Mikel Arteta channelled his inner John Sitton in today’s press conference, urging Arsenal fans to “bring your lunch, bring your dinner” as he looks to spark an intimidating atmosphere for the visit of Bournemouth.
It’s the dreaded 12.30pm kick-off at the Emirates on Saturday, the kind that arrives before your second coffee has had a chance to do its job. Arsenal go into it knowing a win would, at least for 24 hours, put them 12 points clear of Manchester City ahead of their game with Chelsea.
After a no-nonsense 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in midweek helped steady things following a difficult couple of weeks, the manager called on supporters to play their part in what could be another tricky assignment.
“The closer we get [to the end of the season], the relevance and importance of the match increases, obviously.
“And tomorrow is a big day for us. The players know it, our supporters know it. It’s a 12.30 kick-off.
“It’s an early kick-off. So get up early, have an early breakfast, bring your lunch, bring your dinner, as you say in England, and let’s go all together for it because it has to be a big day.”
The line, of course, is a nod to Sitton’s expletive-laden half-time bollocking of his Leyton Orient players, captured in the 1995 fly-on-the-wall documentary Orient: Club for a Fiver. The delivery from Arteta was rather more measured and jovial, but the message about the importance of the crowd was clear.
“For every game we have to be there, we know the meaning of every match here, and the opportunity that we have, especially when we play at home,” he said.
“We need to maximise every result. It’s about each individual, how we turn up there.
“It’s not about being in the stadium, it’s actually impacting the game, the atmosphere and the energy in that stadium. That’s very different.
“Whoever goes there tomorrow, I will please ask them to be with that mindset, with that energy and commitment because the team is going to respond beautifully to that.”
Bournemouth arrive in good form, unbeaten in 11 games and drawing six of their last seven in the league. They’ve also had a free weekend to prepare following the FA Cup quarter-finals, and are likely to provide stubborn opposition.
Arteta spoke warmly about his close friend Andoni Iraola and the job he has done on the South Coast.
“It’s amazing what he has done together with the club. The consistency that they’ve shown, the manner that they’ve done it and the amount of players they’ve sold, how they’ve then reinvented themselves.
“And the run that they are on is incredible because we know out of the Premier League, when it comes to pride, it’s huge. When it comes to rivalry on matchday, it’s even bigger, it goes out the window.”
There’s also a recent history to be mindful of. Bournemouth did the double over Arsenal last season, with set pieces playing a big role in both games. While the Gunners edged a 3-2 win on the South Coast in January, Arteta knows that aspect of the game will need to be handled better.
“We need to learn that lesson, certainly. And away from home as well, we conceded a set-piece goal the year before.
“So it’s an area where they are really strong, and we certainly have to improve to create the margin and the game context that we want. So we’re going to have to be really good at that.”
Bring your lunch, bring your dinner. Drop it off at the club-supported foodbank; it’ll only get confiscated by the stewards.
Then bring your noise.
You can watch Sitton’s incredible rant here. Warning, it’s X-rated.