The Arsenal manager revealed that meals, transport and dressing-room routines have all been altered deliberately so the squad learns to adapt when plans go wrong.
Mikel Arteta has lifted the lid on one of the more unusual ways he prepares Arsenal for the unexpected, deliberately disrupting pre-season routines so his players are better equipped when plans go wrong for real.
The approach came into focus after Arsenal’s journey for their Champions League match away to Napoli was delayed by air-traffic-control problems in the UK. The disruption was significant enough to force the cancellation of Arteta’s scheduled pre-match media duties.
Arsenal still won 1-0 in Naples, and Arteta later explained that such problems were exactly the sort of thing he had tried to replicate during the summer.
“I love those challenges and I try to create them in preseason so when they happen, we already experience them and we are ready,” Arteta said.
His methods have included deliberately interfering with the normal rhythm of match preparation. Meals have been delayed, transport arrangements changed, routes altered and dressing-room routines disturbed, all with the intention of making inconvenience feel familiar rather than disturbing or unsettling.
“So, get to the stadium very late, change the routine and suddenly the players have to do something else,” he said. “It can happen, you can miss the flight, the train can be delayed, there is so much traffic, and I don’t want the players and the staff panicking so when that happens, adapt to it.
“OK, we have another two, three hours on the plane, adapt to it. How can we use them? Play together, spend some time together, sleep, use it, but certainly don’t complain and use it as an excuse because that’s not helpful at all.”
The trip to Naples offered a useful example of why he considers that important.
Arsenal’s plans were disrupted before they had even left the country, but the circumstances did not become an excuse once the match began and the Gunners delivered one of the most comprehensive 1-0 wins you will ever see.
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