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By Jonathan Brown ON FRIDAY, Arsenal will start their bid to retain the Premier League title as they take on Coventry in the opening game of the new season. Speaking to The Mourne Observer, First Team Performance Coach and Kilcoo native Ryan Devlin says the club’s aim is “winning as many trophies as possible” as he reflects on a memorable first season at The Emirates. The former St Colman’s College student moved from his role as Aston Villa’s Head of Athletic Development in October of last year to join Mikel Arteta’s backroom team, and found himself playing his part in the Gunners’ first Premier League title win in 22 years as one of the club’s first-team strength and conditioning coaches. Arsenal secured the title following Manchester City’s draw with Bournemouth on 19 May and, just 11 days later, faced PSG in the Champions League final, losing on penalties. Ryan admitted the Arsenal celebrations after the Bournemouth game were relatively short-lived. “That last couple of weeks of the season was wild. “We trained on the Tuesday that City played Bournemouth, then everybody decided to stay back and watch it because obviously we knew if they dropped points, we had won the league. “The celebrations in the dining room that night were unbelievable and then we went out after, but after that it was straight back into work because the Champions League final was 11 days after that. “So it was very quickly celebrated and then we just got straight back on it in preparation for that.” The celebrations got underway properly after the final in Paris. “We were unlucky in the Champions League final, but obviously we’re going up against an unbelievable PSG team. “We played PSG on the Saturday, then flew back to London very early the next morning before getting the train back down to The Emirates for the parade on the staff bus. “People were climbing on roofs and lampposts. It was an unbelievable experience,” Ryan explained. So, what are the secrets behind Arsenal’s long-awaited title triumph? Ryan, who played for Kilcoo’s minors as a teenager, believes it’s been in the making for some time. “I’ll only have been there a year in October, but this is something that’s been brewing for a while. “Some of the people I work with are unbelievable practitioners and everyone has their own specialities. “Even before I went to the club, I always heard stories about how good Arsenal were as an organisation, in terms of the people they hired and the expertise they have.” And that organisational approach to achieving success is driven from the top down by Mikel Arteta, who has been Arsenal’s manager since 2019. “One thing I will say about Arteta is that he demands really high standards from everyone, including the staff – he’s an unbelievably driven individual and he’s instilled that in both the players and the staff. “He speaks about us being a community and a family together, and we very much operate like that. “We like to think we’re well in-sync and obviously we’re trying to fulfil his goals, we’re an important piece of the puzzle as the support team,” Ryan said.