During his time at the Emirates, Arteta has developed a reputation as an innovative thinker who is not afraid of trying something new if he feels it will give his team an edge. Arteta readily admitted it was one of his “crazy ideas”, but felt it could help his players deal with the overwhelming Anfield atmosphere. Now another of Arteta’s “crazy ideas” has come to light, with the Spaniard secretly hiring pickpockets to steal his squad’s valuables while they were enjoying a team dinner. Arteta is said to have hoped the stunt would teach his players the ‘importance of being ready, alert and prepared’ at all times.

Certainly it is innovative thinking. Certainly, it is a tad crazy too. No-one. “So how do you deal with that situation?

You have to be strong and sometimes you have to make decisions. You can go strong and try to let those players go or your project is going to take, instead of three or four years, maybe seven, eight or nine. “Then unpopular decisions started to come. Because most of the players that have those elements, they have a fanbase and a media that love them.

But for the club, it is not healthy sometimes to keep the player in that situation. When I started I saw every single player in the squad with those three characteristics. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.