Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is full of praise for Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth.

The pair are good friends and face-off in today's early kickoff.

Arteta said: “Fantastic job. To come into the Premier League and do what he's done, huge credit to him, the coaching staff and the players obviously.

“They had a difficult start, they kept going with what they believed in and huge credit to him.

“It's unbelievable what they've done in the manner that they've done it as well which is, in my opinion, very important as well. Congratulations because it's a fantastic achievement."

Arteta added: “Especially after our game, they had a really difficult start in terms of fixtures as well and that was a huge factor, but you could see that the team was always close to getting a result and creating a lot of problems for the opponent.

“Credit to him, he has stuck with his beliefs, he's a really good coach, a great person and I've known him since we were very little and I wish him all the best.

“We spoke after our game. When you're in those periods, sometimes you want to speak to nobody!

“But we had a little conversation there about my experiences and what I've been through and sometimes that helps."