All or Nothing Arsenal: Mikel Arteta’s unique motivational methods on display

Many fans will be intrigued to have a glimpse into the mind and methods of Arteta, the Premier League’s youngest manager and someone who learnt under the great Pep Guardiola.

The impression we get from this series is of someone who is obsessive, rigorous and tactically astute. In the first episode, midfielder Granit Xhaka calls him “a freak, but in a positive way”.

We also, however, get an impression from the series of a manager who wants to bring a personal touch.

Arteta tells the camera: “I cannot treat players as numbers. They are people.”

He certainly employs some unique methods to motivate his young squad.

They involve things like getting his players to hold hands, in order to create “energy”.

Arteta loves a diagram too. Ahead of a match against bitter rivals Tottenham, the 40-year-old Spaniard sketches out cartoons of a heart, a brain and an Arsenal fan, with the word “energy” connecting them all.

Some viewers may be sceptical, but Arsenal went on to beat Spurs 3-1 that day.

Speaking to BBC Sport this week, Arteta said: “You win the game it works, you don’t win the game, it doesn’t work. The players responded to it. Then I had to hear them making jokes. In the moment it helped – they didn’t expect it.”

There is another interesting scene in the first episode when Arteta addresses his squad ahead of a match against Norwich. They have just lost their last three games and failed to score in each.

The Arsenal boss attempts to lift morale by connecting with a personal story about a heart condition he suffered as a child.

He tells his players: “In a difficult moment, you made the best week of my football career.”

Again, there is a diagram – showing his fluctuating emotional states during the week, from bereft to back in love with the game.

Arsenal go on to get their first win of the season, against Norwich.

In one scene, he asks team photographer and lifelong fan Stuart MacFarlane to deliver a speech.

Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale spoke to BBC Sport, saying: “Arteta’s team talks are definitely different. I think he keeps it fresh because sometimes he is writing, sometimes he talks, sometimes he lets some of the lads talk and what not. It keeps you engaged and lets you into his life as well. He is probably the most approachable manager I’ve had.”

Perhaps the most interesting innovation, though, is when Arteta makes his players train to the soundtrack of Liverpool’s anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone in order to prepare for a match at Anfield – one which they lose 4-0.