00:00Some positive, some others not so. Trosa seems to be okay. He trained this morning and he
00:25seems to be feeling good. We will assess everything with the doctor right now but he was able
00:29to do part of that session so that's good.
00:32Bukayo and Declan as well, they have the first session today, partial session, so very good
00:40as well.
00:41Ben is going to be out for months, unfortunately, yes.
00:47It's been a different kind of struggle, it's never been the same thing but we had to make
00:56a decision, it's not been improved in the last few weeks, unfortunately. We know that
00:59Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point where we had to protect the
01:03player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and obviously that's going
01:09to keep him out for a few months.
01:11A few months, so when you say a few months that could be anything, have you got a full
01:17cut figure?
01:18I don't know at the moment. We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect
01:23him to be half of a year but I cannot tell you exactly.
01:28Calafiore?
01:29Ricky trained today, so his rehab has gone really well. He was able to set some things
01:38last week with the physios, he trained on the pitch this week, he trained with us today
01:42as well so he's back in the squad.
01:45Chiellini?
01:47Chiellini and Tomiyasu and now I think we're done.
01:50Kieran not yet, he had a couple of sessions with the team but not ready yet to be with
01:57the team and Tomiyasu is going to be out as well for a period.
02:01Anyone else?
02:03You went through a lot of players at the moment, so not that I can think of.
02:11I know that you like to break the seasons down into blocks and in that last block there
02:17were no Premier League wins, so I wondered how much you've taken this time to almost
02:24reset, reset yourself, reset the squad, where you've maybe got inspiration, how you've
02:29thought about getting your side back with their manager, the sort of processes you've
02:35been through?
02:36Well, analysing everything that we've done, the reason why we haven't won games is because
02:41the opponent is superior to us, the clear answer is no. Should we want more of those
02:47games? The answer is yes.
02:49Do I like what our team is doing? The answer is yes but we have to improve certain things
02:54in terms of especially how we have defending and attacking the box.
02:58But overall I can think of a lot of things but I need to understand how the players are
03:04doing and the only way to do that apart from communicating with them on the phone is when
03:07they come back. And the energy of the staff and players yesterday, it was unbelievable.
03:12That's the joy of being with these guys in this journey. They love being here, they love
03:17to be back with us and that brings the energy up straight away. It's not much that I need
03:23to do but it's always good to paint the picture and make sure that we are on the right track.
03:31Pep is staying on. How is that news received in the Arteta household?
03:42If it's what he really wants and I'm sure it is, congratulate him. I already did it
03:47and I'm happy for him because I want the best for him.
03:50It's great for Premier League, is it great for you and Arsenal's title ambitions?
03:55Well, we can only do what is up to us and we have to be our very best to try to achieve
04:00what the others can't do. It's not our decision.
04:05Tomorrow will be your 250th match in charge of Arsenal in the competitions.
04:09I wanted to ask you how much you've enjoyed the experience?
04:12A lot.
04:14And how satisfied you can be with what you've achieved so far?
04:19Well, extremely grateful, very happy, enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoy it because of
04:28the people that I work with every single day and because I understand how lucky we are
04:32to be sitting where I am and you always want more. I feel a huge pride to see the people
04:41that work in the organisation, how they feel about the club right now, what we transmit
04:46as a football club, as a team, the people that I work with. It's about winning at the
04:52end. You want to win more, you want to win big trophies and we are on that journey.
04:58Do you have another 250 in you?
05:01If it's about energy and what I love doing, for sure.
05:06Just on Nottingham Forest, 11 points with them on the table. Has that form this season
05:10come as a surprise to you?
05:13Well, they've been really good, they've been really consistent, they've been top against
05:17the best opposition especially, so big credit to Nuno, the coaching staff for what they
05:22are doing. Very clear, their intentions, how they manage to take the games where they want.
05:29Really impressed to be fair, we've already done.
05:32On beating at home this season, how much confidence does the home support give you playing at
05:36the Emirates?
05:37We love playing at the Emirates, we know that we have a unique atmosphere with our supporters
05:42there and again, the way I saw the team the last 48 hours gives me a lot of confidence
05:49so we're going to be full tail to go on and try to win the game.
05:57You asked about your 250th game in charge of Arsenal, what would you say your achievements are?
06:04If I ask you right now, what is one or two things you massively achieved in those 250 games?
06:11I would bring the club together 100 per cent, lifting the spirit, giving a very clear DNA
06:19to the football club and I said pride again to be representing this club and this shirt
06:27from the players and everybody involved for the club in the way that is expected at this level.
06:32Is the only thing you need to do now are trophies?
06:34It's not the only one, you have to maintain a lot of the things that you do.
06:39Sometimes you achieve them but they can drop very quickly so it's maintaining them,
06:44that's a work that you have to do consistently every single day but now it's about winning,
06:48that's the next step for sure.
06:50You asked about Pep's new contract, you said you were happy for him, you congratulated him,
06:54did you ever think he wasn't going to stay?
06:58Have you seen signs recently that he was getting bored or tired?
07:04I had no clue to be fair and he's done that in the past as well, in Barcelona it was every year,
07:09then in Bayern when I was there it was very similar but I don't know, it's his decision.
07:15He seems very happy with the club as well so congratulations.
