Mikel Arteta ‘pathetic and laughable’ as Arsenal boss ridiculed over Liverpool tactic

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been slammed by Gabriel Agbonlahor after a bizarre training ground tactic emerged from the club’s Amazon All or Nothing docuseries. Arteta played the Liverpool anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone during a training session ahead of the trip to Anfield last season.

The Gunners boss hoped it would prepare his players for one of the most atmospheric stadiums in the country. Leading up to the game last November, Arteta had big speakers set up on the training field and blasted out the famous song.

In a preview clip for the upcoming docuseries, Arteta described it as one of his “crazy ideas”. However, it didn’t seem to work, as Arsenal lost the game 4-0.

There has been a mixed response to the clip on social media. Some have lauded the effort while many have ridiculed Arteta.

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Agbonlahor is certainly in the latter camp and says he would have been laughing as a player if he was part of a squad who received similar preparation. The former Aston Villa captain told talkSPORT: “First of all, this documentary is going to be funnier than a Kevin Hart standup.

“That is the most pathetic thing I’ve seen. If I was on that pitch training I would probably find it funny. You’d be laughing with your teammates.

“When they are playing in the Europa League and playing Fenerbahce away, are they going to get flares for the training ground and drums? Someone coming in to play drums while they are training?

“Honestly, it’s ridiculous. The players are not going to be on board with that.

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“They lost the game by how many goals, was it 4-0? These are international players who have played in big atmospheres. I’m baffled.”

Newly-appointed Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has explained his shock at the tactic. However, he praised Arteta for doing all he could to make sure his team were prepared as much as they could be.

Odegaard said: “I think we were all a little bit shocked when he put the music on. It just shows the way he is, he wants to prepare the team in the best possible way and he’s very creative.

“It was a nice and fun way to prepare for that atmosphere. Anfield can be the loudest stadium in the country to play away so I think it was a nice way to prepare the team.”

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