Arteta goes through Arsenal's never ending injury list (Full Presser)

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta goes through Arsenal's never ending injury list ahead of their Premier League clash with Bournemouth  18/10/2024  Sobha Realty Training Center, London, UK

Transcript

00:00Good morning. You sat here two weeks ago and said you were pleased to see no injuries.

00:07Can we run through some of them please? I guess the top of the list is Saka after coming off against Greece.

00:18Where is he? What's the injury? Will we see him tomorrow? Is it a case of just managing the injury?

00:26It's not a serious injury. He's evolving really well. He's done a few things in the last two days.

00:32Obviously he wasn't fit enough to play with the national team in the second game.

00:36But we are hopeful. We have a training session this afternoon. He did some bits yesterday.

00:41So let's see if he can make it on time.

00:44I know you don't like doing injuries but there's obviously quite a few more habits.

00:48Was that precautionary that he wasn't in Germany and he isn't good to go?

00:53He had a few issues and we've been dealing with that. He's been absolutely brilliant.

00:58He has very good communication with the national team, with the manager.

01:01And he understood the situation. Obviously we have modified everything that we could do here.

01:06And again, if he trains well today he's got a good chance to be fit and available.

01:11And Martinelli, is that the same?

01:13Well with Gabi he landed yesterday afternoon here. So we had a very short time to be with him.

01:19Yesterday he went outside to do a little bit and see how he's feeling.

01:23And again today will be another step.

01:25And understand whether we want to take the risk if he's fit.

01:29Because I know what the player is going to say and he's going to be fit for sure.

01:33Some of the others coming back as well just wondered about progress on Odegaard.

01:38There's been lots of conflicting reports about where he is.

01:42Well I think he's not going to be fit for this game.

01:46Next week will be a different story.

01:48But again, in that later stage of the rehab where he is at the moment,

01:53because he's doing already a lot of stuff.

01:56He needs to clear some markers, he needs to clear certain things.

01:59He needs to be comfortable doing, especially with the ball.

02:02And I think next week will be crucial to understand how close he is.

02:07And the last other bunch, I guess, White, Timber, Zinchenko, any of them back near him?

02:16I told you there was a lot.

02:18They are quite close, the three of them.

02:22Again today we're going to have to try and push and see who it is.

02:27Because obviously we are a bit strong with the numbers, especially in our right side.

02:32But hopefully we have some positive news today and we have some players back for tomorrow.

02:37I just want to ask you a bit about Kai.

02:39He sat down with you a couple of weeks ago and he talked about the Bournemouth game.

02:44And the moment when Odegaard handed you the ball.

02:48And I think Odegaard described it as a beautiful moment.

02:50And you said, I believe this is the start of something.

02:53And he said from that day onwards it sort of flipped a bit,

02:57a bit of a switch in his brain.

02:59And it gave him a level of confidence that he's been able to move on and grow as a player and a person.

03:05And I wondered, the biggest change you've seen in him in that time?

03:10Did you ever imagine he'd get to this point from the point of where he was?

03:15Probably not.

03:16But I think that was a turning point for sure.

03:18I think the players took ownership, which is the best thing.

03:22And they decided to do something for the player.

03:25So that straightaway made him feel special.

03:27It made him feel respected, admired that everybody was willing and wishing the best for him.

03:33He delivered that day.

03:35I think the connection towards the supporters went to a different level as well.

03:39And everything started to click.

03:41And since then, well, the story is unbelievable.

03:44His involvement in every match, in what he produces to help us to win matches is incredible.

03:50And he's very positive obviously.

03:53When I spoke to him, we talked about some of the words he's got around the place,

03:58like courage and resilience and respect and those sort of things.

04:02And he said he feels like he embodies all of those things.

04:06He feels like he embodies what this club is about.

04:09Absolutely.

04:10I think it's an amazing role model, the way he behaves every day, the way he is as a person,

04:16the way he lives his life, how much he loves to play football, to compete.

04:20And again, part of that at the level is to handle and manage difficult situations.

