- 6 months ago
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on his excitement for new season, title race and expecting an improved Manchester United in their Premier League opener
London Colney, London, UK
London Colney, London, UK
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00:00Hi Al, have a look.
00:30Hi Al, have a look.
00:58Hi Al, have a look.
01:18Hi Al, have a look.
01:24Hi Al.
01:36Hi Al.
01:48Hi Al, have a look.
02:00Hi Al.
02:12Hi Al, have a look.
02:24Hi Al.
02:36Hi Al, have a look.
02:46Hi Al, have a look.
02:56Hi Al, have a look.
03:06Hi Al, have a look.
03:16Hi Al, have a look.
03:26Okay, go on.
03:27I'll move that in case the camera can't see.
03:29So, it's a nice Arsenal card as well.
03:32Very good.
03:33Arsenal are red, United are two.
03:36It's Sky's biggest Premier League season ever.
03:39We're excited.
03:40Are you?
03:41I'm super excited.
03:42I can't wait.
03:43It's been a really productive pre-season.
03:46We made such an evolution in the squad as well and we're ready to go.
03:50Is the excitement also linked to the fact that you've gone early in the market, you're bringing
03:55six quality players all over the pitch, injury-wise as well.
04:00You would hope so anyway, but looking fairly clear apart from Gabriel James.
04:04Is that all part of it, the mood in the play?
04:07Especially the mood in the play, the energy around it, the enthusiasm that the boys and
04:11the staff came from day one and that will, to do better, to keep improving as a team
04:16and to win and that's why it drives my energy and that's why I'm so excited.
04:21I guess Leo Trusserl was the only doubt from last weekend, has he?
04:25Yeah, I think he's much better.
04:27I think he will be able to train again tomorrow and if that's the case, he will be fit.
04:32Of course, there's still a couple of weeks just over to go in the window.
04:36I'm not going to ask you, maybe to others, whether you're trying to bring anybody else in.
04:41But is the main emphasis now potentially you're trying to get a few out?
04:44Well, now I leave that to Andrea and the club.
04:47My main focus is just about performing, is preparing the games in the best possible way
04:52and win because now we have started the season.
04:55It's been a long off-season, pre-season with the markets and being so active on it
05:01and I leave it to them.
05:03We're celebrating the start of the Premier League season but it's a tough start for Arsenal, isn't it?
05:08I need to tell you what games are coming up.
05:10It's from Liverpool even before the international break then,
05:12then Man City and Newcastle Forest.
05:15We need to play each other, we need to play it at some point
05:18and we'll start at an incredible stadium with so much history and a beautiful way to start the season.
05:25We will go game by game and make the best preparations and then perform to end the right to win the game.
05:31Where you are at the end of that run of games, will that say a lot about the potential for winning the title?
05:36Yes, especially the consistency that we showed in the last three years.
05:39And now the margins, we know how small they are.
05:41We know that the competition as well has increased the level with recruitment,
05:46with another year together and we're going to have to do the same.
05:49How many teams this season can realistically compete for and maybe win the Premier League season?
05:54A lot, too many in this league and it's getting stronger and stronger.
05:58There are teams probably that maybe you don't put them on a piece of paper right now,
06:02but suddenly they will surprise everybody.
06:05The squads, the quality of the managers, the structure they have within the clubs,
06:09they are so strong that it's going to be very difficult.
06:12Old Trafford on Sunday, always a great game.
06:15Yeah.
06:16Manchester United, Arsenal.
06:17Arsenal, Manchester United.
06:18What do you expect from United this season?
06:20Do you expect them to be better than last season?
06:23They will be different as well and the manager will have more time with them.
06:26They have a pre-season.
06:27They made some very good signings as well, like anybody else.
06:30I think they are strengthened and they will be better than last year like the rest of the teams.
06:35Two goalscorers, new goalscorers in opposite teams.
06:40They have got Czesco, you have got Jokeres.
06:42In a different world, it might have been them coming face-to-face but for different teams.
06:47What made you, in the end, go to Jokeres ahead of Czesco?
06:50I can just talk about Victor and how happy we are to have him.
06:54I think he is going to have a tremendous impact in the team.
