Indeed, Mikel Arteta is credited not only for his tactical skills on the pitch but also for the rather unorthodox ways he tries to instill discipline in his Arsenal players. Beside the majestic manners of team talks and trainings he uses astonishing and at times bewildering methods to ensure high levels of attentiveness among his charges.
The most symbolic scene in Arteta’s coaching period, which viewers discussed throughout their watching in the program, “All or Nothing,” is associated with a light bulb. In another of the many examples, Arteta took an olive tree to a team meeting. The tree as an emblem of both growth and stability was intended to remind the players of the team’s values and encourage them to keep progressing as a team as the tree does.
But perhaps one of the most emotional and possibly unconnected at first glance strategies of Arteta was the addition of a new member into the team, in the form of a dog named Win, whom the manager had adopted. Win came to be a constant feature at the training ground, with players’ conscious reminder of the winning approach Arteta intended his team to have. Win’s presence was also needed to set a happy and laid-back mood with regards to the team and their efforts to stress that succeed if it is good, requires fun and unity as well.
Arteta recently invited actual pickpockets to a team dinner to test the players awareness. Said, pickpockets began their work during the dinner and they were very elegantly picking the pockets of a number of players, and by the time that dinner was over, lots of players were found to be minus their valuables. When Arteta asked the players to turn their pockets inside out the missing items were found much to the players’ surprise.
