Arteta on the challenges of injuries and Arsenal's will to win (Full Presser part two)

sportslounge.tv

Mikel Arteta on the challenges of injuries and Arsenal's will to win as they prepare to face Leicester  14/02/2025  Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK  Embargoed Section

Transcript

00:00Jürgen, last week you said ideally you wanted a squad of 20 outfield players and three goalkeepers,

00:07and then last week you said maybe a team with a squad of 45.

00:12Has your thinking changed over the season in terms of what resources you actually now need?

00:18Ideally always 23-24 outfield players and four goalkeepers, that's my idea always.

00:24But last week you said about 45.

00:27Sorry?

00:28Last week you said some teams have got a squad of 45...

00:31Yeah, but that's not my idea.

00:33Well, it is ideal, a 45 squad, to have a pool of players that you can use in various ways.

00:37Some of them to play here, some of them to be on loan, some of them to development,

00:41some of them to give you profit, you know.

00:44But the actual squad to compete in four competitions, 24 and four.

00:50So this ties into you...

00:51And all available, without injuries, without people coming from surgeries,

00:55you can have them there.

00:57The way to get that would probably be to have some sort of multi-modal use applied recently,

01:01maybe you have a view on that, to have a wider network of players you can tap into.

01:06Well, that's a possibility as well, obviously having a lot of talent in the academy

01:12and in the loan system that we can provide that.

01:16Just to check, I know Simon asked you about Max,

01:19have you actually asked the Premier League, or have they given you guidance?

01:24No.

01:27That I haven't asked the Premier League, no.

01:30OK, good.

01:32Mika, Man City have had major injuries, Tottenham have had injuries, you've had injuries,

01:37are Premier League players on the risk of breaking down because of the intensity,

01:41because of the amount of competition?

01:43The risk is always there because we play a sport that is very demanding,

01:47there's a lot of contact, and on top of that we are demanding them more and more and more.

01:51And some teams are going to have a competition as well with the Club World Cup in the summer.

01:56So we know the direction that it's going,

01:59so certainly sustainable in the manner that it is today,

02:05you want to maintain the quality, I think it's going to be very difficult.

02:09Ricardo Calafori played as a striker when he was growing up.

02:12And Saliba.

02:14You didn't know that, eh?

02:16I play as a striker.

02:23All the options are welcome.

02:27You never know what's going to happen, so we're going to have to be creative.

02:41Do I look like an animal?

02:47I'll do it as an animal.

02:49I think it's part of the sport, it's part of the challenge,

02:53and it's part of the beauty of when somebody is having a difficulty

03:01or somebody is facing something that is not ideal,

03:05it's how we react to that.

03:07And that's testing the spirit and the quality of a group of players,

03:11or a team in this case.

03:13We need to love that, you know?

03:15We need to be obviously very, very analytic on the things

03:19that we can do better as well, to try to avoid that.

03:22But after we have to react in a manner to show that will as well,

03:26that regardless of what happens, our will to win and our ambition

03:29is not going to change.

03:30And you've seen the players react the same way as yourself,

03:32which is, oh no, why me, and let's do this in that order.

03:37And the order is exactly that, because oh no is again,

03:40this is a reaction and you feel for the person and the player,

03:43then the impact that they are having in the team as well.

03:46But then you have to say, OK, what else can I do to make this work again?

03:51Yes, sir?

03:52Hi, Mourinho.

03:53What's not getting a strike at the most recent win

03:55that was always going to be a roll of the dice?

03:57At the time, did you, from your perspective,

04:00could you understand the gambling?

04:02What's not getting a strike, or is that coming to play now

04:05since others are coming too?

04:08I understand that, but we had two strikers with Leo Three,

04:11with Gabi and Kai.

04:13So now we have to look at other teams that have four or five strikers.

04:17I don't know how many there are in Europe.

04:19So we had the strikers.

04:23And how hard is it now, obviously, I know you've got to adapt and get on with it.

04:28Obviously, Kai was a big part of your puzzle as part of the team.

04:32What's it like now to try and adapt going forward?

04:35You've got a good three or four months left in the season, now and after.

04:39It goes day by day.

04:41Because I don't know what the next challenge is going to be

04:43or the next opportunity is going to be.

04:45We have won a lot of games as well with playing Leo as a nine,

04:49and when you look at all the players that they play together.

04:51So, again, we'll find the right solutions.

04:54And what's the situation with Charles Seguros Jr.?

04:57He played against Bramford last season, I think, in the Carabao Cup.

05:00He had loads of goals, obviously, Swansea and Sharif Vitar.

05:02What's the situation with him?

05:05Well, he's certainly training with us,

05:07so any player now that is obviously in this position,

05:10the same with Kavia and Ney, as well, that have been very much involved with us,

05:14they will have opportunities.

05:16OK, finally, we'll go to Sam.

05:18Did you say that Williams offered to play Alba?

05:21Yeah, Williams is so funny, in a strange way.

05:24It's one of his reactions, and it's true as well that he plays.

05:27He used to score a lot of goals, but as he said,

05:31probably a lot of players played when they were younger in those positions.

05:35Would he be a good target?

05:37Yeah, can you imagine?

05:40When you first came to Arsenal, you won the FA Cup playing a different style of football.

05:45You didn't have the same players you didn't have.

05:47You've shown in the past you can play different ways and adapt,

05:51and you're not just stuck to 4-3-3, that's it.

05:54Given the resources at your disposal,

05:57do you envisage a big change of approach and philosophy and style now?

06:02Yeah, for me it's much more related to the intentions and behaviours of the team

06:06than formations, in my opinion.

06:08For me a formation doesn't mean anything if you don't tell me what intents that team had.

06:12For example, we were talking before about the high-pressure situation.

06:16You can play five-for-one and be the most aggressive team in Europe

06:19if you want to, and play man-to-man every ball.

06:21Or you can just sit back in 20 metres, very compact,

06:25don't jump to anything and counter-attack.

06:27So it's the behaviours and intentions of this team that are not going to change.

06:31Some others, we're going to adapt to the qualities of our players.

06:35OK, guys, that's us. Thanks very much.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended