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Agence France-Presse

Mikel Arteta reportedly hired a group of pickpockets to teach his Arsenal stars a valuable lesson and is now planning to steal the Premier League title from Manchester City.
Arteta’s side suffered an agonising end to last season as City pipped them to the trophy by just two points on the final day.
Arsenal lost only one of their last 18 league games but still could not hold off City’s relentless charge to an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League crown.
That painful near-miss came 12 months after the Gunners allowed City to snatch the 2022/23 title from their grasp after squandering an eight-point lead.
Rather than dull his appetite for success, those blows inspired Arteta to take his already obsessive attention to detail to new heights as he chases Arsenal’s first league title in 21 years.

“I don’t want to get over it,” he said. “We need that pain and that hunger to achieve what we want to achieve because the competition is unbelievable.”
With that in mind, Arteta secretly tasked a team of professional pickpockets with taking phones and wallets during a dinner with his players.
At the end of the meal, he asked the squad to empty their pockets and they immediately realised they were missing valuable items.
The exercise was done to teach them the importance of being alert at all times, on and off the pitch.
Arteta, whose side start their Premier League campaign at home to Wolves on Saturday, is no stranger to using creative ideas to motivate his players.
The Spaniard brought an olive tree into a team meeting last season, describing the players as the branches and the staff as the roots.
He also once blasted out the song You’ll Never Walk Alone over loudspeakers during a training session to replicate the raucous atmosphere at Liverpool.
Arteta even adopted a dog called Win to bring a more family feel to the training ground and boost players’ morale.

But the 42-year-old’s admirable ability to think outside the box has yet to deliver a prize that is beyond the reach of even his pickpockets.
Driven by his burning desire to hold a Premier League winners’ medal, Arteta spent the summer consumed by the daunting task of finding a way to end City’s reign as the English game’s pre-eminent force.
Arsenal last won the title when Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” went unbeaten through the 2003-04 league season.
Wenger and his iconic stars cast a long shadow over the Emirates Stadium in the fallow period that followed.
But winning a title fight with a team of City’s dynastic quality would assure Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba and company of a place in the club’s hall of fame alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Sol Campbell.
Arteta is convinced Arsenal are ready to make that leap towards north London immortality, citing the way his players pushed City to the brink last season as proof of their character and quality.
“When you are analytical and you gather all the stats and everything the team has done over the past 11 months in the Premier League, we should have won it,” he told ESPN recently.

“The reality is that we didn’t, so there is something that is there that we haven’t managed as well as Man City or other clubs in the past. I think we understand where those margins are.”
Arteta has been cautious in the transfer market ahead of the new campaign, signing only Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna, while turning goalkeeper David Raya’s loan from Brentford into a permanent deal.
A new striker could be the missing piece in Arteta’s title jigsaw, but for now he insists City can be dethroned by focusing on the smallest details.
“One thing is to get the 90 per cent that we want and actually the 10 per cent, five per cent, one per cent is what defines success and winning major trophies,” he added.


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English Premier League

English Premier League: Arsenal aim to pick Manchester City’s pockets in title race

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (left) has spent the summer trying to find a way to end the reign of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as the English game’s pre-eminent force. Photo: Reuters

Arsenal’s last title win was in 2003/04, when Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” went through the season unbeaten. Photo: Reuters

Arsenal’s William Saliba (left) celebrates after scoring against Lyon in a friendly at the Emirates last Sunday. Photo: AP

Arsenal’s only off-season purchase was of Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna. Photo: AFP

English Premier League: Reds, Arteta, Ten Hag, promoted teams, Chelsea – 5 talking points

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his team will face a strong challenge in their quest to win the title for an unprecedented fifth time straight. Photo: Reuters

Liverpool under new manager Arne Slot have swept all before them in preseason friendlies. Photo: Reuters

Riccardo Calafiori (right) seems to have reinforced Arsenal’s already-strong defence. Photo: AP

Manchester United newcomer Leny Yoro has already been sidelined for three months. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna (left) is vital for his team’s chances of survival in the top league. Photo: Reuters

Chelsea’s Italian head coach Enzo Maresca will have to deal with keeping a large squad of players happy. Photo: AFP

English Premier League: singer Ed Sheeran buys minority stake in hometown club Ipswich

New Ipswich Town minority shareholder and life-long fan Ed Sheeran in the stands before a Championship match at Portman Road.   Photo: AP

Fantasy Football tips: Premier League is back, Man Utd v Fulham kicks off Gameweek 1

Erling Haaland (left) is the most expensive player in FPL history as most managers look to emulate the success of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. Photo: Reuters

Trent Alexander-Arnold is popular with FPL managers as a defender who contributes to attacking plays. Photo: EPA

Chelsea’s Cole Palmer was arguably the best value-for-money signing for FPL managers in 2023/24. Photo: AFP

Brighton’s Joao Pedro (top right) will expect to improve on his 2023/24 numbers with no European football. Photo: AP

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka could be a great option because of the Gunners’ relatively easy start to the campaign. Photo: AFP

Fantasy Premier League: more transfers, a mystery chip and 10 points if your keeper scores

England’s Cole Palmer, (second right) celebrates with his teammates after scoring against Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Palmer’s FPL price has more than doubled for the new season. Photo: AP

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland celebrates with the Premier League trophy with family and friends at the Etihad Stadium. Photo: DPA

Howe has ‘no thought’ of taking England job, looking to win trophies with Newcastle

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has been linked with the vacant England job. Photo: AFP

Sport

Football

The use of pickpockets is just Gunners manager Mikel Arteta’s latest creative idea in driving his side towards their first title in 21 years


The use of pickpockets is just Gunners manager Mikel Arteta’s latest creative idea in driving his side towards their first title in 21 years.
