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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

“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.”

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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