07:19And finally from me, from now until Christmas, a lot of games both domestically and in Europe,
07:25more in the Premier League because of Liverpool's fantastic start and maybe you and City
07:30not having to run a formula wanted in the last few weeks,
07:33how big is tomorrow and how big are the next six weeks?
07:37For sure, it's a lot of games as you said, it's about building momentum and getting results
07:41and getting back-to-back wins and that will create the energy that we need,
07:47the belief that we need with a lot of the good things that we are doing.
07:51Just on the 250, you must be very proud of that,
07:55I mean that's quite a considerable number, I also think we've done I think 1,200,
08:00but you know, 250 is quite a lot.
08:03That's perspective, you know, what is a lot and what is very little.
08:07But I mean in your first job, are you proud of that?
08:11Yeah, it could have been much shorter to be fair,
08:13especially in the world that we live in right now, I really appreciate it,
08:17that's what I said, my first word I think was gratitude,
08:20not only for the job that I do, where I do it, with who.
08:23And yeah, that's what I love what I do, there's no coincidence,
08:27I feel really lucky and hopefully we can continue for a long time.
08:32Across those 250 games you've had lots of ups,
08:36can you just talk to us about probably the last two months or six weeks,
08:40how that's been, I know you've been quite positive going into press conferences,
08:44but you must feel like you've had some bad luck,
08:47some things go against you, just what's it been like for the last two months or six weeks?
08:52I know from my side, when I plan the season,
08:55and I have a start and finish and it's a journey,
08:58it's like we all go travelling in the bus together,
09:00it's going to be a bump, it's going to be bad weather, things are going to happen.
09:04My thing is how I'm going to navigate,
09:07how I'm going to make the other navigate with me throughout that period,
09:12because it's going to happen, it's guaranteed that it's going to happen,
09:14unless we become invincible, we win every game and then fine,
09:17we don't have to go through it.
09:19In the way that I predicted the season, it was going to happen.
09:23As many things that have happened, no.
09:26But I love how the team reacts, how the club reacts when there are difficulties.
09:30Before you went up the Chelsea game, you said you wanted all the players to come back fit and healthy,
09:36so you might have a sack of rice back,
09:38but now you've just told us you're going to lose Ben White for a couple of months,
09:41so how are you going to plan for life with that kid?
09:45It is a challenge, it was something that we didn't expect at all,
09:49because we talk about consistency, availability in the defensive line,
09:53Ben has been probably the best with Gabi and Willy,
09:56so we miss him, but that's it, we're going to have to find alternatives.
10:00There's a lot of positives as well, because Declan is back, Bukayo is back,
10:04Jurgen is in a good place because he could not play the last game as well,
10:08that's the one that I was missing.
10:11And Leo came back in a good place, Ricky is back that we're missing for five or six weeks,
10:16so there's a lot of players, and that's great news.
10:19Saka and Bryce missed England, are they in a better position now
10:23than not playing for England in two weeks for you?
10:26I prefer when players are in their routine, in their rhythm to play.
10:29They couldn't do it because they were injured,
10:31so we have tried to facilitate everything that we could for them to be in the best condition for tomorrow.
10:36What do you want now, just no more injuries for the next couple of weeks?
10:40Don't even talk about it, getting some normality,
10:44things that happen normally, not everything that happened lately.
10:48But again, it's like everything, it's a lot to learn from those periods,
10:52from yourself and how you can start too low constantly and get frustrated,
10:57and you have to get really out of that, fight for excuses or fight for something else.
11:01The team hasn't reacted in that way,
11:03and I really love the experience of going through something difficult with them,
11:07because some individual cases were quite tough emotionally to deal with,
11:10but this is it.
11:15Hi.
11:16Last season, before you went on a fantastic run,
11:18you felt a bit senseless in the sense that in the run-up to January you had a difficult run,
11:22and then you had the break to Dubai.
11:24I know you've obviously not been able to go to Dubai this time,
11:26but do you see similarities?
11:28You don't know if I've been in Dubai.
11:34Some of the players have been in Dubai at least.
11:37But do you see similarities in the last season
11:39in the sense that the way the players have come back for a bit of time away,
11:42do you feel like they can go on a run now in a similar way to they did last season?
11:46Yeah, but not because of Dubai.
11:47It would be too simple.
11:48It's because I see, and looking back at all the games,
11:51I look at a lot of the opposition in the Premier League, what they are doing,
11:54just to understand what is the context that we're in
11:56and how good we are in relation to the opposition,
11:59and I'm very confident that this team,
12:03the moment we find a bit of consistency and a bit of normality,
12:07that is going to kick on.
12:08What is the key to the consistency?
12:10Is it just getting the same players out on the pitch?
12:11Availability.
12:12That's it.
12:13I'm not asking for anything else.
12:14And obviously now it does look like he's got another one of those runs that he did last season.
12:18Is there any margin for error anymore,
12:20given how far behind you are from the top?
12:23Well, it's much smaller, obviously,
12:24when you see the consistency in terms of results that Liverpool are having.
12:28They're making, obviously, exceptional improvements and results,
12:34but we are there.
12:35We have played against them and we have seen life,
12:38where we are in relation to them,
12:40so that gives me a lot of confidence.
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