04:26And I think he's an amazing example of that.

04:29Just finally, big news obviously this week with Thomas Tuchel's appointment.

04:34I wondered what your reaction was, given that a number of your players hopefully will be playing under him,

04:41what they might get from a coach like him?

04:44They're going to learn a lot.

04:46I think he's one of the best coaches in the world in my opinion without a doubt.

04:49He's experienced with the way his teams are set up.

04:54And yeah, very exciting times.

04:57I spoke to a few of the players.

04:59Straight away they had a smile on their faces.

05:01That's always a good sign.

05:07I'm not sure if you spoke about Partey when you were giving us the breakdown of all the players.

05:11Is he fit and will he be in contention to start tomorrow?

05:14Yeah, Thomas is fit, yes.

05:16And going back to Kai Havertz and signing him,

05:20obviously the fans weren't so convinced at the start with him not being able to contribute with goals.

05:26How vindicating is it for you and your team to identify the player, his potential,

05:32and to now get him performing the way he is?

05:35Well, that was the idea because we believed that he could do it.

05:39He could bring to the team certain things that we didn't have.

05:43Certain qualities that we were certainly lacking.

05:46But it was a big question mark because he wasn't producing what we required as well at that level

05:52a year ago or two years ago.

05:54But we believe that changing the environment could affect him in a really positive way.

05:58Every conversation that we had with him was very reassuring.

06:03You have a player that is going to try his very best to try to accomplish the objectives

06:09and then you have to make it work.

06:12It was a difficult start and at the moment we are in a great place.

06:17Your defence has had so much applauded both this season and last season,

06:21but you haven't managed to keep a clean sheet in the last three Premier League games.

06:25Are you concerned about that?

06:27Well, especially the way we concede certain goals with the little things that we have conceded

06:33to concede those goals.

06:35So there is room for improvement there.

06:37It's about being very consistent and making sure that we play with a level of urgency

06:44and cohesion and focus in every action.

06:47Because in the last few games, especially at home,

06:51the way we conceded the goals I wasn't very happy about.

06:54Finally for me, Bournemouth, a different perspective this season without Dominic Serranke.

07:00Only two wins so far from the opening games, but what do you think is their biggest threat?

07:05They are very well coached, they are a super intense team,

07:08really, really competitive, very clear idea of what they want to do.

07:12They should have very different results in my opinion to some of the things that they have,

07:18especially against the big teams and away from home.

07:21But it's going to be a big challenge.

07:24As an international player going to a place like them,

07:27with the courage, with the intensity, with the purpose that they play,

07:31we have to be at our best tomorrow.

07:35Ian Thompson.

07:37Thomas, you described one of the best managers in the world,

07:40Pep Guardiola was linked with it as well, another one of the best managers in the world.

07:46Is it for you, what does it say about the coaching by English coaches in this country

07:53that they couldn't find an English coach to rival those two?

07:57I understand the opinions and the feelings, obviously,

08:01but that's the responsibility for DFA to say,

08:04OK, the first filter is only English managers or the filter is any manager from any country

08:10and we select the best for the moment that we are in right now.

08:14And I understand that it can feel sad for some people not to have an English manager there.

08:21And the history tells you as well how important this could be.

08:24But I think I would take a lot of pride that a lot of managers,

08:28a lot of people would do anything to become the England manager.

08:33And that's related to, as a foreigner, how we are treated in this country,

08:37how much we love the passion, the respect, the history

08:42and the way things are done in this country.

08:45And that's some mistakes, and I can say personally,

08:47that you feel so related to where you are, even you are not from here.

08:51And I think that's a huge thing that I think very little countries can say that.

08:58I mean, you've been here so long that you're kind of English.

09:02Certainly, I look English, especially in July.

09:07If one day you were to be an international manager,

09:10would you say to yourself, because I'm Spanish, I only want to manage Spain?

09:14No, I tell you right now, the feeling I have, for me this is like home.

