Patrick Vieira says he’s happy to see how Mikel Arteta has turned things around at Arsenal, arguing that adversity is a normal part of management.

Arsenal are certainly in a much better position right now than they were in the early days under Mikel Arteta, now challenging for a spot in the top-four, but it’s taken a while to get here.

At times, the Gunners have been closer to the relegation zone than the top teams in the league with Arteta in charge. Fortunately, their recent form has been much better, putting them back in contention for Champions League qualification.

Reflecting on that improvement as his Crystal Palace team prepared to face Arsenal on Monday night, Patrick Vieira argued it was a good thing Arteta stuck to his guns.

“I think every manager will go through challenges,” Vieira said. “It’s always about how you will manage your challenges.

“I think the best answer was for him to keep doing what he’s been doing and he turned things around. I’m happy for him and I’m happy for Arsenal Football Club.

“[But] not on Monday night!”

Palace have also been in strong form under Vieira, who sit 12th in the Premier League table.

Monday night’s hosts have only lost one match in the last two months, and it took an 89th-minute winner from Chelsea to inflict that sole defeat.

Other recent results include a 0-0 draw with league leaders Manchester City, a 2-0 win over European hopefuls Wolves, and most recently a 4-0 thrashing of Everton.

It seems to be going well for the two former Arsenal midfielders as managers, but only one of them can leave Selhurst Park happy on Monday.