Arteta’s 3 big Arsenal changes to improve club culture

The feeling around Arsenal is the warmest it’s been for years. Everything from the connection with the supporters to the unity from within the camp is inviting and welcoming. There is a sense of something positive building.

Mikel Arteta has had a whirlwind tenure at the club, from the chastising lows of winless runs and no European football to the highs of FA Cup glory and the belief that a top four place and future success on the horizon.

Beyond tactical and squad alterations by the manager, the much-discussed culture at the club has changed considerably. Finally this feels like a place where people want to be for the right reasons, instead of a cosy London retirement home where they can pick up their pension package en route to a life in Dubai.

The non-negotiables Arteta has become synonymous with have seen major fall-outs, players ostracised and decisions made that fans have either been on board with or lambasted. All the noises coming out of the club, however, indicate that it’s been for the better.

Mikel Arteta’s 3 big Arsenal changes that have helped improve the club culture, resulting in a more harmonious environment and improved performances

As per Simon Collings of the Evening Standard, Arteta has made a series of seemingly minor changes in and around London Colney that have all contributed to the improved atmosphere at the club.

Starting with training ground changes, the refurbishments have included motivational slogans and quotes from Arsene Wenger. These, coupled with him moving his office closer to the rest of the analyst team and coaches where he has a table outside his office for meetings, has created a more communal feel.

A well known stickler for time keeping, most days Arteta will arrive at 8AM, an hour before the rest so he can plan his day ahead. Tardiness was one of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s downfalls in the manager’s eyes, and his approach has rubbed off positively on the rest of the group with other players now arriving early themselves, choosing to have breakfast with their teammates on site.

His aforementioned hard stance on non-negotiables doesn’t filter into every aspect of the day, though. His desire for a warmer environment and greater unity sees, for example, players make greater effort to celebrate events like birthdays, where cake and presents are handed out. Even on set days players are known to stay and have lunch as an entire squad now, sometimes built around a theme, such as Brazilian, where staff members dress up in yellow and green and eat Brazilian cuisine.

This greater sense of a ‘family feel’ around the club has seen players bring their families and partners on training camps away from home, such as the recent trip to Dubai, while also helping to eliminate the cliques often formed with players naturally socialising more often with those of the same nationality or who speak the same first language.

One need only see the harmony within the Arsenal squad on and off the pitch, the buzz of the fans in the terraces, and the togetherness with the coaching staff, to get an understanding of how these changes have positively impacted performances.

This is a club that prospective new signings, as well as those at the club, want to be involved in. There is the cultivation of a culture that is serious about success and serious about improvement. It’s a far cry from the toxic days in Wenger’s late years and for most of Emery’s tenure. These seemingly minor alterations build towards a grander end goal, and demonstrate the importance of ‘soft factors’.

Everyone is firmly on board, internally and externally.