Mikel Arteta has made instant impact with us, claims Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

While the Gabon international has reportedly rejected a new contract and is looking for a way out of Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has made quite the impact under Mikel Arteta. The striker scored the first goal of the Arteta era in a Boxing day draw against Bournemouth to take his tally to 12 for the season in the league alone. 

No other Arsenal player even comes close to that tally this season which does pose a rather big problem for the North London giants. However, the former Borussia Dortmund star has revealed that Arteta has made an instant impact since his move and the club needed someone to shake things up, which is exactly what Arteta has done. Aubameyang also added that the Spaniard has walked in with brand new ideas and wants to take the club in the right direction even if it's a different one.

"We need to make sure, all of us, players and fans, that he has a successful home debut. He’s only been in charge for a few days but we’ve seen a big difference already. We needed someone who would come in and shake the whole squad up. We needed someone with new ideas, with a new message and someone who would take us in a different direction," Aubameyang told Arsenal.com.

“Mikel has brought all of that. We needed a fresh new start and something different and we can feel it already. He is very rigorous and demanding on the training pitch. It’s all about details with him so he talks a lot, repositions us, explains a lot of little things.”

The Gunners’ new boss has a mountain to climb with the club aiming to finish in a top six place and even qualify for the Champions League via the Europa League. But, they sit in 12 place behind the likes of Burnley, Crystal Palace and Wolves which has caused a few problems. However, Aubameyang went on to admit there is already an attitude change with the club positive about breaking into the top six.

"His message to the players was clear and well received. It was about attitude and commitment. He wants us to be at 200 per cent all the time, to give everything we have and leave it all on the pitch. It’s exciting for us because it’s so different to everything we have done and experimented with before. It is a new dawn and you can feel how positive everyone is at the club about it."

"We could also close the gap on Chelsea to five points with a win. We need the Emirates to be a fortress and make it really hard for Chelsea. It’s Mikel’s return too and I’m sure you will all be really up for it and we need to feel it,” he added.