When Mikel Arteta became the head coach of Arsenal in December 2019, he had a choice to make. He had a lot of choices to make, but in addition to the numerous issues that arise both on and off the field when managing one of the largest football teams in the world, there was also the small issue of what to wear.
The Spaniard replies, “Yeah, I had to decide, I had the freedom to pick and choose,” as though it were an equally important choice to make as selecting a captain. It was his first managerial position following 17 years as a player and 3 as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City (Arsenal changed his title to the more traditional’manager’ the following season).
Assistants in football are very much part of the rank and file; to wear anything other than a tracksuit would be inappropriate. When do you become the gaffer, though? You can then dress whichever you choose.
Michael Arteta
Sam Wilson is credited with the following items: socks, his own; calf shoes, Joseph Cheaney & Sons, £595; wool suit, £2,500; and poplin shirt, £510.
Even with such latitude, contemporary football managers typically fit into one of three dress codes. The first group consists of traditionalists; these are the old school, sticking to the club suit and tie with the occasional oversize coat. They don’t pose as fashionistas and they aren’t. Consider the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes of West Ham, or Sean Dyche of Everton.
The combatively practical all-in-this-together sorts live in the second. Always wearing tracksuits and baseball caps, they make an effort to seem like any other Bovril-soaked Sunday league coach, even if their timepieces are as expensive as a first-home deposit. There’s Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool, the flagbearer despite his magnificently improved teeth and hair.
The third, more contemporary group comes next. The visual offspring of José Mourinho, they are blatantly fashionable, acutely conscious of their glitzy profession and unrestricted access to luxury apparel, and they treat themselves with the same level of self-care as the players (many of whom have retired recently).
They wear austere, well put together medleys of greys, blacks, and whites, whether it’s a custom Italian suit or a cashmere pullover and wool trousers, and the now-ubiquitous monochromatic leather’manager trainer’. They convey pure class, at least until they disagree with a penalty judgment.
José Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, and Sean Dyche
Football managers can fall into one of three fashion camps: modern (José Mourinho), track-suited (Jurgen Klopp), or traditionalist (Sean Dyche).
This pen is swollen. Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane, Frank Lampard, Mauricio Pochettino, and, without a doubt, Mikel Arteta are among them. Gareth Southgate is also included, albeit with a focus on M&S.
Regarding his choice of attire, Arteta states, “I just wear something that belongs to my personality, as well as the club that I represent.”
Basically, that’s me. Guardiola, a friend and mentor, is frequently cited as his role model in all aspects of the game, but Arteta is perhaps a little more ascetic. “I dress in a really similar way for dinner with friends, and that’s what I like to do,” the player said.
The Arteta technique
He’s talked a lot about his three “non-negotiables” at Arsenal: the qualities that his players and staff must possess in order to succeed in the long run and, presumably, to be employed.
“Respect first and foremost,” he declared a year ago. “Dedication is the second, and passion is the third.” I have no doubt that we will accomplish big things together if you have them.
He’s never been as clear about the things that are essential to his personal wardrobe, but he’s trying his hardest right now, in the bar of a north London photo studio. “I do think carefully about what I wear.” I prefer to look elegant and feel comfortable. additionally, I dislike loud clothing. I have very particular tastes in clothing. Cashmere is appealing to me. both cozy and sophisticated.
No manager enjoys loud attire (I assume he means gaudy, not loud), but Arteta is particularly against it. He’s more likely to be seen sporting a Tottenham Hotspur shirt than anything in the pastel color family.
However, he enjoys fashion and shops frequently, or is shopped for. People who keep an eye on these things have seen a distinct preference for contemporary Italian luxury brands like Giorgio Armani, Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana, Zegna, and Prada. It seems that continuous, upscale minimalism is the focus.
Michael Arteta
“I prefer quiet clothing,” Arteta declares, expressing a special fondness for subtle Italian elegance. CREDIT: Getty Images
Yes, it is really deliberate. “I am a very routine, methodical person,” he declares. Superstition also has an impact. When we are winning, I like to wear the exact same sweater, pants, and shoes as before rather than changing. I switch to something else if we lose.
As of this writing, Arsenal and Manchester City are tied atop the Premier League standings, and they have a match coming up. Under the direction of the forty-year-old Arteta, who is small in stature but fiercely passionate (sometimes too passionate, some commentators sаy of his touchline hysterics), the perennially underachieving north London club are now title contenders, no, wait, favorites, for the first time in years.
I sаy that, but when we meet, they’ve just lost to Manchester City in the FA Cup. They will lose away to Everton a few days later. I could have cursed it. At least now Arteta can change into new clothes.
With an artificial smile, he nods and says, “I can change.” “I’ll check my closet.” I believe that in order to perform at a high level, one must be consistent, meet high standards, and be exact and meticulous. However, you also need to allow for some imagination. I adore that combination.
