Mikel Arteta has been playing mind games with his Arsenal players in pre-season to prepare them for the challenges they will face during the Premier League campaign
Mikel Arteta has admitted he sabotaged Arsenal with some strange tactics to get his Gunners ready for their Premier League title defence.
The Gunners are still undefeated this season, and currently sit second in the table behind Manchester City. And if it’s the current top two that battle it out for the title again – Arteta will be hoping his team won’t panic after he went as far as cranking up the heat in the changing room, causing delays, messing with meal schedules, and removing massage beds during pre-season.
And those tactics have already proven to be worth their while as the Gunners’ flight to Naples was delayed by three hours. Arteta explained: “I love those challenges. I try to clear them in pre-season.
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“So when they happen, we already experience them and we already know,” reports the Mirror.
“So, get to the stadium very late, change the routine as soon as the players have to do something else. Because when it happens, and it can happen, you can miss the flight, the train can be delayed, there’s so much traffic, and I don’t want the players, but not only the players, the staff as well, panicking.
“So, when that happens, adapt to it. Okay, we have another two or three hours on the plane, how can we use them? Play together, spend some time together, sleep, use it, but certainly don’t complain and then use it as an excuse because that’s not helpful at all.
“Just delaying the meals, delaying the transport, taking a different route. We’ve done many things, made the dressing room hotter, more difficult, more challenging, less beds.
“Those kind of things, I think, in my opinion, because we’re going to have to adapt to different contexts, and we’ll try to anticipate it and create the best possible conditions. But when there is not that element of surprise or stress on match day, I think it’s important.”
This isn’t the first time Arteta has employed unconventional methods to keep his players alert. Previously, Arteta even arranged for a team of pickpockets to target the players during a meal, keeping them vigilant.
Last season, Arteta used the power of words to motivate his squad, using the term “fire” to inspire his players. He set up a bonfire at the training ground, encouraging them to write down their fears and cast the paper into the flames.