DEPENDING on who you ask, Mikel Arteta is either a madman or a genius.
Opposition fans are always ready to ridicule his compassionate ideas to keep his Arsenal players engaged and on the edge.
Arsenal's All or Nothing Amazon Prime series showed for the first time how unconventional the Gunners boss can be when it comes to getting his players going.
But whether you think he looks like a poor David Brent impersonator or not, few can dispute the results.
Arteta has transformed Arsenal in his five years at the helm in north London.
The club were on their knees when the Spaniard stepped in to replace Unai Emery, but they are now serial and serious title challengers, with the entire squad having bought into Arteta's ethos, however idiosyncratic.
Former captain Granit Xhaka once described his manager as 'a freak, but in a positive way'.
SunSport guides you through the bizarre and brilliant history of Arteta's methods…
IN THE DRESSING ROOM
The moment that Arteta's leftfield techniques took off came in the Emirates dressing room ahead of a derby win over Tottenham.
Arteta took out a flipchart and began drawing a heart and brain, symbolizing passion and clarity, as they held hands with an Arsenal fan behind them.
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He said: “We have to play with our big hearts.
“At the same time, we have to play with big brains. And they have to work together.”
Arteta later revealed that the players joked about his antics after the match, but accepted all the jokes as the ploy had clearly worked.
The dressing room was the scene of some of Arteta's most famous moments, with the boss waving a light bulb and urging his players to “get out there and turn on the damn lights!”.
Arsenal lost 2-1 to Brighton that day.
Arteta said: “You win the game, it works, you don't win the game, it doesn't work.”
Ahead of another North London derby victory, the former club captain called on Arsenal photographer Stuart MacFarlane to deliver an impassioned team speech.
It is not just within the walls of the Emirates where Arteta is trying to make a difference.
The club also works hard to make their players feel at home on the road, decorating the walls of the opponent's changing room walls with Arsenal crests and colours.
CRAZY MEETINGS
Players walking into one of Arteta's meetings never know what to expect.
In the past, they have been tasked with squeezing as much juice as possible from a lemon – only for Arteta to squeeze out a few more drops to show “there is always more to give.”
Arteta shows photos of F1 cars, either on an open road or in crowds, to show whether opponents are sitting deep or leaving space behind.
But the most unexpected was easily during a team meal.
Arteta and his coaches secretly hired a team of pickpockets to go around the table posing as waiters and pick up phones and room keys from the unsuspecting Gunners team.
It was intended as a lesson to always be alert and on guard, but was mocked by a number of former players and current pundits, including Roy Keane.
During a meal before a 3-2 win over Manchester United, Arteta invited a seemingly random waiter to take on Oleksandr Zinchenko at a team lunch.
But the 'waiter' turned out to be a professional freestyler.
Zinchenko wrote in his book: 'This man is destroying everything. He actually destroys us. He even nutmegs Bukayo Saka.
“Everyone's looking at each other like, 'What the hell is this? Everyone's cheering him on and laughing.'
'It turns out he's a professional freestyler with millions of followers, who had planted Mikel as a waiter at the hotel.
“The mood in the camp afterwards was incredible.
“People were buzzing on their way to the bus. That whole thing really pushed the right buttons.”
Arteta even quizzes his team on opponent tactics during team meetings and has them play games like Pictionary in the build-up to matches.
While he also had the entire team play with “hundreds” of large dominoes to show how important it is that every piece is in the right place.
DURING TRAINING
Arteta has decided not only to irritate his children with some of his musical choices, but also his players.
This week the Gunners prepared to face Dinamo Zagreb with some famous Samba hits as a backing track.
In a bid to boost the mood in London Colney, Arteta played Sergio Mendes' Mas Que Nada, famous for being used in Nike's advert featuring Brazil's 1998 World Cup squad.
Arteta said: “It happens in all of us. You play a song and you immediately feel different, and we have certain songs that make a difference in our team because they also have a bit of history with us.
“I will use it if we think it is the right way to do it.
“Sometimes I play a song very often with my family and [the kids] say, “Daddy, can we please stop this?” I don't know, it's a feeling.”
Belgian forward Leandro Trossard added: “At first, when I joined, it was a bit strange for me that we had this, but now it's normal for us that the music plays when we're warming up.”
In the past, Arteta has also played Liverpool's You'll Never Walk Alone song to prepare his side for a trip to Anfield, which they lost 4-0.
There was plenty of guidance after that, as Arsenal fell so short on Merseyside, but other sports have also taken note of this.
During practice rounds for January's Team Cup golf tournament, which featured many European Ryder Cup hopefuls, captain Luke Donald had players teeing off as “USA” chants blared from the loudspeakers.
It was implemented to prepare the golfers for their Ryder Cup trip to Bethpage Black, where they will face a ferocious New York crowd.
IN LONDON COLNEY
It is at the club's training base, just off the M25, where many of Arteta's changes are most clearly felt.
The Gunners boss has planted trees outside his office to show how important it is to provide roots and foundations so things can flourish and grow.
Motivational messages have been plastered on the walls and a new word has even been created around Colney.
Arteta has coined the term 'collaboration' – cooperation and competition – to try to move the team forward.
But the most popular and noticeable change on the training field is the chocolate Labrador, rather nauseatingly named Win.
Win came from research showing that petting a dog can promote a sense of unity.
Arteta once said: “She is one of us and will be on our journey.
“She changes your mood. You come into the building and she gives all her love. Suddenly you just feel the energy and the players start hugging her, it's beautiful to see. Those things are very important.”
“There are things at the club that can be done to connect with people, to show love, and I felt this dog was the perfect representation of who we are today.
“We all love to win and Win needs a lot of love.”
The tricks Arteta uses to give his players an extra edge are undoubtedly entertaining and baffling, and can easily become worn out if overused.
But while clips show players looking confused and Arteta himself has admitted that jokes have been made at his expense, there is method to the madness.
While they may have fallen just short in recent years, if the Spaniard's stunts win Arsenal a trophy, players and fans will let him do what he wants.
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