Graham Potter was too busy in the 1990s thinking about a playing career to wonder about how the revolution in North London might affect him.

But, as he prepares for a first Premier League visit to Arsenal, he recognises the way the Gunners changed the game.

The current Albion head coach is among the new generation who have benefited from a shift in football culture led by the Gunners .

Pep Guardiola changed attitudes towards the beautiful game in the hurly burly of our top flight and opened minds to the style of play Potter prefers.

But would Pep himself have been embraced without the changes brought about by Arsene Wenger as Arsenal manager back in the 1990s?

It is open to debate. But Potter is aware of the importance of those days.

He told The Argus: “Arsene Wenger changed a lot of British football.

“Wonderful teams, the invincibles and then, as the club developed, they have done huge amounts, I’d say.

“They changed the way football was played.

“He was the first one to bring in more sports science and focus on how we looked after ourselves off the football pitch.

“It was a revolutionary period, I would say, for British football and it is thanks to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal for that.”

It is easy to imagine Potter, given the way his teams play, having his eyes opened as a player two decades ago by the changes taking place at Highbury.

But he told The Argus: “At that time, I was too busy trying to survive in the football world to really think about it too much.

“But you could see how the team were playing.

“They were a top team - and I think he built a couple of teams.”

Potter reeled off some of the key names.

Vieira and Petit, Thierry Henry, tonight’s opposite number Freddie Ljungberg, the back four with Adams and Keown.

But the Gunners have failed to live up to those lofty standards in recent years.

They go into tonight’s game with four league wins – the same number as Albion.

Potter was asked whether they could be vulnerable on this occasion.

He replied: “I don’t know about that.

“You play against a team with talented players who are obviously disappointed as a football club because they have made a change (of manager).

“Then you expect a response from that change.

“It’s a clean slate for people and an opportunity for them to demonstrate in front of their home crowd how they want to play and what they want to do.

“There are a lot of top professionals there who have played in really big games for big clubs and have contributed at a high level in football.”

Potter and his men are being tested at the highest level. They are mixing with the best so they may as well make the most of it.

The Albion boss took time to talk to Jurgen Klopp ahead of Saturday’s match against Liverpool.

He said: “It was just ‘nice to meet you’ and I was telling him how well he has done.

“You can see the improvement year on year, despite the fact that it’s Liverpool, and he was saying he was impressed with the job we had done and the changes we had made.

“It was just chatting about his career and mine and just how, as a coach, we develop. It was a nice chat.”