Mikel Arteta is confident he has the respect of the Arsenal dressing room and appreciated the way his former team-mates made the move to coaching really, really easy .
Arteta is on a high after one of his best wins so far as Gunners manager, having triumphed 1-0 at Manchester United on Sunday.
But after that victory, a television interview with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang prompted concern from ex-United captain Roy Keane.
Keane, on punditry duty for Sky Sports, said he did not like the way Aubameyang referred to his manager by his first name.
Arteta was asked about the comments but had no such issues, explaining: I was told that Roy mentioned that. I don t know. It s something that is very particular.
I give them the choice for whatever they are comfortable with. With some, I shared a dressing room. For me, I don t feel disrespected.
1 Arsenal have won away at a “big six” side in the Premier League for the first time since a 2-0 win against Manchester City in January 2015, ending their 29-game winless run (D10 L19). Dawn.
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I understand why he s saying that, as a player, but the way I feel with them I feel so close with them, some of them we played together for me, it s not an issue.
It s not a way that I would feel respected or disrespected.
He added: I leave them the choice. People call me boss , coach , it depends.
Arteta was an Arsenal player as recently as 2016, sharing a dressing room with the likes of Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil, Mohamed Elneny and the recently departed Emi Martinez.
It s something that, before I joined, I was a bit concerned with, Arteta said of the adjustment. At the moment, I m not.
It s something that both parties have to understand, respect, and go about the relationship in the same way. To be fair, they made it really, really easy for me in that sense.
Obviously the feelings I have for them won t change if I am one side or the other. We are part of the same thing. It s not been something difficult, I have to be honest.
