Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta exercised peak creativity during Monday’s training session at London Colney, putting his players through a string of highly unorthodox drills. As it turns out, leading the Premier League title race requires more than just good footwork—it might also require a pen.
The Gunners’ training session quickly caught the media’s attention thanks to a series of highly unusual relay races designed by the Spanish tactician.
Balancing Acts and Pen Dribbling
First, players were divided into groups of four and instructed to huddle closely together, wrapping their arms around one another. Their objective? To balance a football between their bowed foreheads and race down the pitch together without dropping it.
The creativity certainly didn’t stop there. Still huddled in their groups of four, the players were then required to use their index fingers to balance a pen in the air. While keeping the pen perfectly suspended, they had to pass a football between their feet, maneuver down the field toward a trash can, and ultimately flick the ball inside.
Arteta Remains Coy on the Purpose
While the quirky exercises were likely designed to promote camaraderie, hyper-focus, and multitasking under pressure, Arteta remained evasive when asked to explain his unique methods to reporters.
“I think the training session has to have different elements,” Arteta explained. “And it has to be related to the messages that we send, the compromises, and commitments that we’ve done between us. I try to have all those messages and commitments as much as possible in as many situations as possible, and training was one of them.”
When pressed specifically on the use of pens during the dribbling drill, Arteta simply offered a smirk and replied, “That stays in the dressing room.”
Bouncing Back for the Champions League
This focus-driven training session comes at a crucial time for Arsenal. Following a frustrating 2-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday that knocked them out of the FA Cup, the Gunners are looking to quickly hit the reset button.
Arteta’s side is currently preparing to travel to Portugal to face Sporting CP on Tuesday for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Arsenal fans will be hoping these out-of-the-box training methods translate into immediate success on the European stage.