06:57His adaptation has been very, very good and we are really happy to have him.
07:01He got off to a great start.
07:02Yeah.
07:03Just a final thought.
07:04Tony Adams is obviously a bit of a hero at Arsenal.
07:07He's saying that he believes that with Martin as your captain you won't win the Premier League
07:13but that should be the captain.
07:15Obviously, that's his opinion.
07:18What are your thoughts on that?
07:20Well, my opinion is clear.
07:21It's not just my opinion, it's all the staff and especially the players.
07:25I asked him to vote the captain and I got the results yesterday and by a mine,
07:32by a big, big 100 miles, everybody is choosing the same person which is Martin Odegaard.
07:38Which is the most clear sign that you can have.
07:42It's how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win.
07:49So, I think there's no question about that.
07:52Yeah, thank you.
07:53Thanks, Larry.
07:54Go to Nip from the Premier League.
07:55Hi.
07:57You've been the Arsenal manager for nearly six years.
07:59It feels in terms of transfers, perhaps at summer 25 has been the most satisfying you had.
08:04How did you feel as a manager that the club supported you this summer?
08:07Yeah.
08:08Well, it's not supporting me, of course, but supporting the team,
08:11supporting the vision, the idea and especially the ambition.
08:14And the level that we are playing, the competition we have and what we expect to do.
08:19So, we have to improve the squad.
08:20We have to improve the quality and the depth of that squad.
08:24And we certainly have done in a really great way.
08:27Victor Jokic has had a wonderful season in all competitions.
08:30If you look at the Portuguese League, it's a great league,
08:32but there is a gift with the Portuguese League in the Premier League.
08:35How have yourself, your coaching staff and Victor's teammates
08:38are hoping to support him to get the best version of him as an Arsenal player?
08:43Well, we're going to do everything.
08:44First of all, understanding the player and exposing the player to the conditions
08:49that he can fulfil his incredible potential.
08:51And that's going to be the key.
08:53And the good thing is that there will be many players, many strikers,
08:56they have come from different leagues, they have come to the Premier League
08:59and been successful.
09:00And it's for us creating the right context for Victor to do what he does the best,
09:03which is to score goals.
09:05Modern Epic against Arsenal, that's one of the greatest rivalries in the family.
09:09And as a player, as a manager experience,
09:11I'm sure there's at least one memory you spent of the moment.
09:15Well, it's a lot.
09:16It's some great memories.
09:17It's just, it's history, you know.
09:19It's the clashes when I was younger as well,
09:22and there were some massive characters as well playing for both teams.
09:25And it created something different in those games.
09:29And now it is different, but still it's going to be super intense
09:33and very exciting.
09:35Ian Tottenham.
09:36Hi, Mikel, how are you?
09:37Good, thank you.
09:38Are you as excited at the beginning of the season
09:41as you have been every other season as a player or a manager?
09:44I think it gets you more and more excited.
09:46And the more I spend time with the players and the staff,
09:50the more reason they give me to come every single day
09:53with a big smile on my face, with a lot of energy.
09:56I'm very enthusiastic about what we do.
09:58I feel very, very privileged.
10:00The difficult start has already been mentioned to you.
10:03You can play that two ways.
10:04One is difficult to get the game down the way.
10:06The other is a positive way,
10:08in that if you come through this and you play really well
10:11and you get good results,
10:12you're in a much better position than others
10:14who have those difficult matches somewhere down the road.
10:16I guess, having known you for a while,
10:18that's the view you're going to take?
10:20100 per cent.
10:21It's a big opportunity now to go to Old Trafford on day one
10:24and go there and play the way we want to play
10:26and win the game.
10:27And that's the focus and the energy is just on that.
10:29You've always said in the past as well
10:31that no one puts more pressure on you than yourself.
10:34But do you feel after having come close three times now,
10:38knocking on the door of the title,
10:40that this season really is the most pressure on you and your team?
10:44Yeah, you keep digging, digging, digging,
10:46and you have to be digging
10:47because one day the goal is going to be there.
10:49You know, and that's all the time.
