As Arsenal host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals, the tactical clash between Mikel Arteta and Luis Enrique promises to be an exciting one. Behind the scenes, the two Spanish coaches will leave nothing to chance when it comes to motivating their players. And in this game, the Basque, who has been at the helm of the Gunners since 2019, has made a specialty of always surprising his team. From using a light bulb during a talk to the club's long-time photographer or a pickpocket, Pep Guardiola's former assistant has proven innovative in this area. Within the English media outlet The Sun, full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko revealed a new anecdote about his coach's original methods: "Each player was given a lemon, a knife, and a glass, and Mikel said, 'I want you to squeeze these lemons as hard as you can.'" In the end, we'll put it all in a bowl and see what we can achieve together. The juice is the magic of our team." Everyone started squeezing and Mikel announced the time and addressed a player: "Have you squeezed enough?" He took the lemon and a little more juice came out. He said: "Guys, this is the message, you can always add more, you can always give more." A beautiful fruit metaphor and a great example of management.
Brief
Mikel Arteta, in charge of the Gunners since 2019, has made a speciality of surprising his players with innovative management methods / ©Icon Sport