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Hello! Mikel Arteta loves his job. Simone Inzaghi is not so sure.
(TNT Sports)
Thieves and F1 images: How Arteta reaches out to players
(Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
Mikel Arteta and the Thieves – a 1970s band name if ever there was one – will be written about a million times in articles relating to the Arsenal manager.
It was a gem of exclusive and anecdotes as it tends to follow trainers around in narrative form. Arteta hiring professional thieves to rob his playing squad (and a staff member who thought he was in on the joke) comes to the cloud of how he works and how his brain is wired.
Arteta is fixated on finding an edge and creating an environment in which his soldiers are happy without being relaxed. On the night they were stripped of phones, wallets and keys, Arsenal’s players were about to face Liverpool in a Premier League match. Arteta wanted to crystallize thoughts about how good Liverpool could be at pinching pockets on the pitch.
The dinner and mock robbery were filmed by Kevin Balvers, Arterta’s head of methodology at the time. Balvers has since moved to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and Jordan Campbell spoke to him to get the perspective of someone in Arteta’s circle of iron – and learn more about the limits of the Spaniard’s imagination.
Spoiler: there are no limits.
‘Collaboration’
In Jordan’s interview, Balvers mentions Arteta’s love of the word “collaboration” – collaboration and competition rolled into one. From his appointment in 2019, he started to create an environment where people were on the same page but challenged; satisfied but not complacent.
These are some of Arteta’s management tricks, witnessed by Balvers:
- Arteta uses images of Formula cars to distinguish between opponents who press high and opponents who sit back.
- He expects presentations to potential signings to receive the personal touch. Kai Havertz loves dogs (apparently) so pictures of Arsenal’s training pet ‘Win’ were part of the pitch to the German forward.
- The designs on the walls of the club’s training complex were produced with Arteta’s input, one of them spelling out the acronym BASICS: Boxes, Attack, Shape, Intensity, Compete and Set pieces. We can safely say that the importance of pieces has sunk in.
- Arteta invites phone calls in the middle of the night from any player who has a problem. “It’s a hot spot,” Balvers told Jordan.
The thing about this is that, in the end, everything is hostage to the fate of results. If results are poor, motivational gimmicks are exposed to ridicule. If they are good, new ideas look inspired. Arteta’s touch has been so effective that it is impossible to escape how Arsenal’s form is strongly linked to his innovative methods. The two go hand in hand.
Arsenal extended Arteta’s contract last week. Quite right, too. The Spaniard being picked out of their pocket would be the stuff of nightmares.
Champions League shenanigans: Pointless back heels and double deflections
Celtic took Slovan Bratislava to the cleaners but overall, there was a general ‘WTF?’ topic about the second night of the Champions League.
Inter Milan drew 0-0 at Manchester City but shouldn’t have done. They had chances, and Matteo Darmian’s decision to back the ball (above) rather than shoot when he was (almost) clear was the catalyst for Simone Inzaghi’s confused reaction at the top of this newsletter.
Ilkay Gundogan contributed to a forgettable tie by missing two sitters, so Pep Guardiola was excited too. All in all, it’s a much better result for Inter away from home (and by the way, did you notice what Michael Cox noticed? They almost never dribble the ball).
Girona was on the march, from the fifth part of Spain to debut in the highest competition of UEFA. Their manager Michel is one of the coaches City are likely to look at if Guardiola calls it a day at the Etihad next summer.
They were on the brink of a credible goalless draw at Paris Saint-Germain when goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga let Nuno Mendes’ cross slip through his legs in the 90th minute (above). The winner fell as an own goal. Beloved – just grab it.
Then there was an unusual stroke of luck for Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens, who opened the scoring against Club Brugge with not one but two deflections (above).
Gittens, 20, is an England Under-21 international. He used to be in Manchester City’s academy, and he scored twice in Dortmund’s 3-0 win last night. look at him
And get ready for another round of matches later. Champions League action on a Thursday feels wrong (it’s always been a Tuesday/Wednesday thing) but think of these games as the little four, assuming you’re not already stuffed.
Catch a match (times ET/UK)
Champions League: Feyenoord vs. Bayer Leverkusen12.45/17.45, CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime/TNT Sports; Atalanta vs Arsenal3pm/8pm, Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports; Atletico Madrid vs RB Leipzig3pm/8pm, Paramount+, CBS, Fubo/TNT Sports; Monaco vs Barcelona3pm/8pm, Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports.
The League: Leganes vs Athletic Bilbao13:00/18:00, ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports.
📲 Champions League LIVE blog
News coverage
Tribute to Toto
(Daniel Garcia/AFP via Getty Images)
The 1990 World Cup – or Italia ’90 as it’s known to those of us who lived it and loved it – achieved the not-inconsiderable feat of earning lasting love.
It was enchanting and loaded with characters: explosive Diego Maradona, crying Paul Gascoigne, dancing Roger Milla and recklessly flamboyant Rene Higuita. I remember it as the best of times.
There was also Salvatore Schillaci, or “Toto” to his friends. He started Italia ’90 on the bench. He wasn’t Italy’s sexiest weapon. But he scored six goals, he got Italy to the brink of the final and he was Lothar Matthaus’s step away from claiming the Ballon d’Or.
The death of Schillaci was announced yesterday, at the age of 59. When the news came, the same images of him must have immediately flashed into millions of heads. He was a 1990’s surprise hit. Not every hero flaunts his cloak.
Ask Me (Almost) Anything
In response to yesterday’s lead about Manchester City midfielder Rodri hinting that players are on strike, TAFC reader Tim Muench got in touch.
“It’s amazing that players wonder why they play so many games,” Tim wrote. “Do they ask this question while checking their bank accounts?”
Touchy and not entirely wrong. Tim’s opinion recalls something that Marcelo Bielsa used to tell us: we should play fewer games but by playing fewer games, we also have to accept that we will earn less money.
Anyone in a hurry to shake on that compromise?
Tim mentioned some solutions: English teams in Europe skip the Carabao Cup, suspend the Premier League in January to stage the whole FA Cup there and then, etc. None of this would appeal to the general public but really, the game has to be creative right away. Exclude nothing.
Around The Athletic FC: Remembering Maddy Cusack
(Getty Images/Cusack Family; design: Eamon Dalton)
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
