Pickpockets, ping pong and protection at the back...
inside Arsenal's project to take that final step under Mikel Arteta with the blueprint and players in place to win the Premier League Mikel Arteta holds all the keys at Arsenal after two Premier League title charges Everything is about competition and the manager's fingerprints are everywhere LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off! , available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday By Isaan Khan Published: 22:32 BST, 16 August 2024 | Updated: 22:32 BST, 16 August 2024 e-mail View comments It takes years for a manager to make a football club his own. The trust needed to completely overhaul a Premier League outfit is not afforded to many.
For Mikel Arteta , after battling Manchester City for the title for two consecutive seasons, he now holds all the keys at Arsenal . Whether it is hiring professional pickpockets to operate while his players are eating dinner - it was a device to remind the players to always be vigilant - or vetoing a pre-season fixture in the USA against Wrexham, the fingerprints of Arteta are everywhere. Acronyms such as BASICS (Boxes, Attack, Shape, Intensity, Compete, Set-pieces) are plastered across the dressing room when the Gunners play away from home, to remind the squad of key messages and give them a sense of familiarity.
Everything is about competition. From training-session drills to a game of table tennis, Arteta has forged an environment where winners and losers are not.