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New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Is Mikel Arteta's intensity wearing Arsenal down?
Arsenal's transformation under Mikel Arteta has been undeniable. After finishing eighth in the Premier League in his first two seasons following his appointment in December 2019, Arteta guided them to fifth in 2021–22 and then to three consecutive runner-up finishes. In 2024–25, the 43-year-old Spaniard also led Arsenal to their first Champions League semi-final since 2009, where they were beaten 3–1 on aggregate by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. Advertisement Like many top managers, Arteta is known for his intensity. But after another season of missed opportunities where Arsenal's league form tailed off late on, is that intensity wearing his side down? This was one listener's question that Ian Stone, Adrian Clarke and Art de Roché delved into on the latest episode of Handbrake Off. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available to listen to via the Handbrake Off feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ian: This question is from Richard (listener) who asked, 'Do you think Mikel Arteta's intensity has led to squad fatigue? They can't even have a relaxing dinner together without a pickpocket stealing their things.' If you don't know the context of that, you really need to look it up. But Adrian, do you think his intensity has led to squad fatigue? Adrian: I wouldn't say that's an issue, although mental fatigue is a thing. I do think that if you have an intense manager and someone who does a lot of talking, you do need to have something tangible at the end of it sooner rather than later. So there is a bit of pressure now on Arteta to deliver trophies because if you're listening to the same guy giving you team talks year in and year out, but you're not winning stuff, sooner or later there is a danger that some might stop listening. Or they may stop listening as intently, and not have that same level of buy-in, so there is a threat of that. But I don't see it as being a problem in the here and now. That's why it's so important that you refresh the squad each year with new faces, and faces that are really into what the manager is saying. That can then be really infectious, and it rubs back off on the players, and together as a group they maintain that total buy-in. That can be the same with staff members, because certain managers who stay at clubs for a long time do refresh their backroom team. That's something maybe to consider if not this year, next year, just to have a fresh voice. I do think that's important, especially if you haven't got over the line yet and you haven't climbed that mountain. But we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. I'm pretty sure that they get plenty of downtime and can also have a laugh. I'm sure Arteta's not always on them, we don't see all of that, but I'm sure they have plenty of laughs and time off. Advertisement Ian: Art anything to add to that? I agree with you Adrian that we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. There's no doubt Arteta's intense, and Ethan Nwaneri touched on that when you spoke to him Art, but it's not like he's on them 24 hours a day. I remember Man United's young players talking about when Sir Alex Ferguson was on the phone asking, 'Where are you? Why aren't you home yet?' And all that stuff. But that's what you need, you need full focus. It's not like we haven't played great the last few years, we're just trying to get over the line. Art: Yeah definitely, and what Adrian said about refreshing things is quite interesting as well. The manager that actually came to my mind was Sir Alex Ferguson when Adrian mentioned the backroom staff. I remember he changed his assistant manager every few seasons, and it seemed to work quite well. But also if we talk about just general fatigue in terms of fitness, I think that's where the squad building comes into it as well. Because if you look at the last couple of seasons, and I know we've spoken about it before, the knock-on effect of having one injury means that one player might have to play a lot more than expected. We've seen it at right-back with Ben White and Jurrien Timber, where Timber's ACL injury meant White had to play a lot more minutes than expected that season, and it came back to haunt him. Ian: So you think that affected him the year after with the injury? Art: Yeah potentially because he ended up playing pretty much all the minutes, so all of that factors into it too. There's physical fatigue alongside mental fatigue as well. But hopefully, a lot of these players without the Club World Cup and no real men's international tournament this summer get a good rest. Remember, can listen to full episodes of Handbrake Off for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. (Top Photo:)
Sydney Morning Herald
28-04-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
A piece of paradise locals kept to themselves, until now
'There are 18 UNESCO sites in Canada and almost a quarter of them are here in Newfoundland,' she says. 'There are 22 species of whales and dolphins that come into the bay here alone. There's so much here people know nothing about.' I follow a winding road through forest to a new luxury eco-lodge built high above the valley floor. Gros Morne Inn has a Gold Sustainable Tourism Certification and runs almost entirely on solar and hydroelectricity while its managers – both born-and-bred Newfies – committed years towards protecting the island's marine environment. Co-manager Rebecca Brushett has a degree in marine biology and environmental policy and founded an organisation that promotes ways to grow sustainable communities in Newfoundland while protecting the ocean. I eat dinner in the inn's restaurant, Taste. Its produce is sourced direct from local farmers and from Ocean Wise-certified seafood partners. 