<
>

Arsenal coach Unai Emery bans fruit juice from training ground - sources

Arsenal coach Unai Emery has banned fruit juice from the training ground menu as part of a new fitness regime at the club, a source told ESPN FC.

Emery has carried on Arsene Wenger's legacy of implementing his own dietary requirements for players, cracking down on sugary juices in favour of water.

The change, first reported by the Mirror, was confirmed by a club source and is one of many that Emery has brought in after replacing Arsene Wenger in May.

Arsenal's preseason training saw an even bigger emphasis on fitness than under Wenger, as Emery prepared his players for a new high-intensity pressing system.

"We are working harder than we used to, with a lot of work in the gym," right-back Hector Bellerin said in July. "Obviously we always used to do that, but I think he [Emery] has turned it up a notch."

Arsenal's players were already subject to strict diet regimens under Wenger, who brought a whole new emphasis on nutrition to English football when he arrived at the club in 1996.

Wenger riled some of his players by banning chocolate bars, while putting lean chicken, fish and vegetables on the menu at London Colney.