How Arsen Wenger made a tour for Ilsur Metshin

On the eve of the match "Rubin" - "Liverpool" Kazan Mayor and President of the Kazan football club Ilsur Metshin traveled to London, where he visited the base of the local "Arsenal". "Gunners" are one of the most successful clubs in the world, and the team manages not to spend huge amounts of money to buy stars and nurtures talents in their own academy. The correspondent of “Business Online” saw how the Londoners' manager Arsen Wenger led Metshin in his base and revealed the secrets of success in football.

Wenger as a guide and orienting point

The day before the match of "Rubin" against the "Liverpool" in the European League Kazan Mayor and President of the local club Ilsur Metshin went on a working visit to London. Purpose of the trip was to see training bases of "Arsenal" and "Tottenham" - Kazan needs a new facility for the preparation of the players, which can then be used in 2018, renting to the national teams at World Cup time. "Arsenal" does so  - provides services to the team of England, according to head coach of the London club Arsen Wenger, who personally met a delegation of Kazan right on the doorstep of the base. It was a cozy two-storey, wood-paneled and decorated with a modest logo of Gunners house, washed by the classic London rain, which highlighted the lawn.

- That’s how a warming-up arena should look like. It’s simple, beautiful and inexpensive. Wood sheathed it has a very pleasant look - says Metshin of the first impressions.

A small half-empty car park at the entrance was saying that the team had a day off; however, it was already clear, when Metshin met Theo Walcott in the lounge of London hotel. Nobody told Wenger about how his major player and perhaps the main star spends his time, and it is unlikely that the coach, who has worked in the Premier League nearly 20 years, is interested in it. The day after the great victory over the "Bavaria" in the Champions League with a score of 2: 0 Wenger did not have rest, and sat in his office and revised the game, but still kindly agreed to show the base on which he worked personally.

- The idea came more than 10 years ago; I traveled the world as you are now and viewed similar objects arranged in Spain and Italy. I even took over part of the funding, because I knew how it is important for the club to have something like this - a place where everything is done for football, - said Wenger, who does not show any shadow of greatness, which he certainly deserved over the years . He is a classic European gentleman who speaks with everybody as an equal person, and actively supports the conversation, modestly shrugging when the Mayor of Kazan noted his brilliant performance in the last match.

- We have been impressed by your masterful substitutions in the game with the "Bavaria".

- Great victory - said Metshin, who came to London without an interpreter. In some moments the deputy mayor Ivan Kuznetsov helped with the language.

- Thank you, but sometimes coaches can be wrong too. Yesterday everything worked well, the game was really interesting, but there is something to reconsider. Let's go inside.

At this moment a tall black guy appeared in the doorway.

- This is Danny Welbeck - Wenger introduced the player out of courtesy, but it was not necessary.

The coach turned to the striker.

- We have guests from Kazan.

- Kazan? I remember "Rubin" from Kazan, a strong team in Russia. And "Dynamo" is also. How is "Rubin" now? - asks the player who came to train in the hall with the other injured - David Ospina, Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshir.

- Could be better - Metshin briefly responds.

Of course, he could not see a coach room, but it is unlikely there was anything unusual, except of schemes of "Arsenal". But the base is so compact that if you turn slightly, you can see the locker room, where everybody went to, the Mayor actively conducted the survey on the phone and looked at the pictures on the walls.  View of "Emirates" attracted his attention: "They have made wonderful thing with the old stadium - rebuilt it into a hotel and earned money, and set a new one nearby".

- It is necessary to put on shoe covers, - says an employee of "Arsenal" Joe who performed as a guide. - We have a lot of rules that Arsen imposed, one of them is indoor shoes.

Wenger hastened to explain.

- It is important that it is clean everywhere, so there is a feeling of home and respect to the base. In case of breaking the rule, a player gets fine, we even have a code.

Next to the closet full of sneakers, tables were standing, on which t-shirts, souvenirs and a lot of markers are lying. Each player passing through this hall is obliged to leave the autograph that sponsors then were able to sell the memorabilia at auction. All the money go to charity if it is not a gift for the competition. If a player does not sign anything, he will get the fine too – everything is pretty tough in matters of commerce and marketing in the clubs of England.

