Mikel Arteta’s bizarre attempt to rally his title-chasing Arsenal side appeared to have the opposite effect on Watford’s coaches and squad.
The Gunners’ boss is known for his unconventional way of motivating his players ahead of key fixtures.
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A season-defining week saw Arsenal edge past Sporting to book their place in the Champions League semi-finals with all attention firmly on Sunday’s title showdown against Manchester City.
Earlier this week, a fire was lit at the club’s London Colney training ground leaving some presuming Arteta was trying out another of his motivational methods.
But while the smoke appeared to help the Gunners reach the last four in Europe, neighbours Watford saw their plans interrupted.
The Hornet’s training facility is located on the University College London Union Shenley Sports ground and directly next to the Arsenal Training Centre.
So when a huge cloud of smoke appeared over their training pitch, things took a turn for the worse.
Disrupted training session
“We smelt the fire,” Hornets first team coach Dan Gosling told eSPORTY’s Weekend Sports Breakfast.
“Watford’s training ground is across the hedge from Arsenal. That smoke was blowing over the other day. It’s why I’ve lost my voice.
“I was walking out to training and thinking, ‘What’s that smell?’ Obviously this was before Mikel’s come out and done the press conference. There was smoke and you could smell it, it was so strong.”
The Arsenal boss had told reporters on Monday there was ‘no fear, pure fire’ within his squad despite registering just one in four matches before the midweek goalless draw against Sporting.
He said: “That’s what I want to see on the players, on the people, on myself. That’s it.
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“We are in April. We have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. Let’s confront it. Let’s go for it by really putting absolutely everything into it.”
Few expected Arteta to take his words literally with billows of smoke ascending into the Hertfordshire sky.
However, Arteta appears to be doing everything in his power to ensure Arsenal end their 22-year Premier League title drought.
Arsenal sit top the table with 70 points from 32 games, but head to Manchester City in the midst of their worst run of form this season.
Defeat in the League Cup final against Pep Guardiola’s side preceded a shock FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Championship side Southampton.
Last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at home to Bournemouth made for an uncomfortable reading with City closing the gap following a 3-0 win at Chelsea.
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And the omens look good for City to further chip away at Arsenal’s six-point advantage having not suffered defeat at home against the north London side for 11 years.
However, Arsenal remain unbeaten in their last five Premier League games against City.
