

Cesc Fabregas believes Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta deserves plenty of credit for completely changing the atmosphere at his former club.

Fabregas made his name at the Gunners but left the club as the club began to slip away from title contenders and fan unrest began to grow.

The years that followed saw huge amounts of division and negativity in the Arsenal fanbase, with Arsene Wenger on the way and his replacement Unai Emery failing to turn things around.

Arteta took charge midway through the 2019-20 campaign and promptly won the FA Cup.

The club have been on an upward trajectory ever since and Fabregas says Arteta has done a brilliant job of masterminding the transformation.

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Talking about Planet Premier League podcast, Fabregas said: ‘I think it’s quite simple. Arsenal were merged into one big mess.

‘I think there were too many people talking. There was a lot of toxicity, I would say, in the club. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the club, but around the club and he (Arteta) came right in.

‘He had an idea, he had his method, style of play and he put it all together. He had the guts, even though he’s a young coach, to put it all together and say, right, these are the standards, this is what I’m going to do.

‘I think he keeps repeating those words. In press conferences he talks about intentions, he talks about character, about race, about standards.

Arteta has completely changed the mood at the Emirates since taking over in 2019

‘That’s what he set in motion – hard working people, young people who really want to play for the badge, want to be there for the club, want to make the club grow.

“He removed all this toxicity around the club which was hurting the players, hurting the managers and he’s doing it really well.”