Granit Xhaka says he’ll ‘never forget’ the first thing Mikel Arteta said to the Arsenal squad

It has since been revealed that without Arteta’s presence, Xhaka would have left the club, admitting his bags were packed, ready for the exit.

It’s one of the reasons why the Arsenal manager’s arrival was so memorable for the now Sunderland star, as he can still recount the boss’ early actions at Colney.

Granit Xhaka reveals first thing Mikel Arteta said to team after becoming Arsenal manager

Xhaka was named in Arteta’s first-ever Arsenal starting XI and was quickly influenced by the manager.

In an interview with The Athletic, the 33-year-old explained what happened when Arteta first addressed the team he inherited from Unai Emery.

“I will never forget the first day Mikel arrived,” Xhaka said, setting the scene for what unfolded at Colney.

“At the training ground we had a big room and there were chairs in it, but the chairs were everywhere, it was chaos.

“He took everyone who worked in the building into this room and told them, ‘Guys, from the outside, you look like this. Chaos.’ So everyone takes a chair and puts it in the right place, and he says, ‘I want you to be like this every day.’

Arteta deployed bold tactics off the field to allow his team to perform at a higher level, which was implemented as soon as he walked through the door.

Immediately Arteta won over Xhaka, who was blown away by the standards displayed, calling it “incredible” to work with the boss.

“You think ‘wow’, he already started with these standards – day one. After that, he built our mentality, our standards in training, pre-training, activation, recovery.

“He recruited people who did a great job. It was amazing to work with him because he saw football in a different way.”

Arteta has never hesitated to go above and beyond to get his message across to his players, and love him or hate him, it certainly works.

Arteta tends to surprise the media with his coaching methods, but which are the most obscure?

It’s not just preparatory training taking place at Colney, as from pickpockets to RAF pilots, it’s impossible to predict what the Arsenal boss will unleash next.

Here are five examples of Arteta stepping outside the norms of coaching to get the best out of his team.

• Hired pickpockets to show the importance of being ready, alert and prepared.

• Shown Ivan Toney’s social media post about Arsenal in the dressing room before playing Brentford.

• He played You’ll Never Walk Alone in training before Arsenal played Liverpool at Anfield.

• Introduction of Win the Dog to Colney to promote a family atmosphere, improve player morale and reduce stress levels.

• Planned to use RAF pilots to improve communications.

There is no manager like Arteta, but Arsenal wouldn’t trade him for anything.