'We get the same amount of visitors in Gros Morne National Park in a year that Banff gets in a weekend,' co-manager Ian Stone tells me. 'So younger people from Newfoundland used to all go away for work, but they're starting to come home, for tourism, some of them to farm organically. Newfoundland could be one of Canada's best sustainable tourism destinations. Like Norway really, without the cruise boats.' The road's a lonely place to be as I drive north next morning, weaving along the coast, past deserted beaches and into rich green meadows, fringed by the continuous Long Range Mountains. I stop at a national historic site in the fishing village of Port au Choix, where I hike along trails used up to 6000 years ago by ancient Palaeo-Eskimo people, to limestone barrens where depressions left by long-ago houses are part of one of North America's most significant archaeological finds (117 skeletons were found here). I walk for hours among just a few people, locals mostly. In these tiny seaside villages, you can't stop a Newfie talking. If only I knew what they were saying; most sound like pirates, and they speak in riddles, with constant quips about their weather. As I drive further north, the ocean's as calm as a lake, with barely a puff of breeze. I reach L'Anse aux Meadows World Heritage site near the northern tip of Newfoundland, bathed in the gentlest afternoon sunshine. The first and only site established by Vikings in North America – there are buildings here from 1000AD, the earliest evidence of Europeans in the New World, predating Christopher Columbus by almost half a millennium. This is the only undisputed site of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic discovery within the Americas, yet I wander past 1000-year-old village relics beside a stunning rocky coastline with no one around (fewer than 30,000 people visit each year). I stay nearby, and am told to listen for humpback whales breathing during the night. I don't hear any, but next morning the sea's full of them. 'This isn't the end of the world,' a local tells me when our paths cross on a dawn walk. 'But you can see it from here.' Travelling across north-west Newfoundland is a mix of new-age, eco-tourism and old-fashioned quaintness. Some of my rooms share the same carpet scheme as RSL clubs. Fish and chips (and cod tongue) often comes served with vast helpings of batter, but for every over-oiled chip there's a farm-to-table meal option. At Upper Humble Settlement (near Deer Lake), I take a foraging tour to learn how to live off the land as the indigenous peoples did for thousands of years, before I settle for a four-course meal served within a sustainable farm. At the region's top tourism attraction – Western Brook Pond, a fjord within Gros Morne National Park surrounded by billion-year-old, 600-metre-high sheer rock walls – I travel aboard the first tourist boats in North America to receive the industry's highest environmental rating. Loading I also walk with indigenous guides through parts of this north-western region as they share the history of their local Mi'kmaq people. 'The tourism we're seeing now is reconciliation in action,' Qalipu First Nations Chief Jenny Brake tells me. 'Nothing else allows us to tell our story.' I'm in the midst of a transition; overseas travellers would come here on coach tours, now the international tourists who come prefer to slip off into the wilderness, barely leaving a footstep. 'You can tell your people this,' a local advises me. 'Should we all make it to heaven, Newfoundlanders are the only folk who prefer it at home.' THE DETAILS FLY Air Canada offers daily flights to Deer Lake via Vancouver from Australia's east coast from $3100 return. See All major car rental companies operate out of Deer Lake Airport.
The Age
28-04-2025
- The Age
A piece of paradise locals kept to themselves, until now
'There are 18 UNESCO sites in Canada and almost a quarter of them are here in Newfoundland,' she says. 'There are 22 species of whales and dolphins that come into the bay here alone. There's so much here people know nothing about.' I follow a winding road through forest to a new luxury eco-lodge built high above the valley floor. Gros Morne Inn has a Gold Sustainable Tourism Certification and runs almost entirely on solar and hydroelectricity while its managers – both born-and-bred Newfies – committed years towards protecting the island's marine environment. Co-manager Rebecca Brushett has a degree in marine biology and environmental policy and founded an organisation that promotes ways to grow sustainable communities in Newfoundland while protecting the ocean. I eat dinner in the inn's restaurant, Taste. Its produce is sourced direct from local farmers and from Ocean Wise-certified seafood partners. 'We get the same amount of visitors in Gros Morne National Park in a year that Banff gets in a weekend,' co-manager Ian Stone tells me. 'So younger people from Newfoundland used to all go away for work, but they're starting to come home, for tourism, some of them to farm organically. Newfoundland could be one of Canada's best sustainable tourism destinations. Like Norway really, without the cruise boats.' The road's a lonely place to be as I drive north next morning, weaving along the coast, past deserted beaches and into rich green meadows, fringed by the continuous Long Range Mountains. I stop at a national historic site in the fishing village of Port au Choix, where I hike along trails used up to 6000 years ago by ancient Palaeo-Eskimo people, to limestone barrens where depressions left by long-ago houses are part of one of North America's most significant archaeological finds (117 skeletons were found here). I walk for hours among just a few people, locals mostly. In these tiny seaside villages, you can't stop a Newfie talking. If only I knew what they were saying; most sound like pirates, and they speak in riddles, with constant quips about their weather. As I drive further north, the ocean's as calm as a lake, with barely a puff of breeze. I reach L'Anse aux Meadows World Heritage site near the northern tip of Newfoundland, bathed in the gentlest afternoon sunshine. The first and only site established by Vikings in North America – there are buildings here from 1000AD, the earliest evidence of Europeans in the New World, predating Christopher Columbus by almost half a millennium. This is the only undisputed site of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic discovery within the Americas, yet I wander past 1000-year-old village relics beside a stunning rocky coastline with no one around (fewer than 30,000 people visit each year). I stay nearby, and am told to listen for humpback whales breathing during the night. I don't hear any, but next morning the sea's full of them. 