In an era where football can’t get away from tactics, xG, and the emphasis on results, some features of the game are sometimes forgotten.
One such nuance is the sense of fashion, not just a player’s, but also the manager’s.
It used to be simple to categorise the style of the football manager into two groups: shapeless suits or worn-out tracksuits.
But football underwent a metamorphosis sometime in the past ten years. Today’s coaches aren’t shy about showcasing their personalities during games.
On the touchline now, there are people wearing anything they feel comfortable in, from sweats to turtlenecks, to suits.
Mikel Arteta, the manager of The Gunners, generally wears a black jacket or sweater with black or grey pants.
A sleek look good enough to be a member of a Bond film, but nothing too much that would put him in the spotlight.
On Sunday’s match against Brentford, however, the manager had a change of attire.
The death of the monarch, Queen Elizabeth, called for formal and professional dressing from the managers, and Arteta heard the memo loud and clear.
Arteta was seen wearing a single-breasted all-black suit with a black sweater.
The white shirt inside completed the look by adding a contrasting collar to the notch-lapel design of the suit.
Alongside this, he wore a pair of black trousers and black boots, with the clear theme of black for the funeral.
On his hand, we can see a Rolex GMT Master II “Sea King”.
The timepiece was created to mark the retirement of the British Sea-King helicopter, which had been in service with the British military since 1969.
As of August 2022, its market value is 62,000 USD.
Fashionistas on Twitter have been well impressed by Arteta’s showing.
Some were so impressed with what he was wearing. They were hopeful to see him don the same outfit for when Arsenal play the Europa League finals.
Since Arteta has a very strictly followed dressing pattern, watching him in a suit was a surprise for most fans, but one which they welcomed.
One even said that despite all the positives from the 3-0 victory, the best part of the day was watching Arteta in a suit!
He has always been praised for his dressing and especially for his very confusing haircut.
Arteta has flawless dark hair that never appears to deteriorate, even as the Spaniard ages.
Together with his constant beard, this results in a robotic hairstyle that nonetheless manages to look good.
Since this was the only game he’s ever worn a suit to, his record of wins is 100% when wearing one.
Arsenal fans would definitely love to see more of that.
