Mikel Arteta employs team of pickpockets to steal from Arsenal players

Mikel Arteta secretly employed a team of pickpockets to steal from his Arsenal players during a team dinner, in an exercise designed to demonstrate the importance of remaining alert at all times.

The Arsenal manager is well-known for his use of alternative methods, including props and mind games, to motivate, inspire and relax his players.

The pickpocket plan, first revealed by The Athletic, is believed to have taken place as the team gathered together last season. Many of the Arsenal players had their valuables temporarily taken from them, without them knowing, before Arteta later revealed the reality of the situation by asking them to empty their pockets.

Coin trick

Another of the tricks Arteta has played on his squad, as revealed by Telegraph Sport last year, was a game involving the hiding of coins in the shoes of a few first-team players.

The squad was told to stash the coins while the coaches were out of the room. The coaches then returned and guessed which players had those coins in their trainers, supposedly based on the looks in their eyes.

Only after the coaches had correctly identified the players with coins did Arteta reveal that he and his assistants had been watching the squad through CCTV cameras the whole time. It proved to be a successful attempt to reduce the tension ahead of a north London derby, which Arsenal won in style.

Another example of Arteta’s willingness to think outside the box is his use of a light bulb in a pre-match team talk, to illustrate how he wants his team to always be connected.

Arteta is a keen reader of books about psychology and leadership, and he has also transformed the culture at the club’s training ground by adding a dog — a Labrador called Win — to the squad. Many of the players take turns looking after Win, and there is now Win merchandise available to purchase at the club’s store.

Arsenal’s Premier League campaign begins on August 17 when they host Wolves at Emirates Stadium. Arteta’s side look set to come into the season in good form after they thrashed German champions Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 on Wednesday.