Online Reporter
THE long wait is finally over for Arsenal.
After 22 years and being labelled bridesmaids, the Gunners are Premier League champions once again.
From the use of speakers in training, the adoption of team dog Win and keeping a 150-year-old miniature olive tree in his office, Mikel Arteta has used some weird and wacky methods to lead his players to glory.
Blasting ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ from a sound system before a 4-0 loss to Liverpool in 2021 was one of the first of many unique methods to inspire the long road to glory.
Along the way, the Spaniard also hired pickpockets to teach his players the importance of being alert and prepared at all times.
Arteta has been ridiculed by fans for his unusual methods – but now he is the one laughing.
And he can finally make the training ground change he has been waiting for since day one as Arsenal boss.
The manager has made many changes there during his nearly seven years in charge and one of them was installing a blacked-out silhouette of the Prem trophy.
Players walk past it every day when they arrive – but the next time will be different.
The trophy is due to be lit up to mark the fact that Arsenal have completed their aim of bringing the title back to North London.
Former sporting director Edu used to show the silhouetted trophy to new signings when touring the training ground and told them: “We will make that shiny.”
Arteta has lived up to that promise and one of the overriding emotions will be relief.
After finishing second for the past three seasons in a row, the pressure was on Arsenal to get over the line this time.
Their title charge this season has been a will-they/won’t-they storyline that rivals Ross and Rachel in the famous TV show Friends.
Arsenal and Arteta have ultimately got their happy ending – and it could become a historic season next week if they beat Paris Saint-Germain to win the Champions League, too.
The foundations for all of this were laid last summer.
Arteta, as he always does, went to Mallorca for a holiday with his family. They celebrated his three sons’ birthdays, and relaxed by hiking and playing sports.
The wheels were also in motion then for Arsenal’s transfer business, which eventually resulted in eight players joining as part of a £250million spending spree.
Sporting director Andrea Berta aimed to give Arteta greater squad depth after injuries derailed the previous title charge.
Arsenal specifically targeted players with good fitness records and ditched the previously used ‘tier system’.
In the past, the club internally ranked players in three tiers depending on their status in the squad.
For this season, however, Arteta decided to scrap that and have a more competitive group where players fight for their place.
That can cause friction, but the squad has stayed close by spending time together away from the pitch.
Captain Martin Odegaard has taken up golf and plays with Ben White, Christian Norgaard, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard.
The sauna at the training ground has proved especially popular, with players relaxing in it and debriefing matches. Religion has played a big part in unity. -Sun.
Summer signing Eberechi Eze is one of several Christians in the squad and leads prayers before games for those who want to join.
The club’s run to the Champions League final has coincided with players holding a tournament for the Spanish board game Parchis to pass the time at hotels.
Fun and games on the road have coincided with the training ground being refreshed.
Arteta has signs up all over the place and one of the new ones installed this season was a play on the word BBQ.
The Arsenal boss loves to have BBQs with staff and players, but on this occasion the sign stood for Belief, Brave, Quality.
A sign that remained from last season, though, was one that reads: “Win the game with set-pieces”.
They have, once again, provided a valuable weapon for Arsenal, yet the busy schedule has forced set-piece coach Nicolas Jover to get creative.
The Gunners have had over 60 games this season. That makes training limited, so Jover has used videos to teach new routines.
Jover is a key part of Arteta’s backroom staff, which was bolstered last summer by the arrival of Gabriel Heinze.
The former Manchester United defender played with Arteta over 20 years ago at PSG and they are close friends.
Heinze shares many of Arteta’s qualities – especially his work ethic – and the defenders have enjoyed his motivational speeches this season.
But the players have had to lift themselves during difficult stages of this title race, and Arteta will view that as proof the culture at Arsenal is now right.
After a dramatic late draw at Wolves in February, the squad held a meeting to arrest the slide.
That weekend, they thumped rivals Tottenham 4-1 in their own backyard -Sun.
