Three weeks ago, Arteta unveiled a new analogy. As a fluent in seven Chinese, his English often contains vivid metaphors, and his take on important pre-match motivational techniques is no exception.
"It's not something you can do on the same day to change the outcome of the next three weeks," he said. I call it 'drizzle'. If you go out without an umbrella, you're constantly getting wet every day, and then, before you know it, you're soaking wet, and you're going to be ready in advance, because it's a daily habit. ”
Arsenal experienced a downpour in Manchester on Sunday, but they left Old Trafford 1-0 and their reputation for 'rainproof' was boosted as they set a new record for the most points in a single season in a single Big6 civil campaign.
Before Arsene Wenger's retirement, Arsenal suffered an 8-2 defeat to Manchester United. At that time, they were criticized for being soft and often beaten by their opponents.
It's no wonder Mikel Arteta is paying special attention to the psychology of important matches.
Before leading his squad to Anfield last March, he said: "You can't train players at the zoo and then go to the bush. "That's his philosophy – to put the players under every kind of pressure imaginable in training and prepare them for intense battles.
Sunday's victory means Arsenal have 22 points from this season's Big6 civil campaign.
Mikel Arteta transformed Arsenal into a modern, holistic team that has changed their mentality.
His players are comfortable switching between passing and counter-attacking. This season, they have shown a sense of self-confidence in key battles, which began in the Community Shield win over Manchester City last August.
While the Arsenal boss has previously used unconventional methods to try to rally players, they now look like a team that can control their emotions and doesn't need to be reminded.
Last season, Arsenal improved a lot with 19 points from 10 Big6 civil battles, and a year later, their points have jumped to 22 points, and more notably, they have not lost a game.
Manchester City had a good record of 25 points from the 2018-19 Big6 civil campaign, but even so, they lost 2-0 to Chelsea.
Despite this, only they, Chelsea in 2013-1 and Manchester City in 2017-18 and 2018-19 (both with 24 points) have surpassed Arsenal in the Big6 with more points, while Manchester City in 2011-12 and Liverpool in 2019-20 also have 22 points.
Other teams unbeaten in a single season of Big6 civil wars are Chelsea in 2013-14 and Liverpool in 2016-17 and 2021-22. Curiously, in the 2016-17 season, Liverpool only accumulated 76 points and finished fourth.
When a team is unable to inflict direct damage on their opponents, it severely limits their chances of winning the league title. Arsenal are unbeaten in the Big6 civil campaign, picking up four points against Manchester City and slightly widening the margin for error.
Some would say that all football games are worth the same and that it would be unforgivable to take one point from Fulham and one point from Aston Villa, but for most seasons these are standard setbacks.
In City's Pep Guardiola era, the road was more of a tightrope road. Liverpool must pick up 99 points to secure the title, as 97 and 92 have proven insufficient in other seasons.
At the beginning of March, Arteta was asked how many points the team would need to win the title. Last season's 84 split was six points shy of winning the title.
He replied, "You always ask me this question, but I can't answer it.
"If you want to win, you probably have to win every game. I don't know, I really don't know. There are a lot of games, we're going to have crazy schedules, and this year will probably be different from last season. But I didn't get 90 points, and I felt very difficult. ”
According to his calculations, Arsenal need to pick up 32 points from their final 12 games to have any chance of winning the title. Now, they are expected to pick up 31 points, but it won't be enough if City win their last two games.
Prior to the Tottenham game, City had played nine games in the BigSix civil war, winning just two of them and picking up just 12 points, the third worst result of Pep Guardiola's era (8 and 10 points in the first two seasons).
While Manchester City have had a good record in recent months, the three games they drew in 2024 were against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Arsenal played Manchester City 2 times in the league, got 4 points and did not concede 1 goal, and swept away the inferiority complex. Declan Rice showed the temperament that Arsenal lacked last season, saving the team at Anfield, and Saliba keeping out Garnacho at Old Trafford, showing the steely will that the team now possesses.
There are many more examples in other encounters, and Arsenal have really hardened this season.