Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken about how becoming a father has influenced his approach to coaching the club’s younger players. Drawing on his experiences as a parent, Arteta said he is better able to relate to and communicate with emerging talent who are close in age to his own children.

Arteta highlighted the example of 16-year-old Max Dowman, who made a significant impact in Arsenal’s recent 4-2 victory over Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup by scoring twice and providing an assist. Dowman, born in 2009, shares the same birth year as Arteta’s son Gabriel, who plays in Arsenal’s under-18s squad. This age proximity, Arteta explained, brings an added responsibility to his role as coach.

“When it comes to somebody who is the age of my sons, that is another kind of responsibility,” Arteta said. “Because you have been there, you know what it means, you can think and process what you are about to tell him from a father’s perspective. You can never forget that because of the influence you can have with the language you use and the way you communicate with them.”

Arteta emphasized the importance of clear communication and alignment between the coaching staff, players, and their families. He noted that maintaining a strong connection with the player’s environment, including their parents, helps ensure everyone shares the same expectations. This, in turn, allows the club to provide support while also maintaining appropriate demands on the young athletes.

“If he is here, he has to be here in all conditions, and we cannot treat him differently in many aspects,” Arteta added.

The manager’s approach marks a contrast with the earlier phase of his tenure at Arsenal, when he had to transition from teammate to head coach and then manager of senior players such as Mesut Ozil, Hector Bellerin, and Calum Chambers. Arteta described this as a challenging adjustment.

“It was a test, certainly. Especially with some of them, because I had a really, really close relationship with them,” he said. “I tried to do it in a really natural way. It’s not natural, even if you try to make it natural, because you have strong feelings for that person. I tried to be as clear as possible. I tried to be very clear on what we expect from them.”

Arteta’s reflections underscore the evolving demands placed on managers as they nurture talent across different levels of the squad, balancing personal insight with professional standards.