Habitual creature
The fact that Arteta changed from wearing a dark jumper, gray suit pants, and black Derby shoes to a dark jumper, grey suit trousers, and black Derby shoes following the loss against City won’t cause the world to end. Just distinct ones.
He is a creature of habit, tethered to “certain routines and protocols, which give stability in a rollercoaster world,” in many aspects of life. For example, he enjoys dining out and hails from San Sebastián, which is known as the “home of tapas and incredible food, with more Michelin stars per capita than any city in Europe.” Nevertheless, he frequently goes back to the same few London restaurants. “That’s what I meаn when I talk about monotony—I have to force myself to try new things.”
He likes to either have breakfast with his wife, Lorena, and their three sons (Oliver, age seven, Daniel, age ten, and Gabriel, age thirteen), or he prefers to get up early and go straight to open Arsenal’s Hertfordshire training ground. After that, he’ll either go for a walk or spend blissful silence in his office. “I prefer to have that tranquility, that sense of control, and the room to contemplate the day or the week ahead.”
Mikel Lorena Bernal Arteta
At the age of 19, Arteta got married to Lorena.
He answers queries quickly these days while perched on the edge of a leather couch (wearing designer trousers and a gorgeous navy cashmere sweater, of course). He has a ton of calls to answer on the eve of the transfer deadline day, but he gives his agent his phone for forty-five minutes in order to be as polite and involved as possible. ‘Pretty good at unplugging the hard drive’ is a skill he’s developed during years of meditation practice, which he performs at least three times a week, sometimes with his wife and sometimes with his children.
“It’s all about now,” he declares. “I want to be here with you right now,” I said. I want to spend this evening at home with my kids and savor the time. I wasn’t enough like that before. I used to constantly ask myself, “What’s next? What’s next?” but I’m learning to live in the now more.
flashbacks to the hospital
Arteta frequently returns to the ideas of control and peace, even though he had none when he was born.
He had a heart abnormality from birth that required immediate care but wasn’t able to be fixed until he was two years old and had one of the earliest open heart surgeries in Spain at the time. He still has a sizable scar along his sternum that runs from north to south.
“My parents felt that way; I had a few flashbacks, mostly from when I was in the hospital, but it wasn’t drаmаtic for me,” he admits. They had to accept the dаnger because there was no way they could avoid the surgery. But I had competent care. Since having children, I’ve talked to my parents a lot about it because I worry a lot anytime my kids are having problems. It always seems like the world’s largest item.
Arteta’s mother, Charo, worked at a university and was constantly concerned that something awful would happen while she saw her son play sports. Arteta’s father, Miguel, managed marketing and technology initiatives for one of the biggest banks in northern Spain.
The young Mikel began playing football every day shortly after the surgery—he recalls it as “the very next day”—and soon after that he developed a fascination with tennis. He thought about it for a long time, but at fourteen he was forced to choose: “Football is easier, you can blame other people.” When you lose at tennis, it’s always your fault.
A playmaking midfielder, he started his career with Antiguoko, his hometown team, and went on to play for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Glasgow Rangers, Real Sociedad, and lastly Arsenal for a brief period before rejoining his hometown of San Sebastián for ten years. He was an obvious future coach as well as a natural captain since he was always the team’s organizer, trying to set the team’s standards and ensure that everyone played as a unit.
“Always.” In the changing room, I would make an effort to interact with people and get close to them in an effort to comprehend and learn more about them. Someone may have experienced the deаth of their father, struggled to maintain a positive relationship with their mother, or be an agent. Since it’s how you interact with people, I made an effort to find out that information about each player and staff person.
Michael Arteta
Brunello Cucinelli’s linen-wool-silk blazer costs £2,520, while Sunspel’s cotton T-shirt costs £80. CREDIT: Sam Wilson
It’s pretty obvious what Arteta’s most significant relationship is. He met Lorena in San Sebastián when they were 19 years old. Lorena is a former Miss Spain and an Argentinean-born model, actor, and television presenter. He becomes eloquent at the first hint of her. ‘I suppose I knew she was the one for me the moment I laid eyes on her, I just fell in love so fast. She performed well on that, but I had to work hard. Since then, I haven’t found a greater companion to explore the world and share life with since that day.
They got married in 2010, but nearly 20 years prior, he had a M tattooed on her hand and she had a L on his left ring finger. She just got on with it as he was cоmpelled to travel over the years, not all of them attractive cities.
She was of assistance to me because there was never a difficulty. An ιnjury was never an issue; it was just an opportunity to try something else. The weather was never a problem, nor was life. She’s opened my mind to the idea that, sаy, “OK, we’re going to spend more time together, you and I, in the house.” I’m from San Sebastián, and I used to have really straight hair. She has taught me to look for the answer rather than just the issue.
Now that Lorena is marketing herself as a life coach, it seems like we could all use a little more equilibrium in our lives. For example, after her husband ended his playing career, the plan was for him to spend a year or two in Los Angeles “taking care of the kids, giving her all the support she has given me over the years and paying something back after this 20-year career” while she went after acting roles.
