Arteta's huge Arsenal change shows he's learned from last season's mistakes
Arsenal's Premier League title aspirations died off in catastrophic fashion last year and Mikel Arteta is determined to avoid a repeat.
A change in mentality can't be assessed until we hit the run-in come April-May time, but one thing that the Gunners boss can impact is the physical demands on his players. This year the north Londoners also have to contend with the return of Champions League football, adding to their workload.
However, in their desire to be a leading outfit, that is part of the deal. Arteta is making every effort at the training base to ensure his players remain primed and are still in top shape come the spring. The Daily Mail reports that some individuals are even using private sessions away from the club’s London Colney base to ensure their bodies are in the best possible shape.
Arteta, to his detriment, saw how a depleted squad took its toll last season. Gabriel Jesus missed long periods of the season after the World Cup and William Saliba's injury late in the campaign coincided with their drop off in form.
Arsenal won just three of their final nine games as they were overhaul by Manchester City. This season they hope to be wiser from that experience and the early signs are that Arteta has learned his lesson. To start with player usage has greatly changed in the early months.
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Last term Arsenal's starting XI picked itself. The left-back role was perhaps the only one that changed with some degree of regularity, otherwise it was largely the same unless injuries hit. This year that has changed, which has aided the individuals and the collective.
Already this season 21 players have started in the league after just 14 games. Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Jurrien Timber have all been sidelined, but the constant rotation from Arteta has meant that their absences haven't caused the shockwaves they may have last term.
William Saliba's injury last season saw Arsenal's results nosedive (Getty Images)Across the entirety of last season Arteta started 21 players with six of them starting 36 games. Gabriel and Aaron Ramsdale both started every league outing. Those demands, coupled with what they were doing in training, led to injury problems, but already there seems to have been a shift this term.
Skipper and playmaker Martin Odegaard has missed more league games this year than he did throughout the whole of last season. Yet there has been no panic and the team were more than able to function without him there.
The Premier League is about to enter its most hectic period as the festivities begin. Arsenal in the month of December will play eight times across two different competitions. That includes four games across 12 days, beginning at Luton on Tuesday night.
The squad have been subjected to a new look training regime that prioritises their fitnessAs a result Arteta and his staff are tailoring the team's training load with the games coming thick and fast. They have devised a strategy and a programme that protects players, ensuring their fitness is the paramount concern, so that they can be primed for a business end of the season.
The Arsenal boss said ahead of their trip to Luton: "It's still a huge marathon ahead of us. The encouragement comes from watching the team play, watching them behave every day and how hungry and willing they are to approach every training session. That's what gives me encouragement."
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