Mikel Arteta warns Gabriel Jesus and Portuguese-speaking friends to stick to English as Arsenal boss cracks down on cliques

MIKEL ARTETA wants to set up his own United Nations at Arsenal after vowing to crack down on all dressing room cliques.

The £45million signing of Gabriel Jesus means Arsenal now have seven Portuguese-speaking players in their squad.

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But Arteta has made it clear he expects all his players to communicate in English – having had to deal with German and French speaking factions.

Arteta explained: “I don’t want a Brazilian group and I don’t want a Portuguese group.

“It is important for me that they unite with the whole team. I want a team that is fully integrated so they can build a strong and trusting relationship with each other.

“Obviously, there’s more chemistry between some players than others, and it’s important for new players to have someone they’ve spent time with and who understands their culture.

“But for sure we will encourage that integration between all of them.”

Not that Arteta would worry about Jesus, who is already fluent in English after six years at Manchester City.

He says, “Gabby’s first quality is his character, the person, the smile and what he represents as a person.

“He’s an incredible professional with his work ethic, his enthusiasm and the atmosphere he will create on the training ground.

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“I think he will set different standards at the club because he is just used to winning.

“He’s only 25, which is very early for a striker, but he’s had so many experiences over the past six years that have made him the player he is today.

“He went through difficult times where he didn’t play much football but he always showed passion, hunger and desire. And that’s what makes him so special.

“He’s played left wing, right wing, number nine and false nine.

This versatility is one of the qualities we want from our frontline players.

“We have a very dynamic team up front. We have three or four players who can play in different positions and in different formations.

“We want to be unpredictable, but at the same time achieve certain qualities that we didn’t have in the squad. And with Gabby we do both at the same time.”

Arteta is equally confident that rookie playmaker Vieira can also have a significant impact, despite having only played one full season at Porto prior to his recent £30million move.

He says: “When I started looking at Fabio I said, this is a player who represents the way I want to play.

“It hasn’t been long since he made his debut at Porto but we’ve been really impressed with his maturity and he fits our model so I’m really happy to have him.”