'This isn't the end of the world,' a local tells me when our paths cross on a dawn walk. 'But you can see it from here.' Travelling across north-west Newfoundland is a mix of new-age, eco-tourism and old-fashioned quaintness. Some of my rooms share the same carpet scheme as RSL clubs. Fish and chips (and cod tongue) often comes served with vast helpings of batter, but for every over-oiled chip there's a farm-to-table meal option. At Upper Humble Settlement (near Deer Lake), I take a foraging tour to learn how to live off the land as the indigenous peoples did for thousands of years, before I settle for a four-course meal served within a sustainable farm. At the region's top tourism attraction – Western Brook Pond, a fjord within Gros Morne National Park surrounded by billion-year-old, 600-metre-high sheer rock walls – I travel aboard the first tourist boats in North America to receive the industry's highest environmental rating. Loading I also walk with indigenous guides through parts of this north-western region as they share the history of their local Mi'kmaq people. 'The tourism we're seeing now is reconciliation in action,' Qalipu First Nations Chief Jenny Brake tells me. 'Nothing else allows us to tell our story.' I'm in the midst of a transition; overseas travellers would come here on coach tours, now the international tourists who come prefer to slip off into the wilderness, barely leaving a footstep. 'You can tell your people this,' a local advises me. 'Should we all make it to heaven, Newfoundlanders are the only folk who prefer it at home.' THE DETAILS FLY Air Canada offers daily flights to Deer Lake via Vancouver from Australia's east coast from $3100 return. See All major car rental companies operate out of Deer Lake Airport.
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Are Arsenal the favourites to win the Champions League?
Arsenal's 2-1 victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday not only sealed a famous 5-1 aggregate victory over the 15-time winners, but it also sent them to their first Champions League semi-final since 2009. The Champions League remains the one major trophy that has eluded Arsenal throughout their history, but after knocking out the defending champions and with a semi-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain — who they beat 2-0 in the league stage — Mikel Arteta's side will undoubtedly believe this could be their year. Advertisement On the latest episode of Handbrake Off, James McNicholas, Ian Stone, and Art de Roche discussed whether Arsenal should be considered favourites to win the competition. A partial transcript of his interview has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on the Handbrake Off feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. James McNicholas: The last few weeks of this season could be so spectacular that we forget about almost everything that came before. Football's a strange game in that respect. We've suffered at times this season. It's felt like everything has gone against us and it's not been our year. But suddenly, there's this path to glory opening up in front of us. Sometimes it defies analysis. Arsenal sense their moment, sense their opportunity, and it's difficult to disagree. Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals, and what a tie that promises to be. London and Paris, Arsenal, with all the French heritage in the club historically. PSG have been in brilliant form and were superb against Liverpool and Aston Villa. But Arsenal are the vanquishers of Real Madrid, the conquerors of the holders, and perhaps favourites at this point. If you knock out Madrid, it's very hard to dismiss that idea. Ian Stone: I really love what James said there, Art. The way he talked about it and how important this is for the status of the club, for where we are now. We are the favourites. The bookies have us as favourites although, obviously, that would be in the UK, where more money would be lumped on Arsenal rather than the other teams. We are missing some players and the suspended Thomas Partey will miss the first leg as well, which was the one annoying moment aside from Bukayo Saka's missed penalty. It showed by the way Declan Rice had a go at him, he was like, 'What are you doing? That's making it harder for us?'. Rice will just have to do more work now, but that's all right. Are we the favourites now, Art? Advertisement Art: Arteta and the players have to be bold and view themselves that way. Otherwise, there's no point being in a semi-final. From an observer's point of view, they might edge it as favourites. I'd rather face Bayern Munich than Inter from the other semi-final because Arsenal and Inter have had the two best defences in the Champions League this season. That would be very attritional to watch. Ian: I said I'd prefer to get Real Madrid than Atletico Madrid for the same reason. Art de Roche: Right, and in the semi-final against PSG, Arsenal have that edge of beating them already this season. They're a different team, but Arsenal will also be a different team heading into the tie. You can listen to full episodes of Handbrake Off free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