10:51When I've been tough, when I've been educated,
10:53and that's it for three seasons,
10:55we have more points than any other team in this league,
10:57which is incredible.
10:58So that's all about the consistency.
11:00Now we have to do it in a season,
11:02to earn one more point to the same amount of points
11:04and more goals difference than any other team.
11:06That's the objective.
11:07Last one.
11:08A lot of people are going to say to you
11:09and ask you questions about Jokeres
11:11and about Zubamendi and about Madhuacchi,
11:13all the players you've brought in.
11:15But it strikes me that this is one of the clubs in particular now
11:19which still holds values of the youth team
11:22and coming through academies
11:23and then playing players if they're good enough
11:25that you've brought through.
11:26We saw it last season with Luis Skelly.
11:28Manieri signed a new contract this summer.
11:31And I think everyone would have been excited about Max Dowdman
11:34having seen him during pre-season.
11:37And just explain again what it means to this club
11:40to have those young players available to you
11:42and the courage that you have to play them.
11:45Well, that shows the great work that has been done
11:47in the academy throughout the years,
11:49especially because those players have come to the first team
11:52and performed at the highest level
11:53without any professional experience.
11:55And that's a very different case
11:57to any other player that in big clubs
11:59they've been playing at 17, 18, 19, 20
12:02with many other experiences before that
12:05whether it's launch or playing at different teams.
12:07So that shows again what the academy has done,
12:09the preparation of these boys,
12:11the maturity of these boys
12:12and as well the quality that we have in the squad
12:14to support the young players
12:15to feel so comfortable immediately
12:17to perform at the highest level.
12:19So it's a compliment for everybody at the club.
12:22Alex from BBC.
12:23Hi, Michael.
12:24Hi.
12:25We saw a bit of your career
12:26to play the two games at the Emirates.
12:28You can see the understanding increased over that time,
12:31but he didn't have too much team training before he joined.
12:34Is he fit and ready to start at Old Trappers?
12:36Yeah, he's getting better and better every day.
12:38He's normally a really fit player.
12:41It's true that he hasn't trained so much with us.
12:43He had those two moments in games when he's participated
12:46and the feeling was very good.
12:49So let's see what we do on Sunday.
12:51And through this pre-season,
12:53it seems as though if there's been any minor feeling of a player
12:56you've taken them out like Kai Havertz and Riccardo,
12:59Cala Fiore to go against any injury issues.
13:02Last year availability was an issue for you.
13:05Have you had to manage differently or think about it going into the season?
13:08Well, especially because those two cases
13:10were plays that were coming from long-term injuries,
13:13so we have to be very cautious throughout pre-season,
13:15especially when you start to travel abroad
13:17and there are so many conditions that change for those players.
13:20And yeah, we have more players, more balance as well in terms of availability.
13:26We have improved that in relation to the individual qualities of players as well.
13:31And it's going to be key to maintain them for as long as we possibly can,
13:34fit available at their best.
13:37Martin Zubermendi, how is he going?
13:40Is he available for Sunday as well?
13:42Yes, he had a great integration.
13:44Everybody can witness immediately a very big impact in the team.
13:48I'm really happy and he will be fit.
13:50James Authentic.
13:51James Authentic.
13:52Hi.
13:53There's a lot of excitement about Victor Jocker as obviously a new signing,
13:56but Kai Havertz has had a really strong pre-season period as well.
14:00Do you see it as a kind of straight fight between those two players
14:03for that number nine position?
14:04And if so, is that something you've had to speak to Kai about?
14:07How do you intend to manage that across the season?
14:10Well, it's always we're going to play with 11 players.
14:13There are going to be some players on the bench that are going to be used.
14:15Some others that cannot be used.
14:17Some players that we're going to have to leave in the stands.
14:19That's the level.
14:20That's the next level that we're going to face,
14:21something that probably we haven't faced before.
14:23And then I heard a lot that you have two players per position,
14:27or we have three and four,
14:28because there are players that can play in different positions as well.
14:31So it's going to be about earning the right to play, to compete,
14:35and when you don't have the chance to do that,
14:37to cooperate in the right way with any teammate to improve the level.
