Intense. A control freak. Powerful. Unapologetic. A leader. Emotional. A genius. Mikel Arteta is the man driving Arsenal's irresistible resurgence.
There were signs of what was to come during his playing career at the Emirates. 'He was unbelievably professional to the point where he was compulsive,' one of Arteta's former Arsenal team-mates tells Mail Sport.
'His preparation for every training session, let alone match, was meticulous. If anyone was going to become a manager, it was Mikel.'
Those obsessive traits are said to have got worse - or better, depending on how you look at it - since he embarked on a career in management.