Mikel Arteta quickly won Arsenal fans over (and, it must be said, large parts of the media) with his clear and precise communication style. His clarity was especially welcome after 18 months or so of Unai Emery’s word soup press conferences that left transcribers and fans alike scratching their heads. One of the foremost bullet points in Arteta’s PowerPoint was “non-negotiables”, the behaviours and principles all of his players must live by (and he used the word “live” rather than “work” in his unveiling press conference). The coach pulled no punches in those early months, the likes of Dani Ceballos and Ainsley Maitland-Niles were briefly frozen out before rehabilitating...
Full Story »