Granit Xhaka reveals how Mikel Arteta wowed Arsenal dressing room on first day as boss

Mikel Arteta has a reputation for using unique methods to inspire his team and former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka claims that has been the case from day one at the Emirates

Granit Xhaka has revealed that Mikel Arteta had an emphatic impact on Arsenal in his very first day as Gunners boss. The Swiss midfielder said it was 'unbelievable' to work under the Spaniard and that he immediately raised the standards after taking over at the club back in late 2019.

Xhaka had played for the north London side for more than three years before Arteta took the reins at the Emirates. The Sunderland star remained at the club until 2023, when he departed for Bayer Leverkusen, after coming close to winning the title.

And the Black Cats captain has revealed that Arteta implemented a unique method to convey his message. The Arsenal head coach has built a reputation for employing various tactics to inspire his team. From using light bulbs in team talks to adopting a chocolate labrador, Win, Arteta has an all-encompassing approach to generating results - and that was a case from his very first day.

"I will never forget the first day Mikel came in," Xhaka told the Athletic. "At the training ground, we had a big room and there were some chairs in there, but the chairs were everywhere — chaos.

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"He took all the people who were working in the building into this room and said: ‘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’.

"You think ‘wow’, he’s started already with these standards — the first day. After that, he was building our mentality, standards in training, pre-training, activation, recovery. He brought people in who did a great job. It was unbelievable to work with him because he saw football in a different way."

Xhaka also made clear that Arteta had a significant impact on his future. The Switzerland international was ready to depart Arsenal before sitting down with the new boss.

“When Mikel came, he had a very open conversation with myself," Xhaka said. "My luggage was already done (packed). I was ready to leave. I already had a contract on the table from another football club.

“Mikel had two conversations with me and he convinced me to stay, to give me another chance. He wanted to show me that I am in the right place. From this day, I just had the feeling that every word he told me in this first conversation, everything was exactly like he said.

"That’s why I say that in 2019, when Mikel came, he changed me completely — as a human being, on the pitch, outside the pitch."

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