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Mikel Arteta details unconventional Arsenal preparation tactics

sportsSep 11, 202640372

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he deliberately introduces matchday challenges such as delaying players’ meals, changing transport routes, raising dressing-room temperatures and removing some massage beds so the squad learns to adapt when plans go wrong. He pointed to this week’s flight to Naples, delayed more than five hours after a UK air traffic control incident, which forced him to cancel a pre-match press conference yet did not stop Martin Ødegaard’s second-half winner and Arsenal’s 13th successive Champions League league-stage victory. Arteta said he creates those situations in pre-season so players have already “experienced them and we already know” how to use extra time constructively rather than panic or complain. He reiterated previous unconventional preparations including using pickpockets on training camps and pumping crowd noise through a speaker to simulate Anfield conditions. Arteta framed the measures as practical resilience-building designed to prevent excuses and to make the team adapt on the road.

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