Arsenal: Mikel Arteta issues new Brentford verdict ahead of derby clash | OneFootball

Gunners have made a habit of poaching players and staff from their London rivals

Mikel Arteta hailed Keith Andrews’ Bees

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Andreas Georgson, Nicolas Jover and Inaki Cana have all made the move from Brentford to have spells on Arteta's coaching staff, while Christian Norgaard and David Raya have joined the Gunners as players.

Thomas Frank, who was sacked by Tottenham on Wednesday eight months after leaving Brentford to take charge, once described his job at the Gtech Community Stadium as "close to the perfect football life".

The club have regularly received praise for the off-pitch structure in place and Arteta made it clear it was no accident that he has often turned to Brentford when looking to strengthen at Arsenal.

"I always said for me it's one of the best-run clubs in Europe," Arteta said.

"Really smart how they do that, really good at hiring the best people, the best professionals. Great processes in place.

"The consequence to that has been everything they've done in the last few years as a club and as a team.

Nicolas Jover is among Arsenal’s recruits from Brentford

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"It's not a coincidence and when you have people like that you have to look at those places if you want to bring people that are better than you and bring different expertise to the club to help you bring success."

Arsenal travel to face Brentford on Thursday night in what could prove to be a tricky test for them.

The Bees have lost just two of their Premier League home matches this season and have defied all expectations.

Many tipped Brentford for relegation at the start of the season after a summer of significant upheaval.

The Bees' key departures included Frank to Tottenham, Norgaard to Arsenal, and Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa joining Manchester United and Newcastle, respectively.

However, in his first managerial job, Andrews has led Brentford to seventh in the table and victory would leave them just three points off the top four.

"Unbelievable," Arteta said of Brentford's response to losing so many important figures.

"As a manager and as a club, that means the foundations are so strong. The culture is so strong.

"The way they want to play and the things they put emphasis into to win games are very, very clear. If not, you're not able to do that."