MIKEL ARTETA will feel the heat like never before this season – and he got his first taste of it in more ways than one on Arsenal’s Asia pre-season tour.
With the roof closed during training inside Singapore’s National Stadium – the venue for their first two games of the trip – SunSport understands the squad and coaching staff were taken aback by the suffocating humidity.
And in their luxury Rosewood hotel in Hong Kong – the day before their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham – boss Arteta was unexpectedly mobbed by at least 50 fans in a tight corridor outside the lifts near the lobby.
The Spaniard asked for calm, signed a few shirts before his security team intervened and he was ushered away for a rare bit of peace and quiet.
SunSport has been told that Arteta – an intense, obsessive character – made a conscious effort to try and enjoy this tour, to embrace the challenges of being half way around the world and put a positive spin on them.
In fact, upon landing in Singapore, SunSport understands that Arteta and managing director Richard Garlick gave a rousing speech to the touring party, with “energy” a key phrase.
And when their first training session had to be delayed by several hours because of severe thunderstorms, Arteta laughed it off as “adapting to the context”.
But watching him up close across their 13-day tour, Arteta appeared as laser-focused and detailed as ever, and perhaps even more so, knowing that damaging questions will be asked should the Gunners fail to win the Premier League or Champions League this term after three second-placed league finishes on the spin.
In an open training session in Singapore on July 25, Arteta was seen getting more involved than he usually would, pushing coaches out of the way to close down players in drills and taking no prisoners, whether it was first-team superstar Bukayo Saka or 15-year-old Max Dowman, setting the tone and leading by example.
The drills themselves were also immensely complicated to watch, let alone to take part in, with four groups attacking different goals simultaneously, perhaps a sign that Arteta wants more fluidity in his side’s game this season, having been accused last term of being too rigid and predictable in attack.
But nothing Arteta did could distract the thousands of fans from the news that was already dominating the tour: the imminent arrival of Viktor Gyokeres.
During that open training session, fans in the stands could be heard chanting: “We want Gyokeres”. A day later – on July 26 – it was finally announced.
It had been a slog of a deal to get over the line.
On July 24 – two days before Gyokeres flew to Singapore – SunSport understands that senior officials were still desperately trying to iron out details surrounding the future add-ons owed to Sporting Lisbon.
Gyokeres admitted to SunSport in Hong Kong that the past few weeks – the waiting, the uncertainty, the immense spotlight and media duties upon signing – had taken its toll on him, and understandably was not rushed into action by Arteta, given just 13 minutes off the bench against Spurs in an attempt to ease him into his new surroundings.
But his aura is there for all to see. Arteta was keen to see the look in the eyes of the squad when Gyokeres walked through the door, and he liked what he saw.
Arteta knows this is a different sort of Arsenal signing, one for the here and now instead of the future, and there is an acceptance that they will need to slightly change their way of playing to suit his style, like Manchester City and Pep Guardiola did with Erling Haaland.
Do not expect to see the big Swedish No.9 coming short and linking up play.
He lives and breathes in the six-yard box to finish with a deadly accuracy, and it is understood that is all Arteta will judge him on come the end of the season.
At the end of one of his first sessions, Gyokeres spent a considerable time heading Ben White crosses from the right flank into an empty net. A sign of things to come?
Gyokeres was not the only striker considered in the window. SunSport understands the Gunners had a brief interest in signing Alexander Isak from Newcastle, but quickly moved on to other targets after learning of his £100m-plus valuation.
Red Bull Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko was also a target, but were put off by some of the parameters laid out in early negotiations and viewed it as too much of a gamble. In the end, Gyokeres ticked all the boxes.
Arsenal’s leadership team – including executive vice-chair Tim Lewis and managing director Richard Garlick – were in constant communication this summer.
One of the key words used when deciding on a player being “robustness” following last season’s injury issues – something they insist they can no longer compromise on if they want to challenge on multiple fronts.
But there is an acceptance that a lot of their absences were out of their hands, such as defender Gabriel, who required hamstring surgery after clocking a sprint speed of around 35kph to catch Adama Traore in April’s 2-1 win over Fulham – something he had not done for weeks having spent a period back home in Brazil on international duty. Sitting on a plane for hours did not help.
The influence of new sporting director Andrea Berta cannot be underestimated either. His appointment in March was one months in the making.
The Italian’s name was instantly discussed by the leadership team in November when Edu announced his shock departure.
After Lewis and Garlick met with Berta in December, Arteta spoke with him soon after before a final meeting with co-owner Josh Kroenke. They were all convinced he was the right man.
And they have been rewarded, with six signings made between July 1 and July 26.
His tough negotiation style, as well as his financial creativity in getting deals over the line, has left many impressed.
SunSport understands that there are those at Arsenal who have jokingly questioned when Berta gets any sleep in between negotiations.
The emergence of Dowman has also been one of the surprises of the tour.
The Hale End teenager’s name was met wildly by fans whenever it was mentioned by the stadium announcers in Singapore and Hong Kong, a reception similar to Gyokeres.
Arteta understands the clamour for him to now be involved next term, and appreciates he will have to take the noise from fans if he is not given his Prem debut sooner rather than later.
SunSport understands the data Dowman produced for the youth teams last term matched that of several first-team stars, and that he has earned his chance to make the step up.
Dowman’s impressive performances off the bench against AC Milan, Newcastle and Tottenham have only reinforced this view, but Arteta is also wary of pushing him too much too soon.
Especially given that, physically, he is at risk of being roughed up by Prem opposition defenders.
The heat is on Arteta, but there is a feeling that in all aspects, on and off the pitch, Arsenal have never been better prepared to start a campaign with some oomph.
Read the full article here
