REVEALED: How Mikel Arteta turned around Arsenal’s woeful start to last season with an impassioned dressing room speech before playing Norwich in new teaser for All or Nothing series… but Gunners fan Piers Morgan labels the team-talk ‘so weird’
- Arsenal started 2021/22 with losses to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City
- They then picked up three straight wins and went unbeaten for eight games
- Mikel Arteta made a passionate speech just before the change in form
- He called Arsenal his ‘family’ and thanked his squad for ‘giving him purpose’
A new trailer for Arsenal’s All or Nothing Amazon Prime documentary has revealed that Mikel Arteta gave his players an inspirational speech thanking them for his ‘best week in football’ before a potentially vital game last season.
It came after the Gunners’ tough start to last season that saw them lose their opening three Premier League games against Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Following the manager’s speech, which also saw him open up about a heart condition he suffered as a child and describe the club as ‘another family’, Arsenal won three games in a row and were unbeaten for eight games.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal went eight games unbeaten after starting the season with three losses
The Arsenal boss mapped out his speech in front of players and staff in the changing room
‘High performance teams all have something in common: They get results,’ Arteta told his squad, comparing sports teams to the medical team that kept him a live as a child.
‘They do it only for one reason: Because they love what they do. That is their drive, that is their purpose.’
He went on to reveal how Arsenal’s poor form had affected him personally. He said: ‘After Man City, I had fear, I had insecurity, I had the media that is killing me.
Arteta is seen opening up to his players about their how they helped him ‘find his purpose’
‘Suddenly, I have all the positives. I have an amazing family. I have a wife, three kids. And another one: The club.
‘[I have] You guys. This week I have found the purpose or why I want to be a coach, why I’m in the industry, why I have to be with these people.
‘So for these guys, all I have to say is thank you so much to all of you. You made a difficult moment the best week of my football career.’
He finishes the speech with a final message of hope: ‘Believe in yourself, I do. You are really good.
The first three episodes of Arsenal’s All or Nothing series will be available to watch on August 4
‘The last thing I want to do as a coach is blame any of you in difficult moments. My responsibility, [is to] take the s***. Let’s go.’
Arsenal recovered well from their disastrous start to the campaign, but fell away at the end to finish in fifth place.
While most fans seemed to enjoy seeing Arteta motivate their side, one famous Gooner took a different view.
‘What on earth have I just watched? So weird.’ Tweeted Piers Morgan in response to the video.
Arteta’s Arsenal get their Premier League campaign underway against Crystal Palace
His view seemed unpopular in the replies though, with one saying: ‘You watched a rock bottom manager motivating his team and taking responsibility Piers.’
The first three episodes of the fly-on-the-wall documentary will be released on August 4. The next three will be released the following week while the final two will come out on August 18.
It will coincide with the start of Arsenal’s new Premier League campaign, which gets underway against Crystal Palace on Friday, August 5.
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