Mikel Arteta has a reputation for using unique methods to inspire his team, and former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka claims he has been like that since his first day at the Emirates.
Granit Xhaka has revealed that Mikel Arteta has had a huge influence on Arsenal since his first day as Gunners manager. The Swiss midfielder said it was “unbelievable” to be working under the Spaniard’s direction and said he had quickly raised the bar since taking over at the club at the end of 2019.
Xhaka spent more than three years with the north London side before Arteta took over at the Emirates. The Sunderland star will remain at the club until 2023, coming close to winning the title before moving to Bayer Leverkusen.
And the Black Cats captain revealed Arteta has gone out of his way to get his message across. Arsenal’s head coach has built a reputation for employing a variety of tactics to inspire his team. From his use of light bulbs in team talk to the adoption of his chocolate Labrador, Wynn, Arteta has a holistic approach to getting results and that’s been the case from his first day.
“I’ll never forget the first day Mikel joined,” Xhaka told The Athletic. “The practice area had a big room and some chairs, but the chairs were everywhere and it was a mess.
read more: Lionel Messi faces possibility of surprise move despite signing huge new contract with Inter Miamiread more: Arsenal and Crystal Palace make request to Premier League amid match chaos
“He took all the people who were working in the building and brought them into this room and said, ‘Guys, this is what it looks like from the outside. It’s chaos.’ So they all brought their chairs and put them in the right places, and he said, ‘This is what I want you to be every day.’
“You might think, ‘Wow,’ but he already started with these standards from day one. Then he was building our mentality, our standards in training, pre-training, activation, recovery. He brought in people who did a great job. It was incredible to work with him because he looked at football from a different perspective.”
Xhaka also made it clear that Arteta had a huge influence on his future. The Swiss international was ready to leave Arsenal ahead of talks with the new manager.
“When Mikel came, he had a very open conversation with me,” Xhaka said. “My luggage was already completed (packed) and ready to leave. There was already a contract from another football club on the table.
“Mikel had two conversations with me and he convinced me to stay and gave me another chance. He wanted to show me that I was in the right place. From this day on, I felt that every word he said to me in this first conversation was exactly what he said.”
“That’s why I say that Mikel came in 2019 and he completely changed me as a person, on and off the pitch.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£49
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
