Liverpool title race blow sparks latest bizarre Mikel Arteta training ground plan
Arsenal's attempts to keep place with Liverpool in the Premier League title race are looking pretty bleak at the moment. So perhaps it is no surprise that Mikel Arteta has reportedly turned to desperate measures to keep his players' spirits up.
After the Reds grabbed a late 2-0 win over Brentford on Saturday to push themselves clear at the summit of the table, the Gunners slipped up. They led Aston Villa 2-0, although a second-half collapse meant they conceded twice and could only take a point.
The results mean Liverpool are now six points clear of Arsenal with a game in hand. Arteta's side are already out of the FA Cup and are 2-0 down to Newcastle United after the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
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With that in mind, the squad may undoubtedly be feeling a bit low. And according to a report in the Times, Arteta has taken an unusual step to try and lift the mood.
"Arteta cranked up a samba beat in training on Tuesday to try to get a tune from his Arsenal stars," read the report.
"He set up big speakers and treated his players to Sergio Mendes's Mas Que Nada, a song that became synonymous with the Brazil side. It was the soundtrack to the famous Nike advertisement depicting Ronaldo and his team-mates juggling footballs like the Harlem Globetrotters through the airport on the way to Paris for the World Cup finals in 1998.
"Arteta also played Take Me Out to the Ball Game, an unofficial anthem of baseball."
It is not the first time Arteta has used this type of tactic. He famously blurred Liverpool anthem You'll Never Walk Alone during an Arsenal training session in 2021 in an attempt to get his players better acclimatised to playing at Anfield.
According to The Times, Arteta also likes to play music during the team's warm-up, although it wouldn't appear to be something all his squad enjoy.
"You're not asking the right person," Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard said. "It's that natural that I don't even listen to it. It's just in the background and you’re more busy with your warm-up."
