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Former Arsenal player Julio Baptista believes Mikel Arteta can thrive during his reign as a coach, provided he is shown enough patience.
Arteta took the place of acting chief Freddie Ljungberg in December, with former chief Unai Emery leaving the previous month after a disappointing 18 months in charge.
The Spanish, despite his affiliations with the club, was a somewhat surprising choice due to his great lack of managerial experience, although he gained valuable knowledge by working alongside Pep Guardiola as an assistant to Manchester City.
Arsenal sat tenth in the Premier League before Arteta’s arrival, seven points adrift of Chelsea in fourth place. And although the Spanish has certainly stabilized the ship, the Gunners are still eight points from their London rivals.
But Baptista, who made 35 appearances for the North London club during a loan period from Real Madrid in the 2006-07 campaign, is adamant that Arteta can thrive at his old club, but insists that they must be given the tools to feel confident.
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“Arteta is a young coach who has a chance to succeed and needs the club – he must be confident,” the former Gunners forward told the Daily Mail.
“It is a long-term project, and if you give it time, it will give results, but you must show patience.”
Baptista, who played in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A during his illustrious career, also claims that English football is leading the pack right now.
He added: “I think all competitions are good, but I think English football is ahead because of their competitiveness and because they have five teams that can compete for the title.”
