'I dread to think': Chris Sutton says Mikel Arteta has been doing something 'wild' at Arsenal which could backfire
Yesterday at 02:15 PM
Arsenal are having a mixed season at present, flying high in the Champions League but not quite where they want to be domestically.
Arsenal are currently third in the Champions League table and set to go through to the last 16 and they’re second in the Premier League table.
However, the Gunners are now six points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and are out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
Now, Chris Sutton has claimed that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has put some “wild” ideas into practice which would’ve backfired back in his playing days.
Chris Sutton not sure about Mikel Arteta’s pickpocket and training music idea
Sutton, writing on BBC Sport, spoke about Arteta’s decision to play Brazilian Samba music in training and getting pickpockets to steal from his players during an early-season meal.
The retired striker says the music idea wouldn’t have gone down well at Celtic, while the pickpocket idea could’ve even led to fights.
“I am not sure about Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s attempts to galvanise his players,” said Sutton.
“The Gunners have been playing Brazilian Samba music during training sessions this week, to ‘build energy’ according to Arteta.
“He has some wild ideas, including getting pickpockets to steal valuables from his players, during a squad meal at the start of the season.
“I dread to think how it would have gone down if, say, Martin O’Neill had started playing any sort of music, Brazilian or otherwise, during training when I was with Celtic.
“I think the minute his back was turned, the players would have been making all sorts of gestures. We would have just found it funny – maybe it is a generational thing.
“As for the pickpockets? If some of my old team-mates found someone trying to nick their wallets then they might have ended up having a scrap with them. Imagine if that one went wrong!?”
However, Sutton also acknowledged that maybe it’s just him who’s old-fashioned while Arteta is thinking outside the box.
“Still, maybe I am just being an old misery for mocking things like this,” continued Sutton.
“Arteta is thinking outside the box and trying something different – if he wins this game, like he did against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, then I guess it has worked.”
Sutton predicts result of Arsenal trip to Wolves
Arsenal will hope to get back to winning ways in the Premier League as they take on another team from the West Midlands this weekend.
The Gunners head to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, where they’re set to be up against Arsenal target Matheus Cunha.
Sutton acknowledged that Arsenal slipped up in their 2-2 draw against Aston Villa last time out, but he thinks the Gunners will run out 2-0 winners at Molineux.
“Arsenal slipped up badly against Aston Villa last weekend, letting them back in it from 2-0 up, but I don’t see them having any problems here,” he wrote.
