Mikel Arteta's recent antics and touchline behaviour has been called out by Gabby Logan, who insists the Arsenal boss is acting very differently as he deals with the pressure of the title race
Gabby Logan has noticed changes in the way Mikel Arteta is going about his business
Gabby Logan has noticed changes in the way Mikel Arteta is going about his business(Image: Alex Livesey - Danehouse, Getty Images)
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Gabby Logan believes that Pep Guardiola has "got into Mikel Arteta's head" with his methods at training and antics on the touchline raising questions about the Arsenal boss.
The Gunners have lost three of their last four games in all competitions, Bournemouth the most recent team to beat them. Their win at the Emirates on Saturday opened the door for Manchester City in the title race. Arsenal are now in danger of letting another lead slip at the top of the table.
Arteta is under pressure to get over the line with the north London outfit. He's not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2020 and has been in charge for a hat-trick of second place finishes.
In an effort to get the club back on track he's enlisted some unusual training methods, with Logan noting that David Raya had little interest in them and was instead "focusing on his job" when quizzed on them days later.
She said on The Sports Agents podcast with co-host Mark Chapman: “I can’t get my head around it. Honestly, having covered them so much early in the season in the Champions League, and you know, seeing them play some great, composed control football, just what’s going on?
“What’s happened to that Arsenal team? It feels like Arteta has definitely, watching him on the touchline, it feels like he’s become even more maniacal in his behaviour. And there are more people around him, and they’re doing things they haven’t done.
“And there’s all that footage last week of them walking around with footballs, five of them having a football on their head, and that was a team building exercise. And then David Raya coming into the studio at Prime saying, ‘Well, I didn’t do that because I was focusing on my job.’
Arsenal's recent training methods were unconventional and divided opinion
Arsenal's recent training methods were unconventional and divided opinion(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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“It feels like Pep’s got into his head. It’s impossible for us to measure that, isn’t it? And it’s impossible to us to ascertain. He didn’t come in the studio pre-match, you know, pitch side, as he normally does last week. They’re changing things, and they’re changing players at a different stage of the game as well.”
City have managed to overhaul Arsenal in two of the last three title races. This Sunday the top two will square off at the Etihad, where a win for the hosts would prove seismic and leave them just days away from potentially taking top spot.
Arsenal had been talked up as quadruple winners only weeks ago but have been beaten by City in the Carabao Cup final and shocked by Southampton in the last eight of the FA Cup.
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