- Arteta has guided Arsenal to a second-place finish in the league for two consecutive seasons
- The Spaniard seems determined to challenge Man City with relentless effort
- The Gunners kick off their Premier League journey with a match against Wolves
Mikel Arteta has faced harsh criticism from football enthusiasts following his efforts to ready his Arsenal squad for the forthcoming Premier League season.
The Gunners have narrowly missed out on their ambition to secure the English top-flight title in the past two seasons, while their return to the Champions League also ended poorly.
As one of the favorites once again, Arsenal enters the new campaign with Arteta leaving no detail unattended in his quest for success.
According to a report from The Athletic, Arteta discreetly enlisted a group of professional pickpockets to take players’ phones and wallets during a dinner with the first-team squad.
At the conclusion of the meal, Arteta requested the players to check their pockets, leading several to discover that their valuable items were missing. This exercise was reportedly intended to highlight the need for constant vigilance.
Mikel Arteta reportedly executed a stunt on his Arsenal players during a dinner to impart a lesson.
Multiple Gunners players fell victim to the valuables theft orchestrated by the manager’s hired pickpockets.
The players’ reactions to this stunt remain uncertain, but fan responses have been predominantly negative.
‘That’s certainly one way to foster trust with your players, by robbing them all,’ commented a fan on X, complete with a laughing emoji.
Another user remarked: ‘And they’ll never trust him again.’ A further user on the platform stated: ‘Bro thinks hiring pickpockets will get them ready to win the league.’
‘What does this have to do with football or winning the league, huh?’ questioned another astonished user on X.
Arteta is not the first manager in the Premier League to face ridicule for unconventional methods of motivation. Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers notably took three envelopes to his first meeting as boss, claiming the names inside would let the team down during the season.
Ex-Reds goalkeeper Brad Jones noted that this theatrics backfired immediately.
‘When he did it, you could actually see right through the envelopes because of the way the light caught them,’ he recounted to the Liverpool Echo in 2022.
‘I just remember sitting there thinking, “I don’t think there’s anything in those envelopes!”‘
Arteta faced mockery from fans online for his intricate approach aimed at teaching his team a lesson.
Brendan Rodgers notoriously claimed he noted the names of players he believed would fail the team in the forthcoming season.
Arsenal showcased an impressive performance in defeating Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night.
Ex-Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves recounted that legendary former Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson employed a similar tactic during pre-season in 2007 – but unlike Rodgers’ stunt later, Hargreaves claimed it produced a positive effect on the players.
Arteta will be hoping his clever trick yields results akin to those experienced by Ferguson, and based on their recent pre-season performance, Gunners supporters may be in for an exhilarating season.
Arsenal triumphed over Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen with apparent ease at the Emirates on Wednesday evening. Following that 4-1 victory, they are set to face Lyon on Sunday before beginning their Premier League campaign against Wolves on August 17.
