Arteta says he ruins Arsenal pre-season on purpose so nothing surprises them

The bizarre Arteta tactic that prepared Arsenal for any inconvenience

Air traffic control issues disrupted the team’s journey to Italy on Wednesday, but the manager had already prepared his squad for situations like this by deliberately making pre-season more difficult.

Arteta regularly throws unexpected problems into the team’s schedule to teach players and staff how to react when plans suddenly change. 

That can mean arriving at a stadium much later than planned, delaying meals, taking unfamiliar routes or making the dressing room hotter and more uncomfortable.

“I love those challenges, I try to create them in pre-season,” Arteta said. “So when they happen, we have already experienced them and we are ready.”

The aim is to stop frustration from becoming another problem. Arteta wants the squad to adapt when flights are cancelled, trains are delayed or traffic causes unexpected hold-ups.

During the Napoli delay, his message was to make the extra time useful. The players could sleep, play together or spend time with one another, but they were not supposed to treat the disruption as an excuse.

“When that happens, adapt to it,” Arteta explained. “But don't complain or use it as an excuse because it's not helpful at all.”

By creating these uncomfortable situations before the season begins, Arteta believes his players are less likely to panic when something genuinely goes wrong.

The strange Arteta tricks designed to keep Arsenal cal

There is a reason Arteta is so comfortable when things go wrong. He has spent years deliberately making sure his players know what it feels like to deal with the unexpected.

His pre-season exercises have included everything from bringing a light bulb into the dressing room and telling his players to “shine” to hiring professional pickpockets to steal phones and wallets during a team dinner.

In 2023, he took a completely different approach, bringing a dog called Win to the training ground to lift the squad’s mood and represent the idea of Arsenal as a family.

The club has also played along with his unconventional methods. Before Arsenal faced Sporting in the Champions League in April, a fire was even lit at the training ground.

While the ideas might sound bizarre individually, they all serve the same purpose: Arteta wants his players to experience distractions, discomfort and pressure in controlled circumstances, so they are less likely to panic when something genuinely important goes wrong.