George Graham

MIKEL Arteta has received the ultimate backing from a man who knows a thing or two about the pressures of managing Arsenal.

The Gunners kick-started their Premier League campaign with a testing 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Friday at Selhurst Park.

Next up come Leicester City this Saturday at the Emirates Stadium as Arteta introduces his new-look starting line-up to an expectant home crowd.

Even back-to-back wins, however, won’t silence those fans and pundits already calling for Arteta to be sacked if he fails to guide the club to a top-four finish – especially after spending more than £120million for the second summer in a row.

There’s one man, though, who thinks the Spaniard has done “a good job” helping the north Londoners during a “transition period”.

George Graham is one of English football’s most successful ever managers – winning two league titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and the European Cup Winners’ Cup during his nine-year reign at Arsenal.

He is regarded by many as the second most successful gaffer in the club’s history – behind only Arsene Wenger – so when he says Arteta is the right man for Arsenal, supporters may want to listen.

In an exclusive interview with the New Journal, Graham said: “I think Arteta has done a very good job since he’s come to the club. It was at a transition period.

“He’s bringing a certain philosophy to the club which he learned under [Pep] Guardiola at Manchester City – some of the possession play is really fantastic. It’s great to watch, I love watching it.

“Unfortunately, they just missed out on the top four last season but I really like the way they play.

“I hope they do well this season. I want them to qualify for the Champions League. The only problem is the standard is so high. Liverpool, Manchester City and even Chelsea are top, top teams and Arsenal have got to compete with them, which I’m sure they will.”

Boasting the youngest squad in the Premier League for the second successive season, Arteta has put a real emphasis on youth – building his team around academy players such as Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.

Graham added: “The youngsters have been outstanding. Arsenal have always been famous for bringing in young players and have always been renowned for having a great youth policy. It’s a credit not only to the people at the club who run the youth set-up but for the club as a whole.

“They like to introduce their own young players and at the moment the club has a lot of talent in the youth that are doing well in the first-team.”