Arsenal took a big gamble when they hired Mikel Arteta to become their new head coach back in December. After all, the then 37-year-old former Gunner had never been in charge of any other club before. Nevertheless, Arteta was seen as one of the most highly-rated young soccer minds in Europe and was heavily praised by both Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola prior to his Arsenal homecoming.

Being tipped for future success by two of the top managers of this generation is quite the rubber stamp. Arteta made good impressions fairly early in his freshman campaign with Arsenal. Although he has not exactly carried the club up the Premier League standings, there is an undeniable difference in the team compared to when former boss Unai Emery manned the Emirates sidelines.

Perhaps the biggest difference that Arteta has made with the Gunners is with the team’s mentality. The players certainly appear more confident and happy with the Spaniard at the helm. Midfielder Dani Ceballos recently echoed these sentiments in an interview with Sky Sports. ”[Arteta] is living the game constantly,” Ceballos claimed. “We know it’s a plus for us to have someone next to the pitch who can see things we can’t see at certain moments, and he can communicate with us much quicker now that there is nobody in the stadium.”

On the pitch, Arsenal have played much better defensively under Arteta. In fact, the Gunners have racked up 11 clean sheets in the 26 total matches since the Spaniard was hired. This is compared to the team’s 6 clean sheets in the same amount of games during the current campaign prior to Arteta’s arrival.

While there are some positives to take from Arteta’s Arsenal so far, there is still more improving to do. As previously stated, the Gunners have not exactly shot up the Premier League table in recent months. Consistency in getting positive results has to improve. Also, the north London outfit needs reinforcements during the upcoming transfer market. Arteta can coach as much as he wants, but he will not take the club any further without some new additions to the squad.

In particular, the Gunners need to strengthen in central defense and creative midfield. Though Arsenal have been better defensively as of late, the center back position is undeniably their back line’s Achilles’ heel. William Saliba should be an outstanding option for the 2020/21 Gunners, but another quality central defender would be a nice addition, especially if Arteta continues to go with a back three in defense.

READ MORE: Schedule of Arsenal games on US TV and streaming

Creatively, Arsenal just have not been good enough this season. Looking at the team’s last six matches in particular, the Gunners have managed just 29 total key passes as a team. This anemic number is compared to Arsenal’s opponents racking up 75 total key passes during the same stretch.

Arteta clearly does not trust creative guru Mesut Ozil and the club’s brass will have to supply the Spaniard with an additional creative midfielder to join the team this summer. Philippe Coutinho has been linked with the Gunners for some time now and could give the club a fairly formidable attacking foursome alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, and Alexandre Lacazette.

Experience, belief from the players, and new additions to the team will all be needed for Arteta to continue improving Arsenal. While some may have thought a drastic progress would happen in just a few months, these situations take some time. This is especially the case with a club that does not spend freely as some other teams do. The Gunners will have to make some smart additions to the squad to help their head coach, but it definitely seems as if he is the one to lead the club forward.