Mikel Arteta speaks out on heated half-time row between Declan Rice and ‘AirPods Albert’
The former Manchester United and Wales assistant has a reputation for brutal honesty and a disregard for stardom.
His playing career was short. The 55-year-old fell out of bed as a teenager, injuring his knee which put an end to his playing days at just 19.
Wanting to continue his passion for football he threw himself into coaching. Feyenoord’s academy was his first step on the coaching ladder, spending 13 years developing many stars, including future Arsenal frontman Robin van Persie, with the pair linking up at Manchester United later on.
He then worked with the Dutch national youth teams, before joining United as an assistant under Louis van Gaal. It was in his time at Old Trafford where he developed a reputation for his direct and matter-of-fact style of communication with high-profile stars and his United spell was one of much responsibility.
‘At United, I was doing the training sessions for the selected first team before games. I was fully in charge. I was doing all the pre-match team talks, and I did the post-match talk with the team and individual players,’ he told de Telegraaf.
‘Louis gave me the opportunity to develop myself at the top level and lead in so many ways.’
Stuivenberg joined his United colleague Ryan Giggs as part of the coaching team with the Wales national team after Van Gaal’s sacking and a brief stint at Genk. Giggs valued Stuivenberg’s tough-love approach.
‘Albert would always tell me what he thought. He will never be a yes-man. He would be up front. If I was missing something, I would always want someone who would question me. ‘Why are you doing that?’ He’s experienced. He’s a brilliant coach, and the lads love him,’ Giggs told the Athletic in 2020.
While at Wales, he was offered the chance to become Mikel Arteta’s assistant at Arsenal, and at the Emirates, his brutally honest streak continued. He advocated for Arteta to axe Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, fearing the Gabon striker’s flashy lifestyle could have rubbed off negatively on young stars like Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah.
He was also keen to nurture the attitudes of those he believed he could hone into leaders. With Stuivenberg’s help, Granit Xhaka began his transformation from hot-headed to real leader – a characteristic that has helped him perform as Sunderland and Switzerland captain and be one of the best players in the Premier League this season.
While it is his constant donning of wireless headphones on the touchline that has led to the nickname ‘AirPod Albert’. It is understood that he is in communication through WhatsApp with another, rotating member of the management team sitting in the stands, for a distinct perspective of the game.
His headphone wearing is a widely discussed characteristic, but he has perhaps not received the same mockery as other coaches – Chris Armas, who was part of United’s coaching staff under Ralf Rangnick donned similar earphones on the sideline to communicate with analyst Lars Kornetka, and was relentlessly mocked by both fans and players, even allegedly being compared to TV character Ted Lasso by some parts of the dressing room.
Stuivenberg has taken charge of Arsenal multiple times when Arteta has been unavailable. When the Spaniard was out with Covid in January 2022, Stuivenberg was in the hotseat for Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Manchester City, and in December 2023, with Arteta banned, the Dutchman suffered defeat at Aston Villa.
By Daniel Burdon