{"id":1084,"date":"2019-09-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/why-arsenals-human-touch-is-essential-to-the-champions-drive-to-keep-winning-part-i\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:29","slug":"arsenal-joe-montemurro-1","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning – Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\t
\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n Sep 19, 2019 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning – Part I<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
\n
Share<\/div>\n Facebook<\/a>\n Twitter<\/a>\n Email<\/a>\n Copy Link<\/a>\n
https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

In the first of an exclusive two-part interview, Arsenal Women’s Head Coach Joe Montemurro explains an approach that his players find both appealing and stimulating.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n

In Part I, Arsenal Women’s Head Coach Joe Montemurro talks about the importance of clarity in the rules that you set and why conviction in your beliefs is something that most often comes with time.<\/em><\/p>\n

For Part II click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
By John Portch<\/h6>\n

On Joe Montemurro\u2019s watch Arsenal Women once again became the best team in England.<\/h4>\n

Confirmation came when an emphatic 4-0 victory away at Brighton & Hove Albion saw the Gunners crowned champions of the 2018\/19 Women\u2019s Super League \u2013 their first national championship since 2012.<\/p>\n

It marked a return to the pinnacle for a club that has claimed 45 major honours, including one Women\u2019s Champions League and 15 league titles, since its inception in 1987. The team has returned to the Champions League and are favourites to retain their domestic crown, but as standards in the Women\u2019s Super League [WSL] improve year on year, the Gunners will be hard pressed to win back to back championships.<\/p>\n

Not that Montemurro needs to be told. \u201cIt\u2019s a different type of pressure now,\u201d he tells the Leaders Performance Institute. \u201cIt\u2019s the pressure of expectation; but the problem we\u2019ve got is that CVs and trophies in the cabinet don\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re going to score 70 goals and concede 13 in the league again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian is speaking on the eve of a campaign that began with a 2-1 victory over West Ham at Arsenal\u2019s Meadow Park home in Borehamwood. On the surface it seems to be business as usual, yet the increased competition domestically and the challenge of an additional competition in the form of the Champions League will pit Arsenal against higher calibre opposition and place a greater strain on his squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first idea I returned with this year was that we had to come out of our comfort zone. You don\u2019t achieve what you achieve through comfort zones, you have to challenge things a little bit more and make things harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Within four days of the West Ham match came Arsenal\u2019s first foray into the Champions League as they defeated Italy\u2019s Fiorentina 4-0 in the first leg of their round of 32 tie. \u201cWe\u2019re going to challenge ourselves to be the team we want to be by challenging the best,\u201d adds Montemurro. \u201cWe need to do things at a higher level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarity of rules<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Montemurro arrived at Arsenal in November 2017 it fulfilled a career ambition for the lifelong Arsenal fan, who found himself with a job on his hand to make the team competitive again with the WSL\u2019s leading lights, Chelsea and Manchester City.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a team has changed their coach there has obviously been a little bit of confusion, messiness or grey scenarios for it to be at that point,\u201d he reflects. \u201cThe first thing the players want is clarity of the rules; clarity of what we\u2019re going to do and how we\u2019re going to go about it, and I think that\u2019s important because what that does is that it allows you to cement your beliefs in the way you want the game to be played.\u201d<\/p>\n

