If you landed a job at Arsenal or any other major football club, buying a tree would probably be nowhere near the top of your priorities. For Mikel Arteta, however, it was.When he looks out through the door of his office at Arsenal's training ground, the first thing he sees is an olive tree. It has been growing there for years, and there is a reason why the Arsenal manager wanted it, The Athletic reveals in an exclusive interview published on Thursday.##LINKED_NEWS_69675##The Spaniard wanted to prove that something extraordinary could be nurtured even where it did not seem to belong. The Mediterranean olive tree had no obvious business thriving on an English football training ground, yet it did. Arteta has olive trees in Spain, and when he decided one should be planted at Arsenal, he asked the club's gardener for help. Together they found the right tree – 140 years old – chose its spot and began caring for it every day.Arteta did much the same with Arsenal.Saturday, 14.30: (1.40) Arsenal (4.85) Leeds (8.20)After 22 years without a Premier League title, the Gunners finally became champions, sending supporters flooding towards the stadium. They hugged, sang, cried, climbed lamp posts and set off flares and smoke bombs. They had waited long enough."Those moments make you realise what we are actually capable of," Arteta told The Athletic. "People say, 'You changed our lives.' What does it mean to change someone's life? That is something incredibly important, because you can change it for better or for worse. That carries a huge responsibility. We are blessed to have the opportunity to do that."##EDITORS_CHOICE##To understand Arteta's influence, it is necessary to go back to the beginning. His first day at the club was anything but conventional.He walked into the biggest room at the Gunners' training complex, normally used as an education centre, and deliberately created chaos."I just destroyed the office and put everything on the floor – computers, laptops, cables. Then I invited everyone in," he recalled. "I said, 'Listen, this is what I've heard. I don't know if it's true, but I've heard from many different people that this is how they feel about working in this organisation."'I'm here to help you enjoy your profession, your life and the passion that we all share. If you want me to help you with that, you have two minutes to put this back in order and at least be ready to work together.'"##LINKED_NEWS_69629##Then he walked out and closed the door."It could have been the end of my coaching career, because if it had stayed like that, I wouldn't have had a job," Arteta joked.Two minutes later, he returned. Everything was immaculate. The room was silent. The players stared at him, wide-eyed and ready to listen."I said, 'This is only the beginning. This is something we have to do every day. Whatever we want to achieve, we will have to do it together. I can't do it alone. The problem we have is much deeper than this, but the opportunity is endless.'"I told them, 'If we can connect all those things, we can create a monster.' And that is what happened."##LINKED_NEWS_68886##Music also became an important part of the dressing-room culture. Magicians were brought in. Players were given experiences completely unrelated to football. Even a Labrador now lives at the training ground and has become a much-loved member of the group.And then there is the olive tree."That creativity comes from the work we put in, especially by paying attention: how does it feel? What do the players need? What are they looking for?" Arteta said. "There are two sides – the human and the professional. Mikel the person will try to look after those players as if they were his children. But Mikel the coach has a responsibility to win football matches."##LINKED_NEWS_69714##Asked to relive one match from last season without any romanticising, he chose two: Arsenal's 3-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid and the far less glamorous 1-0 win over West Ham in the Premier League.It was the Hammers' game that immediately caught his attention."That is football at its very best," Arteta said. "A moment that can change the lives of so many people, and it can go one way or the other. You just pray, because you know that if it goes the wrong way, everything could be gone again."That day, when I went home, I said: 'We are going to be champions. This is our year. This happened for a reason and we are going to see it through.'"##LINKED_NEWS_66405##Arsenal eventually lifted the Premier League trophy, finally getting past Manchester City – the club where Arteta had worked as Pep Guardiola's assistant. But the Champions League remained unfinished business, with Paris Saint-Germain beating them in the final.Arteta still carries the pain."I still have the scar, as Arsene says. I still have that poison in my veins. It has to stay there, because that is how you learn, and it will probably be a huge motivation for me and everyone else."ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 6Saturday14.30: (1.40) Arsenal (4.85) Leeds (8.20)17.00: (2.70) Aston Villa (3.35) Brentford (2.60)17.00: (1.80) Chelsea (3.70) Bournemouth (4.40)17.00: (2.80) Ipswich (3.40) Fulham (2.50)17.00: (3.10) Sunderland (3.40) Brighton (2.30)19.30: (1.75) Man.Utd. (3.80) Tottenham (4.60)Sunday16.00: (2.65) Crystal Palace (3.20) Nott.Forest (2.75)16.00: (3.60) Hull (3.40) Everton (2.10)18.30: (2.75) Liverpool (3.45) Man.City (2.50)Monday22.00: (3.30) Coventry (3.50) Newcastle (2.15)***odds are subject to change***##SOFASCORE_<iframe id="sofa-standings-embed-1-96668" src="https://widgets.sofascore.com/embed/tournament/1/season/96668/standings?widgetTitle=Premier+League&showCompetitionLogo=true&widgetTheme=light" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important; height:1123px!important;max-width:768px!important;"></iframe><div style="font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;text-align:left"> Standings provided by <a target="_blank" href="https://sofascore.com/">Sofascore</a> </div>##