Mikel Arteta watched our draw at Everton from the directors' box, and our draw at Bournemouth from the touchline.
He liked what he saw in terms of attitude, passion and character. But as Mikel makes the final preparations for Sunday's game against Chelsea, he's outlined what he wants next.
"I would like to start to see a little bit more control in some situations, and more awareness of why things happened," he said.
"The players have to understand two seconds earlier the picture that is coming, and where the solutions are. But that will come over time. They will pick it up.
"We don't have much time to train in, I only have I think two sessions in one week with the starting XI, which is nothing. But through video, through talks, through individual meetings, slowly, they have to embrace that information... and we will start to build some fundamentals and principles that as a team will help them."
One of Mikel's priorities was to transform the way we react when we lose the ball. After two games, he's definitely seen an improvement in that vital area.
"It was one of the things that I was more pleased with in the last game against Bournemouth," he said.
"There is a still a big room for improvement, but that's every day, being on their toes, being demanding with them, being challenging with them, and convincing them that if they do that, straight away they don't have to run as far, they will be more organised, they won't fight with each other because one is not doing what is required, and they will control the games better."
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