There is a quite low roof in the locker rooms and hallways, somewhere there are overlaps, but it is invisible because of the well-exposed light. This was also engaged by Wenger personally, who calls such lighting Japanese style, and in addition, the second floor does not allow the sun to cover everything inside.

At 10 meters from the entrance locker room of the first team is located, where entrance in the boots is forbidden. It is almost sterile and does not have the odor that usually accompanies such facilities.

- And why should they have safe in the lockers? - the president of "Rubin" surprised.

- We made it for someone who wants to put everything there. But athletes do not use them - outsiders come rarely here and only with special permission of Wenger, and professional footballers will never steal watches or money. – The guide explained to Metshin. - Some lockers can be closed with a key, but where to put the key? There are no pockets in the train suits, so it is always open.

Personal place in the sauna

The door to the left from the locker room is leading to rooms with high humidity.

- Each seat in the steam room is signed, as well as in the locker room at the "Emirates", the same with the showers. This is comfortable, as well as our pool. It is a short, but it is not necessary after all - but the depth is adjustable. The room is to recover after matches, not for trainings - the guide says, when Wenger has already gone to his place. - For example, on the basis of "United" you have to go 50 meters down the hallway to get to the pool, and we have the whole base length of 100 meters.

The locker room has direct access to the lawn, which has exactly the same cover as the "Emirates". Total the base has 11 lawns that are grown directly from seeds; staff of 20 people is working on that. For the main team "only" four fields are allotted - once a week team changes the place of training especially not to spoil the grass.

- We change the lawn every year - service man proudly tells.

- Every year?! - That is what has caused the greatest surprise to the Mayor.

- Yes, these are two reasons for this: firstly, pesticides spoil the ground; we use it for the field. Secondly, the grass roots clog the drainage and spoil the heating of the field, so the change of the lawn is not a whim, it should be so.

Everything else is allotted for youth teams. Wenger who returned to the guests was in shorts, exposing his old legs. Coach obviously felt like at home and calmly told about his future plans.

- Now we are building a similar premise, where young men to 16 to 21 will train. Now everybody trains in the same building, there is enough space, but we will expand.

- And what about connection of the young people with to the main team? They won’t see the older partners to aim for – Metshin was interested.

- I agree, that is why building is 50 meters away from us, you need to go in another direction. And we expect that everyone will eat lunch in the same dining room as now. It is a place where all are almost equal.

Training conditions for the second composition does not differ; the same rules are for the young team as for the basic: do not wear blue uniforms in the street, change shoes, do not go into coaching room and not move to the right side of the base. Young people have a separate entrance, but the doors are open and transparent, and you can see all. The first thing that meets the younger players on the base is photo of boys, who were able to get into the main team: Wojciech Szczesny, Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere. Cesc was the first who went straight from the fourth locker room to the first, and did not go from one room to another year after year. The dining room is on the second floor, all get there the same food and attitude. The peculiarity is that the young people can go to any table and talk with the main team, but has no right to sit on a chair with their meal. All this becomes a psychological trick that makes the new generation strive to win - they want to get the right to sit at the next table with Wenger, to press the tray of Petr Cech, pass the salt to Peru Mertesacker, to go to a separate entrance and to leave a dinner the other stairs.

- I really want that Academy of "Arsenal" for children was also here, now children from 7 to 15 are engaged in London, our law does not allow bringing them here - school attendance is a priority, and we are 20 minutes from the city. But since I do not have control over the work of the coaches, I would like to see more - Wenger said finally, as the real owner he met and saw the guests to the doors.

- We will wait for you in Kazan - Metshin invited coach to visit, and perhaps for a confrontation with "Rubin".

- With pleasure, as soon as a reason will appear.

Further a training base of "Tottenham" was along the route of the Mayor, which differed so much that it another article should be written about it.

Published in “Business Online” 24.10.2015