Mikel Arteta has implemented several new rules at Arsenal over the years.
The Spaniard is a disciplinarian, and he has shown in the past that players who don’t fall in line will be pushed out. Matteo Guendouzi, Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are a few examples.
The current group of players have all bought into Arteta’s demands, and there hasn’t been a disciplinary issue at the club for a long time.
Now, a new rule has been implemented, and the players appear to be following it – even though it’s costing them some money.
Mikel Arteta’s new rule is costing Arsenal players money
Mikel Arteta has always been a big advocate of togetherness in the squad.
The Arsenal boss made it a point to improve the relationships between the players when he first took charge, and he has done a tremendous job.
The Gunners’ performances over the last few years show how united the squad is. Riccardo Calafiori’s reaction to Gabriel Martinelli’s goal spoke volumes too.
Arteta wants to take this togetherness to another level now, so he has ordered his players to assemble at the Sobha Realty Training Centre before every game.
The idea is for the team to travel together in a bus to the stadium, instead of players reaching the ground on their own a few hours before the game.
That’s according to The Sun, who have revealed that players are taking a taxi to the training ground and booking the car for the whole day.
One taxi driver told the outlet that players are paying a fee between £700 and £1000 on every matchday, which is said to cover half of a driver’s weekly target in a single day.
The report estimates that each player could end up spending £20,000 a year on just taxis for Arsenal’s home games.
What does a taxi driver do on an Arsenal matchday?
Arteta’s new rule has helped a few taxi drivers make good money, but they just don’t drop the player off at the Sobha Realty Training Centre and get a break.
The report reveals that after the player gets off, the driver then returns to pick up the Arsenal star’s family and friends.
Then, they stay behind at the training ground to pick the players up after the game.
It has further been revealed that when ‘they travel for away games, players are not allowed to be picked up by partners or family and are all bussed back to the training ground before being picked up by cabs from there back to their homes’.
The report adds that even Ruben Amorim has implemented a similar rule for his players at Manchester United.
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