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LONDON. — Old school football managers have long posted the disrespectful comments of opponents on dressing room walls, to give their players an extra edge in the battle ahead.
And while Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta may often be described as “modern” and “forward thinking”, he knows the value of some old-fashioned motivation. In amongst the psychology, props, flipcharts and tactical prompts Arteta employs pre-match, is an approach that every park player would instantly recognise.
Rendered to its simplest form, it translates as, ”they think you’re s**t”.
One of the most fascinating strands in the All or Nothing Arsenal docuseries has been Arteta’s team talks.
Seen by some as “weird”, they are unquestionably innovative and appear to provoke a reaction from the players.
Previously, we have seen Arteta ask his players to create a bubble of energy by holding hands and frequently sharing his own insecurities and fears in an attempt to help them relax.
In the latest episodes, which will stream from today, we see Arteta cast aside the clever stuff and go straight for the gut — the pride of his players.
“It is still in my stomach and I have managed to keep it (there) for six months,” seethes Arteta before he sent his team out to face Brentford at the Emirates in February.
Arsenal were embarrassed by Brentford in the first game of last season, losing 2-0, and the Bees centre forward, Ivan Toney, had celebrated with a little tweet, which had needled Arteta to such an extent, he had saved it for half a year.
It was now projected onto a whiteboard in the Arsenal dressing room.
“This is Toney after the game,” declared Arteta to his assembled players, banging his knuckles on the board.
“When we played at Brentford, you know what he did, you know his tweet,” added Arteta, before reading staccato from the screen, his finger jabbing at each word.
“Nice. Kick. About. With. The. Boys. This. Afternoon . . . ” read Arteta (who added the last two words for dramatic effect). The implication was that The Arsenal had been a soft touch and Brentford and Toney had hardly needed to exert themselves to beat them.
The Spaniard wasn’t having it, and he was not prepared to let his players accept it, either.
“So, today they play in our house, boys, and there is only one team on that f*****g pitch. And it’s us. Only one team and it’s like they don’t play football.
”We take that f*****g ball, we take the game and we go for it. And we f*****g win this game. Let’s go . . . ” Arsenal responded and won the match 2-1, with goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka. — Mailonline
Online Reporter