2024-02-24 14:25:47
Spanish coach Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal players to master the dark arts of football and turn them to their advantage, because he feared they were not in their DNA.
Arteta wants his players to go down fiercely and exploit their ability to compete in the street way, and he trains them on how to emerge victorious from clashes with opponents.
Midfielder Declan Rice admitted following losing to Porto, 0-1, on Wednesday, in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, that the team must be more “cunning.”
Porto slowed down the game at the Estadio do Dragao, and the two teams committed 36 mistakes, a record this season in the Champions League.
Arsenal will face stubborn Newcastle at its Emirates Stadium, on Saturday, while Arteta hopes that his players will understand the provocations on the green rectangle.
The former assistant to his compatriot, City coach Pep Guardiola, spoke regarding enhancing the spirit of the dark arts among his players, “There are several ways to do this. There is the way in which you talk to them, show them video clips, exercises, show them different scenarios and motivate them in some periods.”
Arteta acknowledged that this approach does not exist at Arsenal, and it has become an important point when signing new players. “When you build a team, you need these features, but they will come.”
He continued: “Sometimes it comes from the club culture. You see clubs that have it in their DNA… It is not something you can automatically associate with Arsenal, but that must be developed.”
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