AS the saying goes, "behind every every great man there's a great woman".
That rule of thumb appears to apply completely to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
After years of obscurity where the club struggled to compete for the title, Arteta and Gunners sporting director Edu have cultivated a positive culture within the club.
Players on the pitch appear to be enjoying their football, having built a strong rapport with each other.
And it seems this relationship has extended to significant others of a number of Gunners stars.
Following their 5-0 thumping of Chelsea last week, a viral video of Martin Odegaard's partner, Helene Spilling, dancing to Shakira's "Waka, Waka" - adopted as Kai Havertz's chant - typified this shift in culture.
Wag drama away from the pitch has been known to cause it's fair share of problems for footballers in the past.
However, Arsenal have turned this proverbial chink in the armour into an extra boost as they hunt for a first Premier League title in 20 years.
A core group of Arsenal players including Odegaard, Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Ben White have blossomed on the pitch while their partners have become a core group off it.
Helene, Sophie Weber, Tomali Benson, Laura Trossard Hilven and Milly White are often seen socialising together away from football.
They are often seen together on matchdays, including the second leg against Bayern Munich, and four of the women stayed together to see Arsenal thrash Sheffield United 6-0 in March.
This bond is said to have been strengthened by the club's trip to Dubai during the winter break.
Arteta saw an opportunity to improve the players and invited players partners onto the trip, with the club putting on bonding sessions to help the group become closer.
The
Read on m.allfootballapp.com