I disrupted pre-season travel plans to prepare players - Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admits that he intentionally disrupted his players' pre-season travel plans to prepare them for potential unexpected challenges. During a news conference on Friday, before a Premier League match against Sunderland, Arteta revealed that he disrupts their training and travel schedules in the lead-up to games to ensure his team is ready for any mishaps.

Arteta explained that he creates these challenges deliberately, stating, "I love those challenges, I try to create them in pre-season." When these unplanned situations occur during matches, such as flight delays or train disruptions, he wants his players and staff to be prepared and not panic. He believes that adapting to such situations helps the team maintain composure under pressure.

To achieve this, Arteta employs various methods, including delaying meals or transport, taking different routes to stadiums, and making the dressing room uncomfortable. He also delays the players' arrival at the stadium, leading to late arrivals. By doing so, he ensures that the players spend time together, sleep, and play together in the limited time they have on the plane.

Arteta's unconventional preparation methods are not a new phenomenon with him. In the past, he has brought a light bulb into the dressing room to encourage players to be energetic, hired professional pickpockets to teach players to be alert, and even brought a dog named Win to boost team morale. He even lit a fire at the club's training ground before hosting Sporting in the Champions League.

Arteta is not opposed to others in the squad using his methods either. In April, a fire was lit at the club's training ground before they hosted Sporting in the Champions League, which Odegaard capitalized on to score a winning goal against Napoli.