Mikel Arteta is approaching 12 months since he took over as manager of Arsenal after Unai Emery was expelled by Gunners for poor performances.

The Spaniard replaced caretaker manager, Freddie Ljungberg when he was approached by Gunners chiefs to resign from his role as assistant manager to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

After 50 games as a player for Arsenal between 2011 and 2016, winning two FA Cups and two Community Shields in the process, Arteta returned to win an FA Cup and Community Shield for his former side.

His side is 15th on the Premier League table; they have lost seven matches, won four and drawn twice out of 13 matches. The Gunners have suffered three successive defeat in the current campaign; their worst ever start in the Premier League and many have called for the manager to be axed.

Arsenal visits Goodison Park to play a strong Everton side managed by Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday and recent run of results has undermined Arsenal’s capacity putting pressure on Arteta prove a point.

"I think it has been one of the most challenging years in the club’s history for many, many different reasons," he said during his pre-match.

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"I think we have made a lot of progress and implanted a lot of positive things that have worked really well. We have gone through structural changes right across the club that has obviously shaken the club, big time.
 
"I would say the highlights of the year are the two trophies that we have won together, and the most disappointing thing is that we haven’t had our fans with us to take us through this difficult moment.
 
"I think it could have been a really, really positive year but the recent form in the Premier League is taking the gloss off what we have done in the calendar year. But we have to accept that our Premier League form in recent weeks is not good enough for this football club."

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scored to cancel Walcott’s opener and settled for a draw with 10 men, ending his longest run without a goal for Gunners in six PL appearances. Asked whether the draw could be the turning point for Arsenal, he said,” It's better.”

“We could've won it at the end when Rob hit the post in the last minute. We are lacking that luck. But I really liked it because when a team is in this moment, you could completely drop and give up, but the team never did that.

“I think it was completely the opposite and I'm proud to see that reaction from the team. Right now, what we need is to win football matches as well. That's our reality,” he added.