The Mikel Arteta era at Arsenal is up 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

Mikel Arteta hugs Mesut Ozil after Arsenal's win over Man Utd

The Mikel Arteta era at Arsenal is up and running following the 2-0 victory over Manchester United on New Year's Day Day - and just three games in, there's already evidence of the Spaniard's impact in north London.

Arteta is in his first managerial position but the previous Manchester City coach has wasted little time in making his mark on this Arsenal team.

Intensity

"We are asking the players to try to something different, to play at a special peace, far more aggressive than they have been wont to," Arteta wrote in his program notes before the convert United - and therefore the increased intensity is obvious to ascertain during this Arsenal team.

Transformed from the drifting, directionless side they have been for much of this season, Arsenal now presses high in packs, rush back to assist team-mates overload attackers and play with pace and precision within the opposition half once they have the ball. They covered 114.2km against United, their highest figure within the Premier League this season. Under Unai, Emery Arsenal had averaged 107.1km per game and 108km during Freddie Ljungberg's interim spell.

Their average tally of 94 sprints per game was crushed with 116 on Wednesday, the joint-most they've made this term.

The recent results of all that tough work are two superb first-half performances against Chelsea and United. Fitness is a problem - as David Luiz revealingly noted in his post-match interview - and Arsenal are pinned back within the latter stages of these last two fixtures.

But Arteta is adamant with longer on the training ground he will get the players up to the amount required to sustain the high-energy, intense football he's demanding.

"It will come," he said. "It is a component of the method and therefore the way we train - but at the instant, we do not have much time to try to so."

Arteta has his attacking players working harder than ever before

Mentality

So how does one convince a disillusioned team to suddenly shift through the gears for you? It takes persuasion - and instilling a belief within the squad that Arteta's way is that the path to success is that the Spaniard's real success in his youth.

A manager with no diary so far has this Arsenal squad all on board together with his methods."I said to them, 'without you guys I won't be ready to roll in the hay. you've got to open that door and believe that I can bring something different to the club'," Arteta said of his initial ask his players.

A first clean sheet reception in three months - especially one achieved with a backs-to-the-wall effort within the last half against United - underlines the renewed spirit during this Arsenal camp. So, too, does the sight of Mesut Ozil winning the ball back on 11 occasions, quite any of his team-mates.

He had only made that a lot of recoveries twice within the past five Premier League seasons."I really liked the resilience and that I liked to ascertain them suffer together," said Arteta. "When that they had to defend deeper I wanted to ascertain that reaction.

"Instead of getting annoyed with one another when someone was giving the ball away it had been all positive reactions and everybody was tracking back."

The confidence-boost of beating aside within the top half the Premier League for the primary time this season is going to be valuable to the present Arsenal team but so will the re-found reference to their supporters.

Arteta has spoken to his players about the importance of their visual communication and therefore the way that affects the house fans at the Emirates and the crowd responded emphatically to the efforts of their players on Wednesday.

"When they're right behind them you'll tell that the arrogance, the items they tried and therefore the energy that they had towards the sport was far better," said Arteta.

Mikel Arteta has made previously out-of-favor players such as David Luiz key men

Ozil and Granit Xhaka were two players who summed up the breakdown in relations between those on the pitch and people within the stands during the dreadful final days of Emery.

Both were dropped completely out of contention under the previous manager and both seemed on their answer to the club. But now they seem reinvigorated and central to Arteta's plans.

Arteta has spoken of his admiration for the qualities of Xhaka and he revealed on Wednesday the midfielder has told him he intends to form a u-turn on what appeared to be an inevitable departure and stay to fight for the cause.

David Luiz, another player exiled by Emery, is back within the XI, too, with defensive midfielders Xhaka and Torreira - whose position and role within the side was routinely changed by Emery - screening the center-backs and giving Arsenal more solidity as a part of a compact defensive unit.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Arteta fielded a front four of Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Manchester United - the very first time those four players had played together.

It's an exciting combination with the players marrying their creative and attacking flair with a true work ethic out of possession. With record signing Pepe scoring, hitting a post and creating the joint-most number of chances he's made during a match in only 62 minutes it might be the thanks to getting the foremost out of Arsenal's expensive summer investment, too.

It's youth but there's real optimism at Arsenal immediately. Arteta looks to possess this team heading in the right direction once more.