Reigning English champion and unfortunate finalist in the last Champions League, Arsenal had a very good 2025/2026 financial year and attacked the 2026/2027 season in a very good way. Co-leader of the Premier League standings with Manchester City after three victories in as many matches, the London club also got off to a good start to its C1 campaign by winning in Naples (1-0). On paper, everything is fine. However, this trip to Italy was an opportunity for Mikel Arteta to make a funny confession.
As a reminder, the Gunners played last Wednesday in Naples, but they arrived at the Maradona stadium at the last minute, their flight having been delayed by three hours. This did not prevent William Saliba’s teammates from winning… because they were prepared for this kind of situation. On the eve of the trip to Sunderland, Arteta explained that he had used the 2026 pre-season to work on this aspect on his players, without warning them. “I love these challenges. I try to create them during the pre-season! So when they come, we know how to handle them and we’re already prepared for them.”he confided at a press conference, before continuing.
Arteta and his original methods
“Arriving very late at the stadium, changing the routine so that the players have to do something else. When it happens, and it can happen: the flight may be canceled, or the train may be late, or when there is a lot of traffic. I don’t want the players and staff to panic. When this happens, you have to adapt to it. We know we’re going to spend two or three hours on the plane: can we make the most of it? Playing together, spending time together, sleeping. But you shouldn’t complain or use it as an excuse, because it doesn’t help anything. » And here is how he went about “training” his flock in this type of inconvenience. “Delay meals, delay travel, take a different route. We have done a lot of things. Make the locker room hotter, more difficult, more demanding, with fewer massage tables. That kind of thing, because we’re going to have to adapt to different contexts. And we will try to anticipate this and adapt to difficult conditions. I think it’s important that there is no element of surprise or stress on match day. » This is not the first time that Arteta has asked his players in an original way.
Last year, he had a member of his staff hire a pickpocket to rob his own players during a dinner in order to prepare his men for a match against a team that was trying every possible tactic to gain an advantage. Finally, the documentary All or Nothing had also revealed other original methods of the Spaniard. Thus, before a shock against Liverpool, Arteta had played the famous anthem of the Reds “You’ll Never Walk Alone” loudly through the speakers during practice, so his players can get used to the stadium atmosphere. Finally, during a pre-match speech, the former PSG player also used a light bulb so that his players shine and transmit energy and light to each other.
