Mikel Arteta has encouraged his Arsenal players to leverage the cunning aspects of football to gain an edge, expressing concern that being ruthless may not come naturally to them.
Arteta is advocating for his players to develop a sharper, more strategic approach on the field, training them to manipulate situations to their advantage.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice acknowledged the need for greater tactical awareness following Wednesday’s 1-0 loss against Porto in the Champions League last 16 first leg.
Porto effectively slowed the pace of the game at the Estadio do Dragao, resulting in a combined total of 36 fouls, setting a Champions League record for the season.
Ahead of their match against Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Arteta remains hopeful that his guidance on tactical provocations will prove beneficial against similarly resilient opponents.
“There are ways to do it,” Arteta replied when asked how a manager develops dark arts in his squad.
“It is the way you talk to them, showing them clips, training – putting them through scenarios, pinching them a few times as well.
“Learning from other players who do it really well and from teams who are masters at it. There are ways to do it.
“It’s very important. That’s a way of competing for a team, you know. And you can tell that the best players in the world have the ability to take advantage – always.”
Arteta acknowledged the absence of such an approach within Arsenal and emphasized its consideration in the recruitment of new players.
“Overall when you build a squad you need that certainly – but it comes,” he said.
“Sometimes it comes from the culture of the club. You see that there are clubs that they have that in their DNA.
“It is not something that you would directly link with Arsenal, that’s for sure but it is something that has to be developed.”
Pushed on if his players were nasty enough, the Spaniard added: “Nasty? I don’t know. They are incredible players, that is for sure.
“I think this team has got enough intelligence and enough experience to deal with many situations.”