- Arsenal’s eye-opening dressing room notes have won plaudits with supporters
- A fan posted a tactics board showing how each player feels at the Emirates
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Arsenal players’ dressing room notes revealing ‘how playing at the Emirates makes them feel’ have been shared online, with the idea winning plaudits among fans.
The picture, which was posted on social media by a supporter, showed a tactics board with an Arsenal star writing a word that summed up how they feel when they play at their home stadium, accompanied by their initials and squad number.
The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League and bidding to win their first title since 2004 ahead of rivals Liverpool and Man City, so it’s no surprise to see that all of the words were positive.
The word ‘excited’ was written down by four different players, while other members of the first team went for ‘happy’ and ‘confident’.
Arsenal have won 11 games at home in the Premier League this season to boost their title charge and it’s clear Mikel Arteta is keen to continue making the Emirates at fortress to give them the edge.
The most popular word, ‘excited’, was picked by Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior.
No 1 goalkeeper David Raya wrote ‘confident’, summing up Arsenal’s great form, while Kai Havertz – who has scored in his last four league games – went for ‘enjoyment’.
Eddie Nketiah and Thomas Partey were more understated – as they said ‘happy’ and ‘good’ respectively.
Bukayo Saka is having a special season – and that’s exactly the word he opted for after blitzing his way to 16 goals.
Leandro Trossard, meanwhile, decided to pick ‘magical’ as his word and Oleksandr Zinchenko wrote ‘pleasure’. Other answers included ‘powerful’ from Emile Smith Rowe, ‘privileged’ from Ben White and ‘love’ from captain Martin Odegaard.
Fans were in favour of the idea and voiced their approval over the positive feeling from the players.
One wrote: ‘Love their answers’, while another said ‘that’s the spirit, my players.’
Another simply said: ‘I love this team’.
Others were left in hysterics by the simplistic nature of Partey’s response.
The fan who shared the picture claims the board was spotted during a tour of the Emirates.
Arteta came in for praise from another fan who hailed his latest exercise.
‘Wow, this is more than just football management. This is Leadership 101. Vamos, gaffer @m8arteta.’
Arteta is known for his unique methods to inspire his players before games.
During Amazon’s fly-on-the-wall documentary series All or Nothing that looked at Arsenal players in the 2021-22 season, he famously used a lightbulb to motivate his team, urging them to ‘turn the light on’.
In another instance, he brought a club photographer to the dressing room to give a team talk before the North London Derby.
Arteta also brought up a tweet from Ivan Toney mocking the Gunners after beating them with Brentford earlier in the season ahead of the reverse fixture.
And last summer the Spaniard even introduced a club dog to their London Colney training ground, calling him ‘Win’. He said the labrador would help the players generate a ‘family’ atmosphere at the club.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
