UCL: How pre-season drills helped Arsenal cope with Napoli flight delay — Arteta

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that deliberate disruptions introduced during pre-season helped his players remain composed when their flight to Italy was delayed ahead of their Champions League clash with Napoli.

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The Premier League champions were affected by air traffic control issues while travelling to Italy on Wednesday, eventually arriving around three hours later than scheduled.

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However, Arteta said the situation did not unsettle his players because he had deliberately exposed them to similar challenges during pre-season.

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As reported by BBC Sport, Arteta was quoted as saying, “I love those challenges, I try to create them in pre-season,” Arteta said at his news conference on Friday ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League trip to Sunderland.

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“So when they happen, we have already experienced them and we are ready.”

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The Arsenal manager explained that he had previously disrupted the team’s normal routines by delaying training sessions, meals and transport, as well as taking different routes to stadiums.

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“Get to the stadium very late, change the routine so the players have to do something else,” he said.

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Arteta said the objective was to ensure that unexpected problems such as cancelled flights, delayed trains or heavy traffic would not cause panic among his players and staff.

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“When it happens, adapt to it,” he said. “We have two or three hours on the plane – can we use it? Play together, spend some time together, sleep.

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“But don’t complain or use it as an excuse because it’s not helpful at all.”

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He added that Arsenal had also deliberately made dressing rooms hotter and more uncomfortable during preparations to expose players to different conditions.

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According to Arteta, such exercises reduce the stress and surprise associated with unexpected disruptions on matchdays.

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The Spanish coach has become known for his unconventional motivational and preparation methods.

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He once brought a light bulb into the dressing room while encouraging his players to be energetic and “shine”.

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On another occasion, he hired professional pickpockets to attend a team dinner and steal players’ phones and wallets as part of an exercise designed to teach them to remain alert.

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In 2023, Arteta brought a dog named Win into Arsenal’s training ground to boost morale and reinforce the idea of the squad as a family.

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The manager has also allowed similar initiatives within the squad, with a fire reportedly lit at the club’s training ground before a Champions League meeting with Sporting in April.

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Arteta believes the unconventional exercises help Arsenal develop the resilience and adaptability required to cope with the unpredictable nature of elite football.

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