Football fans were left in disbelief at what Mikel Arteta did to teach his Arsenal players a lesson.
Arteta has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in Arsenal's fortunes since he replaced Unai Emery as manager in 2019, guiding the club back into the Champions League before making them regular Premier League title contenders.
The former Arsenal midfielder is an extremely popular figure at the Emirates Stadium with fans, players and club chiefs, but it's fair to say he has used some rather unusual methods to achieve success.
These include the team adopting a dog called 'win' to represent the 'Arsenal family', the players holding hands during team-talks so that they can 'feel each other's energy', and blasting out 'You'll Never Walk Alone' during a training session to prepare his stars for the intimidating Anfield atmosphere.
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However, none of those ideas were as bizarre as what the Spanish coach reportedly did during a team dinner.
According to The Athletic, Arteta secretly hired a team of professional pickpockets to go around the tables and steal the phones and wallets of the unwitting first-team stars.
At the end of the meal Arteta asked the players to empty their pockets, at which point they realised that they were missing valuable items.
The idea behind the stunt was to teach his squad the importance of being ready, alert and prepared at all times.
Arteta has made unusual and slightly eccentric methods a key part of his management style as he sees every occasion as an opportunity to learn and develop.
While his drive and competitive spirit has undoubtedly fuelled Arsenal's improvement over the last five years, fans of the club's rivals find his approach pretty cringy to say the least.
"There're several other ways to teach the players to remain alert but Arteta has decided to do this cringe thing," one football fan commented on X.
"That's so cringe. They’re football players not secret service," another replied.
Topics: Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Fan Reactions, Premier League, Football
Alex Brotherton