Arsenal’s technical director backs Arteta

Edu

suggests that patience is essential concerning the impact of Covid-19 on the usual structure of seasons.

"If we're not talking about patience with Mikel it would be very unfair to him. Because what a year we have faced,"

Edu said.

"Pre-season challenges, three months without any football matches, a lot of things changing in the club. He started, and stopped, and when he started to get an understanding of all the squad he stopped again.

"He didn't get a sequence to know everyone properly. It would be really unfair to Mikel to say something about that because the year was so challenging for everyone but even more for Mikel, who'd just arrived at the club.

"Because if you have a manager who was at the club for two, three, five years, it makes that situation easier. That's why Mikel needs always, from my side, good words."

Arsenal

fans booed the team after 1-0 home defeat to

Burnley

this Sunday in the first match that supporters were allowed to attend the stadium since the pandemic started. However, Edu believes the club is moving in the right direction.

"Relaxing is too much,"

he said.

"Just believe. Internally here, listen, we are doing well.

"My main message is that we are not talking about only one person, it is unfair to talk about Mikel, or Aubameyang because he is not scoring goals, or (goalkeeper, Bernd) Leno because he has to stop the goals.

"It is unfair to talk about one person, we are a football team, we have to talk about ourselves, talk about "we" and not "him" so that for me is the main message.

"The way I see things is very simple. It's normal and easy to be driven by the results. But for me, the main point is when I see something in which I can see the future, see where we go, the way we're building things, starting to see it on a daily basis.

"So the way we work, the way we train, the way we behave internally, if you see the quality of the work, if you see the quality of the people, if you see properly what's happening here on a daily basis, it's nothing to compare with the results."

With numerous chances

Arsenal

players have missed, Arsenal might need to look into transfer market to save their season. Edu suggested the club wouldn't be making a lot of squad changes during January’s transfer window.

"We don't talk about [player transfers] external,"

he said.

"We are here to solve the problem. We have the team, we have the squad, we have the manager, we have the staff, everyone in the right place to change it.

"Why (do) people have to expect a magician to go 'boom! Come here, Messi! Boom!'? No. It depends on us.

"People might start to ask: 'what are you going to do in the winter window?' Of course we will try to do something but we have the responsibility to change it. Don't wait for someone outside to come inside and be a magician because that's not going to happen.

"Or if you can sign 20 players - which we're not going to do - but that's not going to work anyway. So the main problem, the main thing for me, is that we, as a club, have to understand our problem. Here. That's it. Believe, because we believe. I believe."

Arsenal

will play against

Southampton

(home),

Everton

(away) and

Chelsea

(home) - while also hosting

Man City

in the Carabao Cup quarter final during the next 12 days.