09:19I've been here 22 years, you know, and I have that feeling towards it

09:24because I always feel respected, you know, I always feel welcome

09:27and I always feel inspired by this country, by the legacy and the history of football

09:33and how you get treated daily.

09:36And that's something that, as a country, I think you guys have to be so proud about.

09:41It's a long way down the line, but maybe one day Jack Wilshere could be an England manager.

09:47You brought him into the coaching staff here.

09:49We, not me, we did it as a club and I think he's been phenomenal, yeah.

09:55How good is he and if reports are to be believed he might be heading for a new challenge,

10:01how good can he be?

10:03He's been great.

10:04Obviously, everybody knows about the career, about his character

10:08and he's a really special personality, you know,

10:11and his attachments to the football club is unique.

10:14He had it.

10:15He has this aura, his charisma, his way to connecting with the club and the people

10:19and since he came here he had a real impact

10:22because he's been an inspiration for the kids because of his history with the club

10:27and the way he did it and the manner that he did it.

10:29And, yeah, what comes next, that's his decision and the club as well.

10:36Hi, Mikel.

10:37I was just wanting to take you back to something you said in pre-season

10:40about almost sequencing game plans for specific opponents

10:44that come up that are similar to each other in a period of time.

10:47I found it interesting at the time.

10:49I was just wondering if that's actually been able to come into play this season

10:53and how that's kind of gone.

10:55Yeah, well, we try to plan in the international breaks

10:59what we're going to have next and what are the similarities of those things

11:04and with the limited time that we have, okay,

11:06what are the patterns, what are the things that are going to be efficient,

11:11you know, that we can work on in the majority of the matches.

11:15For the next one, it's a bit different to the previous one,

11:19especially because you play certain games at home and then away

11:23and the sequencing is a bit different.

11:25But it's true that the weeks are going to look different.

11:27We have more minus twos and minus ones to train compared to the previous one.

11:32So, yeah, adapt.

11:34In terms of that efficiency, has that been a different challenge for you this year

11:39or is it something you and your coaching staff are kind of used to now?

11:43I would say it's an opportunity, you know, that after analysing everything,

11:48how can we simplify the game in a really efficient way

11:52to be super clear with the team what requires in that specific moment

11:58to be better than the opponent and win the game.

12:01Simon?

12:02Mikel, you've got seven games now before the next international break.

12:06With Martin, are you confident that at some point during these seven games

12:10you'll get him back playing?

12:11Yes, hopefully, yes.

12:13And just on Tomi Atu as well, it's been reported he's been a bit of an issue

12:18in that Southampton game.

12:20Has he had a setback in terms of coming back from that injury?

12:22Do you know how long he's going to be out for?

12:24Yeah, we don't know.

12:25It doesn't look like, hopefully, a long period,

12:30but we'll have to see when he comes back how he reacts to the load

12:35and to the impact on the pitch as well.

12:37But, yeah, we really need him.

12:39He's been incredible.

12:41He's worked the amount of hours that he's put in to get back.

12:44He did it and he was in great shape and now he's got something else again.

12:49But we are all behind him.

12:51He needs our support and hopefully he will be fine.

12:54OK, finally, the live section to James.

12:56If they confirm that they spoke to about ten candidates for the new job,

13:01many of them were back in August,

13:03you haven't signed a new deal at Arsenal yet.

13:06No, and I didn't speak to them.

13:08I'm not one of those ten.

13:10I know you're obviously very happy here,

13:13but do you think you might go into international management one day?

13:16I haven't, not right now.

13:18We have all the responsibilities and the amount of things

13:21that we want to achieve and do here,

13:25so at the moment I'm not thinking about that.

13:27And obviously Bournemouth, Shakhtar, Liverpool in the next week.

13:31Do you feel the team's in a better place mentally

13:35to handle these kind of challenges now

13:37of switching between competitions, three big games in eight days?

13:41Yeah, we certainly have more experience to do that.

13:45In the previous period we showed that

13:52under very specific circumstances, different contexts,

13:55we were able to perform and get the results that we wanted.

13:58So now we have a different challenge

14:00and availability is going to be key as well.

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