Arteta's pre‑season disruptions ready Arsenal for delayed Napoli flight

Arsenal’s midweek Champions League flight to Italy to face Napoli on Wednesday was hit by air‑traffic control problems, leaving the Premier League champions three hours behind schedule. Manager Mikel Arteta said his pre‑season disruption of training and travel plans meant the squad were already prepared for the setback.

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The delay stemmed from a sudden air‑traffic control issue as the team flew from England to Italy. Despite arriving three hours later, Arteta insisted the players’ mindset remained intact because of the challenges he had deliberately introduced earlier in the season.

“I love those challenges, I try to create them in pre‑season,” Arteta told reporters on Friday before Saturday’s Premier League trip to Sunderland. “So when they happen, we have already experienced them and we are ready. Get to the stadium very late, change the routine, and the players have to adapt.”

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Deliberate disruptions in training

He explained that his routine may involve delaying meals, altering transport routes or even raising the temperature in the dressing room to make it uncomfortable. Such tweaks, he believes, reduce stress and prevent panic when real‑world disruptions occur on matchday.

Previous experiments have included placing a single light bulb in the dressing room and urging players to ‘shine’, as well as hiring professional pickpockets to attend a team dinner and steal phones and wallets as a vigilance lesson.

In 2023 Arteta brought a dog called Win onto the training ground to boost morale, describing the squad as a family. More recently, a fire was deliberately lit at the club’s training ground in April before a Champions League tie with Sporting, adding another layer to his unconventional preparation.

The contrast between a planned, controlled disruption and an unplanned travel delay underlines Arteta’s belief that exposing players to adversity in advance builds resilience, ensuring Arsenal can cope with unexpected obstacles in future Champions League or Premier League fixtures.