Piers Morgan admits he changed his mind about Mikel Arteta after watching All or Nothing documentary – ‘He’s a proper, top manager’

Arsenal’s ‘All or Nothing’ documentary led Gunners fan Piers Morgan to change his mind about Mikel Arteta, the TalkTV host has revealed.

Morgan has always been vocal about his views on Arteta since he took the reins at the Emirates – particularly the Spaniard’s treatment of former skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

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Morgan is now a fan of his club’s manager

After taking over from Unai Emery at the end of 2019, Arteta led his former club to two 8th place finishes in the Premier League – drawing criticism across the Gunners fanbase.

But after last-minute heartbreak last season, losing out on the Champions League spots to rivals Tottenham, the Gunners have now cemented themselves at the top of league over Christmas.

Following his explosive TalkTV interview with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Morgan spoke to talkSPORT about whether he believes his side can go all the way this season.

And he revealed the impact watching Amazon’s All or Nothing series during last season’s rollercoaster campaign had on his opinion of Arteta.

He’s gone from doubter to believer, and says the 40-year-old coach is the man to lead them all the way back to the big time.

“I’ve never seen a better atmosphere at the Emirates,” the Gunners fan told talkSPORT Breakfast.

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Morgan is calling for Arsenal’s owners to properly back Arteta in the transfer window

“This reminds me of the great days at Highbury. I think that Arteta has now evolved into a proper manager. He’s got us excited.

“I actually changed my mind [on Arteta] during the Amazon documentary, I changed my view about Arteta watching that.

“Not in the early episodes that were cringe-making and playing the players ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ on a stereo and making them all shut their eyes and hold hands.

“That’s what probably annoyed [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang because he’s a world-class player thinking, ‘What am I doing?’.

“But as the show went on and the episodes kept coming, I began to see the bond he has with them, the younger players in particular.

“You add world-class players into the mix, as we did in the transfer window, suddenly you get to a place where you have a competitive team.

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Arsenal wasn’t sure on some of Arteta’s pre-match methods shown on the doc – but the later episodes persuaded him

“Now, I would urge the Kroenkes, this is your chance, come January you have the chance to add more firepower to this Arsenal squad, so that we have a squad deep enough to sustain some injuries and still win the league.”

Aubameyang was shown the exit door at the Emirates Stadium after being banished from the first-team for disciplinary issues – a scenario that was heavily featured in the documentary.

But, despite still not being happy with how Arteta handled his friend or his unique pre-match methods, Morgan says it was the later episodes – which showcased Arteta’s managerial style and relationship with players – that led him to warm to the Spaniard.

And he thinks Arsenal’s summer activity solidifies that the man he once criticised knows exactly what he’s doing now.

“I still don’t agree with the way Aubameyang was treated [by Arteta],” he continued. “What I have changed my mind about is Arteta as a manager

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Morgan still doesn’t like the way Arteta treated Aubameyang – but now believes Arteta is the man for the Gunners job

“I think he’s evolved now into a really top-class manager after two very difficult years. I think most Arsenal fans at the end of last season were pretty fed up.

“Then he went in the transfer market, we signed some proper world class players in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko and then he brought back William Saliba and that has made a whole difference to the spine of our team.

“Now, suddenly we’re competing, which is all Arsenal fans have wanted. It’s all I wanted. We haven’t won the league since 2004 despite paying the highest ticket prices in Europe in all that time.

“So, after all the promises, we finally have a competitive team, but it’s taken it’s time.

“So I make no apologies for questioning the people who have been running Arsenal or the managers who’ve been underperforming.

“But right now, this looks like a very exciting time and Arteta has now evolved into a proper, top manager and that’s great to see.”

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