Arsenal boss Arteta reveals new name for his substitutes: It’s about mentality

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has created a new name for his substitutes.

Outside the players’ entrance at the Gunners’ London Colney training ground, Arteta has had the words “train to win” concreted into the path.

And he regularly has a DJ pumping out tunes on the side of the training pitch to get his players up and running.

He was widely derided when he blasted out “You’ll Never Walk Alone” ahead of a 4-0 defeat at Anfield.

But no one is laughing now Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the table and bidding to reach the Europa League quarter-finals this evening following last week’s 2-2 draw at Sporting Lisbon.

Arteta said: “I think every game needs something different and we are always looking at what we have to throw at the boys.

“We try to give them exactly what they need to make the team better and get the right mindset with the right energy and confidence levels.

“Of course if you only judge it on results alone, that’s something different. But the response as individuals and as a group is always really good.

“The way I measure it is by looking in their faces, their attitude, their behaviour, then I look at the video and analyse what I can see.”

Arteta has even taken to referring to his substitutes as “impactors” after a long summer chat with former England rugby coach Eddie Jones and a number of other leading coaches from various sporting fields.

He said: “It’s something that we wanted to change and I discussed it with a few people to help us find something that particularly suited us.

“It’s the best way to express how we feel about the subs and how they have to feel about their role, especially on match days.

“The idea is to replace somebody and make the team better or to do something different to win the game.

“And the more you repeat that phrase, the closer you get to the mentality of having an impact on the game rather than just being a sub.

“I’m not saying it makes the players on the bench feel less disappointed because everybody wants to start.

“But every manager has their own way of doing things and this is about managing the group so they know their role and making sure that everyone is still motivated to help the team.”