Andre Santos admitted he arrived at Arsenal during a 'difficult time' but the club are on the up.
Experienced players must help youth, says Brazilian
Andre Santos admitted he arrived at Arsenal during a 'difficult time' but believes the club have turned around their season in a matter of weeks.
The Brazilian came to the Emirates at a critical time for the Gunners - the aftermath of their crushing 8-2 defeat by Manchester United.
However, Arsenal have lost only one of their 11 matches the defender has played in since his arrival from Fenerbache for a reported £6.8million.
And Santos believes the turnaround at the Emirates is down to the fact they have a steadying influence of new senior players in the shape of Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun despite the losses of Gunners cult heroes Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.
"It was a shock, but a welcome surprise that Arsenal wanted me," he told
The Times.
Difficult time
"It was a difficult time when I arrived, but also a positive period because the club had begun to restructure itself.
"We've turned it around very quickly and in time Arsenal will be really good again. The mixture between young and experienced makes for a very strong team.
"It makes a difference that the new players are quite experienced, as we came into a difficult situation.
"The young players we have here are very, very good, but the older players have to help them."
