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Arsène Wenger recently praised this team’s mental toughness, and now we know the likely cause for this newfound psychological edge. While I would have guessed the team had simply started blasting “Eye of the Tiger” in the locker room, apparently the club is now working with a respected sports psychologist.
Said sports psychologists is Dr. Ceri Evans, who helped the New Zealand rugby team win the Rugby World Cup. Granted, I don’t know rugby very well but that seems good.
Dr. Evans apparently offers something called “an ‘anti-choke mechanism’ – a way of dealing with high-pressure and high-stakes,” which does sound like a pretty great tool for an athlete to have before a big match, or for me to have the next time I go on a date.
“We are always looking for new ways to progress and continue competing at the top of the game,” a club spokesman said in a statement, though they declined to go into further detail.
Given that Arsenal is currently second in the table and on a 19-match unbeaten run, whatever Dr. Evans is doing seems to be working.