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Inside Mikel Arteta's Arsenal revolution as Gunners target final step after new contract

For Mikel Arteta, life is about efficiency.

The Spaniard is the first to arrive at London Colney each morning before engaging in a barrage of meetings. First into Arteta’s office is his assistant and close confident Albert Stuivenberg. Then follow the rest of his coaching staff.

While Arteta is far more jovial with his staff than his often stern external presence suggests, each engagement is about maximising precision. Meetings are scheduled meticulously and conducted to the minute. They never run over.

Do not mistake this consistency with familiarity though. Arteta is a man obsessed with improvement.

Across his near five years in charge the Spaniard has not been afraid to make difficult decisions to achieve it. One of Arteta’s first tasks at Arsenal was to overhaul the culture around the club with his non-negotiables. The first high profile casualty of this revolution was Mesut Ozil. Arteta had initially intended to include the German in his plans at Arsenal, but after a clash the cultural change was deemed more important.

A year later, despite Arsenal’s struggles in front of goal, club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was also exiled after failing to meet the standards Arteta set. This sent a message that no player was too big to fall foul of the non-negotiables. Arteta likes to take strategies from other sports. The All Blacks’ ‘no d***heads’ policy is one he subscribes to.

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The New Zealand rugby team have also taught Arteta that external appearance matters. The Spaniard insisted that Arsenal did not wear their pink third kit beyond August of the 2022/23 season, feeling that it was not intimidating enough for opponents.

It is not just sports where Arteta will look to take pearls of wisdom though. There is no stone that will go unturned in this insatiable pursuit of excellence.

The Spaniard is an avid reader and has spent some of his personal time learning about the continuing development of software companies. This has helped form an internal ethos of looking to upgrade this system this season at Arsenal, despite a campaign in which they managed a record number of Premier League wins and goals last time out.

This was brought up in a presentation to all staff at the club over the summer. Arteta is huge on making sure every employee at Arsenal feels part of what the club is trying to achieve and will regularly hold staff-wide meetings encouraging togetherness.

That ideology extends to the fans as well. Arteta’s belief is that if Arsenal want to be the best club in the world, then they need to have the best stadium and the best atmosphere in the world. This is why he played a part in a social media post prior to Arsenal’s round of 16 second leg victory over Porto encouraging supporters to bring the noise.

Players have consistently commented on the positive effect this has on them. It may be a played out cliché at this point, but there is a genuine feeling of family at the Emirates Stadium.

Of course, things have not been perfect. Critics of Arteta will highlight his sometimes-prickly persona in the media. Recently this has softened though, and Arteta is more convivial now in press conference than he was in years gone by. Sources close to the Arsenal manager feel this is as a result of increased security and familiarity in the job.

His touchline conduct remains an issue for some though. Many still haven’t forgotten his truculent reaction to controversial refereeing decisions in Arsenal’s defeat to Newcastle last season. Arteta has reflected on this though, and has admitted internally to some that he is not always proud of how he represents himself and the club on the sidelines.

Another criticism thrown at Arteta’s door is his unwillingness to use young players. The likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli formed the bedrock of his initial success at Arsenal, but since the start of 2022, he has handed out just three debuts to academy players. The Spaniard’s stance on this though is that he has to view them as first team players regardless of their age of origin. Arteta feels that when players are good enough and able to grab their opportunity, then he will be willing to provide a pathway in return.

Those close to Arteta also highlight his incessance as a point of difficulty. The Arsenal boss likes to switch off with sessions of meditation in the afternoon and enjoys building Lego with his youngest son. Even during down time though his mind is never far from the job.

Immediately after the end of the season just gone the Spaniard enjoyed a holiday in Sardinia. In between relaxation time though, he still found time to attend the KAFD Globe Soccer conference where he sat on a panel with Cesc Fabregas, Manchester City CEO Ferran Sorian and former Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rumenigge among others, to discuss the crowded calendar, the injury epidemic, forced growth costs, and unresolved critical issues such as the new FIFA regulations for agents.

It is this relentless desire to improvement that has made Arteta such a respected figure within footballing circles. Players are desperate to play under the Spaniard because they feel he can make them better. He will regularly stop training sessions to instruct them on how to do things correctly. This approach is different from other coaches who like to let sessions flow, but it has earned him almost unwavering loyalty from his squad.

In football word spreads quick, and the positive reviews have had a major impact an Arsenal's ability to lure players to north London. Where there may have been difficulty attracting top talent in the past, with Arteta at the helm of the project, sources in the club’s recruitment department have highlighted how much easier the pitch to potential transfer targets now is.

This is one of just many reasons that the Arsenal hierarchy were keen to tie Arteta down. They have backed the Spaniard in difficult times and are now reaping the rewards. Talks progressed smoothly, and despite rumours linking him with Barcelona, Arteta feels he has not finished the job yet at the Emirates Stadium. The quest for improvement continues.