Mikel Arteta: Handling a hatchet man
Trash talking, niggly fouls and the odd pinch. The opposition are targeting you. How do you hold your nerve? Former Arsenal playmaker Mikel Arteta explains

Playmakers are the target of hatchet men and wind-up merchants across the land.
Restricted by their own limited ability they resort to the dark arts to disrupt the opposition’s creative source.
Their tactics – a potent mix of physical and mental attacks – are designed to throw the playmaker off his game.
It’s not pretty and it’s not nice, but without a strategy for countering these methods, flair players often find themselves heading for an early shower or writhing on the floor in pain.
You need a plan and Arsenal’s midfield maestro Mike Arteta has one. Watch this video and learn from a man who has had to deal with agents of darkness.
Mikel Arteta wears the Puma King Finale. For more details, visit www.facebook.com/Puma
Also see:
Mikel Arteta's guide to mental toughness
Mikel Arteta: Bouncebackability
Mikel Arteta: Making the killer pass
Mikel Arteta: The pressures of a playmaker
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Arsenal report: Incredible Roberto Firmino deal 'close', following recent Mikel Arteta 'hint'

'Did I say no to Liverpool last summer? Yes, I did. But I'll be very clear: if this offer had come at the end of August, just before the end of the transfer window, I would have accepted it' Reds target admits he turned down Arne Slot's project