Arsenal are the undisputed best side in London right now. With Chelsea failing to impress and Tottenham Hotspur stuttering, the Gunners are enjoying their best seasons in decades.
They are leading the Premier League and look set to be en route to their first Premier League title in two decades.
Their patience with Mikel Arteta appears to have borne fruit, with the Spaniard leading them to a lot of success this season after a few frustrating years.
He has overseen a complete overhaul at the club, selling the deadwood and egotistical older player to give a bigger platform for the hungry younger ones.
While he’s definitely improved his side’s performances on the pitch, making them more ruthless than before, Arteta’s off-the-field work has been pivotal to their success.
He has instilled a strict sense of discipline, punishing players for breaking team rules – irrespective of their importance to the squad.
The Spaniard has created a policy that every player will be treated equally, irrespective of age or experience.
This has actually worked in his favour, with the squad getting closer to each other and any sense of jealousy being completely wiped out.
As seen in the Arsenal: All or Nothing Amazon documentary, Arteta is extremely vocal in the dressing room and often uses off-the-box techniques (like weird drawings) to inspire his players.
Another interesting method of him getting players to realize the importance of playing for a club like Arsenal has been discovered recently.
After their impressive 2-0 win in the recent North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in their own yard, post-match pictures of the dressing room revealed an interesting thing.
In the away dressing room at Spurs stadium, Arteta put up some brilliant posters to inspire his players.
One of the posters had the word ‘Identity’ written – with the other being read as ‘Unity’.
But what is the truly unique thing about these inspiring posters is that the words are actually designed by using pictures of Arsenal players celebrating together.
Arteta has been able to bring a sense of family within the squad, which gives them the motive to go the extra mile into winning matches for themselves.
But this isn’t the first time that the Gunners’ boss has done something like this in the ongoing campaign.
It appears that Arsenal has been travelling with these posters all through the season for their away game. Another poster, with the word ‘Together’ written, can also be seen.
The Gunners have been excellent away from home in the Premier League this season, winning 8 out of their 10 visits and scoring 20 goals at that.
Their only loss on the road was to Manchester United and that too under controversial circumstances, with a clear goal from Gabriel Martinelli not being given. They have dominated games away from home, correcting a major issue from last season.
These posters prove that the little things matter a lot when it comes to football management.
Arteta’s ability to present himself as a member of the Arsenal family rather than the players’ manager has helped him connect with the squad and motivated them into unleashing their best form – which seems to be leading to something truly special.