The slick possession football that Montemurro\u2019s Arsenal have become known for chimes perfectly with the self-image of a club that sees itself as a torchbearer of the women\u2019s game in England. \u201cLet\u2019s not avoid the fact that Arsenal has an identity and a way they want the game to be played and, in terms of my beliefs, that is also the way I want the game to be played.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For his appointment to prove a good match with the team and all the key stakeholders, Montemurro needed a workable methodology that enables the team to perform in a mutually desired fashion. \u201cOnce you have that buy-in in terms of your philosophy then the methodology comes into place. I think it\u2019s beautiful to have a philosophy, it\u2019s beautiful to say we want to be possession-based side- that\u2019s good \u2013 but how do you do it? It\u2019s putting it into everyday practice in your work, your language and your movement. Once you have that clarity of who you want to be, how we want to play, and then you\u2019re able to make the players understand how we\u2019re actually going to implement it. Then I think you\u2019ve got your starting point.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the winter of 2017 Arsenal forward and Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe considered her position at the club following a short loan spell at Glasgow City in the Scottish Women\u2019s Premier League. In March, barely a year and a half later, she signed a new long-term contract at with Arsenal having become a crucial part of Montemurro\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came back to Arsenal to a new coach and I took to Joe\u2019s approach and methodology straight away,\u201d McCabe told The Athletic<\/em> when recalling her return from Glasgow. \u201cHe wanted to keep me and I signed a new contract. I had a full pre-season under him and that was really key. It gave me a chance to prove to Joe he could trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It comes back to that aforementioned practice, everyday language. \u201cI think that\u2019s where the buy-in happens,\u201d Montemurro tells the Leaders Performance Institute. \u201cThe players saw that the work we were doing in the park was being translated into the gameday scenarios and it made it all the more easy for us to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaining the conviction of your beliefs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Montemurro, who was a midfielder during his playing days, retired at the age of 28 having decided that his future lay in coaching. He recently discussed this period in The Athletic<\/em>. \u201cI was always a midfielder that connected things,\u201d Montemurro said. \u201cI would sit in the middle of the park and look at shape and balance. I enjoyed the coaching process and strategy as a player. I always enjoyed coaches and what they were thinking. I always knew I would get into some sort of teaching process in football and the coaching grew organically when I finished playing. It was an ongoing process from when I was a young player.\u201d<\/p>\n

He played out his final playing days in Europe and returned to his native Australia where he worked in youth football and supplemented his income as a freelance graphic designer. In 2014, Montemurro was able to complete his Uefa Pro License at Coverciano, Florence, the home of the Italian Football Federation\u2019s technical headquarters.<\/p>\n

Back in Australia, he built his coaching reputation during a remarkably successful spell in charge of W-League side Melbourne City. Montemurro\u2019s credentials within the women\u2019s game stemmed from his tenure working with the under-17s at the National Training Centre for girls at Football Victoria.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Arsenal came calling he jumped at the chance to join his boyhood team and felt ready for the challenge. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of messiness in your growth as a coach,\u201d he tells the Leaders Performance Institute. \u201cYou see things and you think \u2018that\u2019s great and I\u2019m going to implement that\u2019 but you really don\u2019t know what you\u2019re implementing. Then you see something else and think that\u2019s great; you follow trends.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gradually gained the conviction of his beliefs. \u201cYou\u2019ve got these beliefs, these ideas, of how you want the game to be played and how you believe things should be done. The question is: how are you going to make it an everyday process, how are you going to bring that to life and make that work? Once that penny drops then I think you become a coach and then there\u2019s this constant process of completely evolving and developing. But your base and your beliefs are always those because you know how to bring them to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Here is Part II<\/a> of this interview featuring Arsenal Women’s Head Coach Joe Montemurro discussing his ‘style rules’, the value of humility when winning matches, and the importance of having ‘no excuses’.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the first of an exclusive two-part interview, Arsenal Women’s Head Coach Joe Montemurro explains an approach that his players find both appealing and stimulating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1085,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[20],"pathway":[],"topic":[],"sport":[],"class_list":["post-1084","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership-culture-performance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning - Part I - Performance Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning - Part I - Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the first of an exclusive two-part interview, Arsenal Women's Head Coach Joe Montemurro explains an approach that his players find both appealing and stimulating.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T05:12:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2040\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1093\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/\",\"name\":\"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning - Part I - Performance Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-19T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T05:12:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg\",\"width\":2040,\"height\":1093},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning – Part I\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/\",\"name\":\"Performance Institute\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning - Part I - Performance Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning - Part I - Performance Institute","og_description":"In the first of an exclusive two-part interview, Arsenal Women's Head Coach Joe Montemurro explains an approach that his players find both appealing and stimulating.","og_url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/","og_site_name":"Performance Institute","article_modified_time":"2025-12-15T05:12:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2040,"height":1093,"url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/","name":"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning - Part I - Performance Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-19T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-15T05:12:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Joe-Montemurro-featured-image-2.jpg","width":2040,"height":1093},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/arsenal-joe-montemurro-1\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Arsenal\u2019s Human Touch is Essential to the Champions\u2019 Drive to Keep Winning – Part I"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/","name":"Performance Institute","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32354,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1084\/revisions\/32354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"pathway","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pathway?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=1084"},{"taxonomy":"sport","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sport?post=1084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}