What are 'mentality monsters'?

The phrase 'mentality monsters' has grown in popularity in the world of sport over the past few years.

It's generally used to mean having resilience and to thrive under pressure, while always finding a way to win.

Interest in the term spiked again last week when Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka's fiancé posted the caption 'mentality monsters' alongside a picture of Manchester City midfielder Rodri on her Instagram story, following their draw with Bournemouth which handed Arsenal the Premier League title.

Many believe the post could have been referencing a comment made by the Spanish midfielder in 2024, who said Arsenal playing for a draw at the Etihad that year was the reason they gave up the title.

He told Australian channel Optus Sport: "When they faced us here at the Etihad, I saw these guys who don't want to beat us - they just want to draw."

Before now, some rival fans and the media have referred to Mikel Arteta's team as 'always the bridesmaid and never the bride' due to three collapsed title charges that ended in consecutive second-placed finishes.

The squad's mental strength, conviction, stomach, and 'bottle' have been frequently questioned.

One particular Manchester City supporter went viral as he celebrated a victory with an Arsenal-branded water bottle, a premature nod to Arteta's side 'bottling' the league.

But it seems this season Arsenal may have finally gotten over that mental block, after ending a 22-year wait for a Premier League title.

A study in 2017 commissioned by UK Sportexamined the differences between the elite and so-called 'super-elite'.

It found that: "High-achieving athletes often have a more intense drive to achieve, which is underpinned by factors such as compulsive striving, an identity tied to winning and being the best they can be at their sport. Their motivation is potentially more emotionally charged than other athletes and non-athletes."

'Compulsive striving' is what many see as another term for 'mentality monsters'.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been credited with coining the phrase, frequently using it to describe his players during his tenure.

"It's really tough and to get through that you can't do it with a normal mentality. As humans most of us are nice, but we have a tendency to be weak, to get tired," he said, speaking to BBC Sport about Liverpool in 2024.

"And then be like, oh God, again? And that's not the mood we can be in. To always find a way again to show up and really fight against pretty much everything, is something I don't take for granted. I expect us to do it, but I don't take it for granted. That is why I think these boys are mentality monsters."

In March, former Arsenal and Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole spoke to Sky Sports about the Gunners, saying: "They look strong. They look solid. They look like mentality monsters. They are not giving anything up. After 20 years they should win it."

But sports psychologist Dr. Nikki Crawley from Changing Minds UK, who has worked with professional sports athletes and Premier League clubs, does not personally use the term.

"It's difficult for me to define it, but resilience comes to mind, and I think the main thing that comes to mind is the way someone is able to display resilience in a particular moment," she said.

"However, we do need to consider the particular environment that they are in, and the role they are being asked to play because resistance is a dynamic construct. It is not a concept.

"It is not something that someone has either got or they don't. So even using the term 'mentality monsters' there will be certain situations where someone is better able to display a resistant response."

Changing Minds UK provide services that look at psychological factors impacting an athlete or team's readiness to perform over consistent periods of time or a single event.

Their clients include developing athletes, such as academy football players transitioning into the first team, as well as established elite athletes or teams.

Sports psychologist Alex Feary says the aim of the organisation is helping athletes "to perform on the big stage, under bright lights and under pressure".

"We have certain characteristics or performance that we know are really important for athletes. One of them on the broad scale is called regulation, which is about managing emotions and behaviours, especially under pressure and being able to adapt," Feary said.

"[We would] help them understand their default, level of arousal in a performance environment and how they might adjust that to get the best performance they can."

There were moments during this season where Arsenal dropping supposedly 'easy' points - such as against bottom-of-the-table Wolves - meant that their mental strength was criticised.

It increased the pressure on the team, who risked losing the league title to a chasing Manchester City towards the end of the season, with questions arising around whether Arsenal were mentally ready to end their 22-year wait to become champions.

"The context of 22 years of history, the weight of that on their shoulders - I think there is importance in acknowledging that it will create feelings of pressure, of doubt at times, and will bring up difficult thoughts and feelings for people," said Dr. Crawley.

"We would never try to work to completely remove that doubt, it's about being able to help players and staff to be more confident in how they manage that. It's an absence, every individual will be different.

"When you say 'mentality monster' that sometimes brings up for me almost someone who is a machine, and they don't have struggles or worries."

She added: "You expect in really big moments, like Arsenal have just been through, for there to be loads of doubt, loads of worry and pressure that people are holding, but it's being able to have the awareness to recognise what they will need to perform to despite that."

Another team in north London who faced pressure of a different kind until the very end of the season was Tottenham Hotspur, who managed to beat relegation on the final day.

Spurs, who finished 17th in the Premier League this season, recently advertised for a sports psychologist on LinkedIn - demonstrating that elite clubs and athletes are looking to help provide their players with any mental edge possible to help them perform for survival as well as victory.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.