This weekend, Arsenal take on Aston Villa, but manager Mikel Arteta will be suspended for accumulating yellow cards. In his place, assistant coach Albert Stuyvenberg has received complete trust from Arteta. Another assistant coach, Steve Long, left unexpectedly this summer, cementing Stuy Evenberg's position as Arteta's closest adviser and confidant.
As with many things, the cooperation between coaches depends on fate. Arteta trained with coach Orsin Roberts at the Football Association of Wales to obtain a coaching licence. In the 2015-16 season, Arteta's final season as an Arsenal player was awarded a UEFA B coaching licence under Roberts. Subsequently, he followed Roberts to obtain an A-level license and a professional license.
During his time as assistant coach at Manchester City from 2016-2019, Arteta began preparing to become a manager. Although he had been in contact with other teams, he eventually chose to rejoin Arsenal. However, his originally planned assistant coach Roberts failed to materialize due to his commitment to join the Moroccan Football Federation. In this context, Stuyvenberg and Arteta met privately to discuss football philosophy, which quickly resonated.
Roberts met Stuyvenberg when he was an assistant to Ryan Giggs, who worked with him when United manager Louis van Gaal was in charge. Ryan Giggs brought Stuyvenberg to his squad after taking over as Wales manager.
In addition to Arteta's appointment of Stuy, Lang has also been appointed as another assistant coach. They had an informal division of work, with Long tasked with reshaping the club's culture and helping Arteta settle into his first coaching role. As former sporting director of Villa, Long was able to build bridges between the head coach and other departments. Stuyvenberg's responsibilities are more technical, tactical issues and he was responsible for Arsenal's training methods when he worked with Mikel Arteta.
Stuyvingberg played a key role in designing Arsenal's training sessions, helping players hone their skills and providing valuable feedback to Arteta. On matchday, he will poruse the warm-ups of both teams, looking for any clues that could help Arsenal stay on top of the situation.
One of Stuyvenberg's most admirable qualities is his ability to keep his mind clear in a tight game. Among Arsenal fans, he is known as the "Headphone Man", as he often uses wireless headphones to communicate with analyst Miguel Molina, who usually watches the game from a higher perspective.
If one day he decides to leave, Arteta will not let go easily. Over the past four years, Stuy Vengberg has proven himself to be Arsenal's most trusted assistant coach.