Mikel Arteta of Arsenal. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
The margins in the Premier League are often very fine and in order to get a small advantage over opposing managers and teams, Oleksandr Zinchenko has revealed a trick Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta likes to play.
The Spanish coach has been a revelation at the Emirates Stadium since becoming the manager in 2019, taking the North London club from nothing to regular Premier League title contenders.
Arsenal is the 42-year-old’s first gig in management and the Spaniard is still learning on the job. A new sporting director could be on the way to help him soon following the departure of Edu.
It was seen on Amazon’s All or Nothing series that Arteta gets creative when motivating his Arsenal players before a game and Oleksandr Zinchenko – who is not in his manager’s plans anymore – has now revealed one method in which the Gunners boss tries to get an advantage on the competition.
In his book ‘Believe’, the Ukrainian has written that Arteta tells injured players to be part of the pre-match routine, not to make them feel included, but to mess with the opposing manager’s head.
“I’ve seen Mikel Arteta tell injured players to come on the team bus and walk into the dressing room with their wash bag, to put the other manager off the scent,” the defender said via Fabrizio Romano. “Arteta loves to play games with the opposition.”
Mikel Arteta needs to deliver success to Arsenal this season
Arteta is unlikely the first manager to do this but it is a genius tactic to throw off opposing managers at the last minute of their match preparations. However, the 42-year-old can have all the tricks he wants in his locker but the Spanish coach needs to start delivering trophies to the North London outfit.
Arsenal have constantly progressed in recent years, but this season is when the Gunners need to win some silverware and if not, discussions over whether Arteta is a failure or not will start to be had.