Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has disclosed that he intentionally disrupted his squad's pre-season preparations — delaying meals, changing travel routes, and heating up dressing rooms — so that players would be ready to handle adversity without panic.

The revelation came after Arsenal encountered travel trouble on the way to Naples for their Champions League fixture during midweek. A UK Air Traffic Control crisis on Tuesday caused the club's departure from Luton Airport to be pushed back, leaving them arriving in the Italian city roughly three hours late.

Manufacturing chaos on purpose

Arteta made clear that such disruptions hold no fear for him or his squad, because he has spent pre-season engineering similar situations deliberately.