Mikel Arteta brought a “countdown clock” into the Arsenal dressing room for their trip to Fulham this weekend, with his team now having only 11 games to go in their race for the Premier League title.
Post-match photos from Craven Cottage, after Arsenal’s impressive 3-0 victory, showed the players and coaches posing with a replica of the clock that sits atop the Clock End at the Emirates Stadium.
In the pictures, the hands of the clock were pointed at numbers 11 and two, which Telegraph Sport understands to be a reference to the amount of league matches remaining in this campaign.
The Arsenal clock is a significant part of the club’s history, having first been installed at Highbury by legendary manager Herbert Chapman. The replica was transported from Arsenal’s training ground to Craven Cottage with the team ahead of Sunday’s victory.
Arsenal have routinely put up temporary posters and slogans in away dressing rooms this season. A poster featuring a graphic of the word “identity” was used at Craven Cottage, as it was when Arsenal travelled to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January.
Another graphic, created from the word “unity”, has also been used this season as Arsenal have looked to reinforce key messages to their players and make away matches feel more like home. Arsenal players have also been known to cover the opposition club’s imagery with their own banners on away trips this season.
Arteta is often experimental with his pre-match team-talks and group activities, as he looks for innovative ways to either inspire his team or lighten the mood on matchdays.
Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary, which provided a behind-the-scenes look at Arsenal’s 2021/22 campaign, showed how Arteta once used a lightbulb as part of his team-talk before a game.
Holding the energised lightbulb, Arteta told his players: “Today I want to see a team that is connected. Because a bulb by itself is nothing. I want to see a team that is connected with each other, and shines. You want to transmit light, energy and passion in how you play football.”
Arsenal have comfortably the best away record in the Premier League this season, having won 11 of their 14 matches on the road. Their 3-0 win at Fulham restored their five-point lead over Manchester City, ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Crystal Palace at the Emirates.