Since Lorena continued on to Los Angeles, Guardiola invited Arteta to accompany him in Manchester. “Listen, you’re experiencing it. You would be there [in LA] but not there. We will be separated, but we’ll connect in different ways,” she said, and to be fair, it worked pretty well,” he adds. Her constant search for what she needs is one of my favorite things about her. It’s not going to work for me to have someone next to me who is living my life. Before the life we live together, she must have her own.
Michael Arteta
For the first time in years, the consistently underachieving north London team has emerged as a title contender—no, wait, favorites—under Arteta’s fervent leadership. CREDIT: Getty Images
Since Arsenal is meant to be a long-term endeavor, the family will have some time to settle there. The guys have a distinctly London accent and seem to be of English descent.
“They’re in a really good place, they’re home, and they have friends they love and trust,” the family says. The family spends as much time as possible in San Sebastián and spends most summers together in Majorca, where Arteta’s older sister Amaya resides. Although it’s difficult to take vacations during football season, they just spent a long weekend in the French Alps. “There are times when it’s absolutely essential to alter the surroundings, the views, and the location.”
It appears that he is not a man who is drawn to variety by nature, but he has learned to value it. In a Mumsnet thread headlined simply “I wouldn’t kιck Mikel Arteta out of bed,” fans have gently pointed out that even his appearance hasn’t altered in 20 years, meaning he still looks like “the bаstаrd love child of Rоb Lowe and Cristiano Ronaldo.”
For decades, football fans have made fun of the fact that not a single hair in his jet-black Action Man hairdo is ever out of place. He can chuckle at this. “I’m pretty lucky because it doesn’t move and I don’t have to do too much to it.”
Everything or nothing
These days, mostly through their sons’ school, he and Lorena have made a conscious effort to cultivate new friends. I simply want to get involved in more activities outside of football. It’s excellent that some of them don’t know [who I am]. They put in the effort to get to know you because they don’t think poorly of you, and as a result, the quality of that relationship is higher.
Cameras from Amazon Prime followed Arsenal over the previous season as they recorded All or Nothing, a fly-on-the-wall documentary series on the Arteta revolution. He hasn’t watched the program, but last year Arteta was spotted grilling at home and making light remarks about his sons’ football prowess.
I cooked a BBQ two days ago, and I do it all year long. We topped it with chorizos, various meat pieces, and Argentine cheeses. All I want to do is take forty to fifty minutes to establish a proper fire. We’re all staying warm by the fire, the kids are about, and the sound of it is comforting. I adore that particular moment.
Michael Arteta
John Smedley’s £195 Merino roll neck; Paul Smit’s £275 twill chinos; Christian Louboutin’s £595 grained calf shoes; Sam Wilson’s own watch and socks
His sole vice is the occasional sweet treat, which he makes up for by regularly playing tennis or padel or taking walks with Arnie, the family’s Dutch shepherd. Although he wouldn’t claim he spends all of his money on them, he enjoys traveling and shopping. neither vehicles nor real estate.
“I enjoy… timepieces?He settles on, twisting his Rolex coyly in a way that at first appearance resembles the GMT Master II Sea King he frequently sports during matches. “However, I don’t go looking for luxury; I’m not someone who [needs] it.”
I told him that when new players arrived at training driving ever-expensive automobiles but had done little on the field, José Mourinho used to give them short shrift. How might Arteta go about doing that? “I would probably try to figure out why.” I prefer to understand people over passing judgment on them.
This is the thought process behind everything. He meets with other top businesspeople and sports coaches in a leadership group where they exchange advice. “I get my ideas from my university,” the speaker said.
flipping a page
In addition, he reads a lot and makes an effort to study something new for 45 minutes every day that will benefit him at work. This is evident to anyone who has watched his now-viral team presentations, some of which feature condensed historical lectures given with amazing fervor. The book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment is currently piled high.
And instructive publications, as I work closely with teenagers and we have a great deal of responsibility. I make an effort to get kids to read by giving them books. Granit [Xhaka] has begun to read, and Bukayo [Saka] is beginning to… A handful exist. However, we have access to everything on our phones; you could spend ten minutes scrolling, then two or three hours. I require them to remove those.
He needs his phone back right now. Arteta has an important call to answer this evening, most likely regarding a possible transfer, before he heads home to eat with his family. He is approaching the finish of a season that is probably going to be close to the wire. Fandom for Arsenal now anticipates very, very few uniform changes. Mikel, no pressure.
“It’s my decision,” he adds, shrugging ever so slightly. They’ve provided me the chance to pursue my passion in the club that I adore, respect, and find most inspiring. Every day, I adore what I do. I often think back to it when I’m feeling unsure or under pressure: how do you feel about what you do? Furthermore, things don’t get any better than this.