Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas hopes manager Mikel Arteta has the ruthless streak to take the club back to the summit of the game.

Arteta must balance the desire for sublime football with the need for success as the relatively new Arsenal manager.

He was granted the luxury of both as assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, before accepting the challenge at the Emirates.

Fabregas said: “I hope he does it. I don't really know Mikel that well. He has his style. But I don't think it is one to win ugly.

“Pep has a team that costs God knows how many millions. Mikel doesn't have that.

“When you want to compete at the top, playing a certain style with positive, possession and attacking football, you need top, top players. Pep has them.

“Mikel is not there yet. Probably in the future he will be. He has taught the players in a short period of time how he wants to do it.

“You see that some have improved a lot for doing that. Now let's see if he can transform that into titles.“When you want to compete at the top, playing a certain style with positive, possession and attacking football, you need top, top players. Pep has them.

“Mikel is not there yet. Probably in the future he will be. He has taught the players in a short period of time how he wants to do it.

“You see that some have improved a lot for doing that. Now let's see if he can transform that into titles."