I disrupted pre-season travel plans to prepare players - Arteta

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal were ready for their midweek Champions League flight delay because he deliberately disrupted their training and travel plans in pre-season to prepare them.

Mikel Arteta has revealed that Arsenal's calm response to a midweek Champions League flight delay was no accident. The Gunners boss deliberately disrupted his squad's training and travel plans during pre-season to prepare them for exactly this kind of disruption. "We made a lot of changes to our pre-season schedule, and I would say we did it on purpose to create some chaos," Arteta said in his pre-match press conference. "I told the players that real matches don't always go to plan. Flights can be delayed, training pitches can change, hotels can have issues. We have to learn to stay focused and calm in any situation." That foresight paid off when Arsenal's flight was delayed by several hours ahead of their European fixture. Rather than showing frustration or anxiety, the players used the waiting time for tactical discussions and physical recovery. Arteta's coaching philosophy has long emphasised mental resilience and adaptability. He believes the difference between top teams and ordinary ones often lies not in technical or tactical ability, but in how they handle the unexpected. "If you can only play under ideal conditions, you will never win major trophies," Arteta explained. "Champions League away trips are full of variables - weather, transport, referees, crowd atmosphere. All of these can affect the game. What we try to do is make the players accustomed to these uncertainties and treat them as part of the match." This is not the first time Arteta has employed such methods. Last season, he temporarily changed training times, switched venues, and even made players complete recovery sessions without hot water during pre-season. The approach drew external criticism at the time, but Arteta insisted those experiences made the team's multiple comeback wins possible. From a broader perspective, Arteta's approach reflects a growing trend in modern football management: the cultivation of environmental adaptability. Traditional training focuses on fitness, technique, and tactics, but the modern game's congested schedule and frequent travel expose players to psychological and physical challenges far beyond the past. Arteta treats pre-season as a laboratory, artificially creating pressure situations to help players build a mental immune system. While seemingly harsh, this method can translate into calmness and efficiency on the pitch when it matters most. Of course, the strategy is not without risk. Some sports psychologists note that excessive uncertainty can increase anxiety, especially in young players. But Arteta is clearly aware of this, stressing that all arrangements remain within controllable limits and that his staff closely monitor player reactions. "We are not trying to torture the players, we are trying to make them stronger," Arteta said. "When you have experienced the most chaotic situations, a normal delay feels like nothing." For Arsenal, the midweek flight delay is just a small episode in a long season, but Arteta wants it to become part of the club's culture. As the campaign progresses, the Gunners will face more away challenges and a packed schedule, and this pre-emptive approach may prove decisive. As Arteta put it: "You cannot control everything, but you can control your reaction. That is what we have been training." Arsenal will continue to compete on both the Champions League and Premier League fronts, and whether Arteta's resilience training continues to translate into victories will be closely watched. But for now, the Spanish coach has instilled a rare quality in his squad: no matter how the outside world changes, the Gunners can maintain their own rhythm.

I disrupted pre-season travel plans to prepare players - Arteta

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