Unai Emery’s Arsenal revolution secrets – pitch-side gyms, afternoon training, and a sugar ban
Gunners have won their last nine matches in all competitions as Emery quickly makes his mark and banishes fears of Arsene Wenger hangover to history
ARSENAL are quickly consigning the Arsene Wenger era to history after embarking on a nine-match winning run which has captured the imagination of the fans.
Unai Emery has banished any fears the club would suffer a hangover following the departure of Wenger to the bin as he quickly makes his mark in North London.
The Spaniard has made big changes to the way things are done since taking over - and with Arsenal now fourth in the Premier League there are even whispers of a shock title challenge this season.
All this has been achieved without a major overhaul of the playing squad following a summer when money was tight at the Emirates.
But the say that at the heart of it is a new regime introduced by the 46-year-old aimed at making the club one that can compete with the best at home and abroad.
Intensity at all times
One major change has been the intensity he demands from his players on the training ground.
Emery's game is based on continually pressing the opposition, and for that to work he needs all his players at peak physical condition or holes would appear in his plans.
So in a bid to improve the cardiovascular fitness levels to mirror the conditions of matchday on the training ground, he has installed an outdoor gym next to the pitch.
That means the players can move from pitch to workout routines while keeping the body working hard, ultimately helping to improve all-round fitness and stamina.
He has also changed training times to the afternoon, so the players' bodies become more accustomed to performing at the maximum at the same time as they are needed to in games.
Latest Arsenal news
Coupled with that, Emery insists his team train at the Emirates on the day before matches to further replicate the feel and environment of matchdays for his squad.
Diet has been another issue, particularly imposing a ban on sugary drinks at the training ground to ensure the bodies work in the best physiological way.
No more Mr Nice Guy
In a major change since the Wenger era, Emery is also far tougher on the players when he feels something needs to be said.
The report suggests unlike his predecessor, the former PSG boss has no problems calling out his squad in front of others when something needs sorting out.
That has led to the squad being on their toes and at it in every session, helping to improve the overall professionalism.
And the way he has not been shy to substitute senior stars such as Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey - almost unthinkable in the Wenger period - has helped ingrain the message inside the Gunners squad that no-one is above reproach.
Information overload
It is an approach which has helped Emery and his coaching staff to be more tactically detailed than Arsenal were in the past, with thorough sessions working on how to combat the threats of each individual opponent.
The players are given far more information about opposition sides than they had been used to, but gradually that is starting to show in matches when they are well drilled and able to meet the challenges of teams head on.
Finding the goal threat
But it is not just defensively and physically Emery has made a difference - he has also begun to solve the problem of how to get his forwards scoring.
In Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, he has two of the most prolific strikers in the business but neither had really been firing under the former boss.
Yet this season they have looked far more prolific and more able to work together as a partnership - helped by a better balance to the side from midfield.
They have been minor adjustments, but ones which appear to be bearing fruit as Aubameyang and Lacazette have already struck 11 goals between them this season.
Developing friendships
Emery has encouraged players to develop their friendships off the pitch in the belief it will help performances on it.
Across the training ground there has been a happy feeling engineered, and the togetherness is bringing squad unity and a willingness to dig in for their team-mates.
Lacazette revealed as much at the weekend after he and Aubameyang had both scored in the 5-1 destruction of Fulham.
He said: "He is like my brother. We talk everyday.
"We love to work together and today in front of the goal and we score, for us, two goals against Fulham, which is good."