14:41And it's going to happen to all of them
14:43because the season is going to be so demanding
14:45that the first week are going to be a little bit different.
14:48But the moment we start to play three times a week,
14:50it's going to flow in a really natural way.
14:52And you mentioned Ethan Ranieri.
14:55He signed a new contract.
14:57Are you happy that with Ethan, with Martin,
15:00with Calmarino, maybe with Kai,
15:02do you have enough now in that kind of attacking midfield part?
15:05Yeah, I think we have great versatility,
15:07very different qualities in relation to the opposition as well.
15:11We can manipulate that and have some great cohesion
15:15within those units.
15:16So I'm very happy with that, yeah.
15:20When we last spoke to you in the Premier League context,
15:22we were sitting in that room at St Mary's,
15:24and you talked about how you're going to go away and reflect.
15:27I'm kind of curious what you're willing to share.
15:29What reflections did you take?
15:31And what have you learned going into this mid-season?
15:33Well, a lot.
15:34Obviously, it was a long list of things.
15:36First of all, with the amount of situation we have to deal with,
15:42I think the team showed an incredible capacity to adapt
15:45and win a lot of matches in a very different context.
15:48Something that is not common,
15:50and I revised that in the last Premier League for 20 years
15:53and what happened.
15:54After that, how we have to evolve as well.
15:57The squad, the individual, certain roles have changed
16:00and it's the moment to move away from that.
16:03And then what is the real deal?
16:05What are the things that we have to continue to do,
16:07or do better,
16:08to give us the best possible chance to win the major trophies?
16:11And that's clear.
16:12You used the word evolve there.
16:13Against Athletic Club and the friendly in the midfield,
16:16I know there's a particular evolution,
16:18the way in which Deca Maraises and Mendy
16:20were kind of moving around that middle third.
16:23Do you see that midfield evolution being perhaps the most key
16:26to Arsenal taking that next step forward?
16:28Well, there are a few in relation to the players that we have
16:31and their qualities.
16:32Now we have probably elements and possibilities
16:35that we never had before.
16:37And some others that would emerge naturally
16:39that probably they are not in the book.
16:41So that's a really good weapon to have.
16:44Okay, last turn in the last section.
16:45James from CBS.
16:46Hi.
16:47Circling the background to the captaincy question,
16:49you mentioned that there's a vote.
16:51Is that something that happens every season
16:54and within that are there vice-caps selected?
16:57Certainly because we changed a lot and we changed all the
16:59leadership group because a lot of the players that were there
17:01now they are gone.
17:02So we need to re-establish that.
17:04And because it gives you so much information,
17:06really how they feel about themselves
17:08and how they see as their leader
17:10and how they see the people that can join that leadership group.
17:13So it was really interesting to analyse all the data
17:16and to gather information.
17:18Obviously, Tony Adams is going to have a very particular view
17:20and a particular experience of what a captain is
17:22and maybe his style of leadership is quite different to Martin's.
17:26But is it?
17:27And do you kind of see what captaincy qualities did you see in Martin?
17:30Yeah, we all see different and we're going to talk about leadership
17:33and the kind of leaders we can be here for hours.
17:36So at the end, what matters the most is how these guys feel about
17:40who needs to lead them, how they feel comfortable,
17:43who is going to push them, who is going to give them support
17:45when it's happening.
17:46Basically, who do you want to represent the club and the team
17:50when we go out there and face any opposition?
17:53That's the key.
17:56Hi, Mikel.
17:57There have been a few tweaks to the rules at the start of the season
18:01and the way they're going to be implemented.
18:03That was something that kind of caught you out a little bit last season
18:06and you were on the wrong end of the way that that was implemented.
18:09What do you do?
18:10Can you do anything to guard against that this time?
18:14Yeah, it was very particular and it only lasted for a few weeks
18:20and we were really punished for those few weeks.
18:23But hopefully it won't happen.
18:25Again, I think they've been very clear, we had very good meetings
18:28with the referees when they came here and in the managers' meeting as well.
18:32So I think it's very clear what to expect and wish everybody the best.
18:36I think we're going to need the best of all of us
18:39and to have the best Premier League ever,
18:41which I think is going to happen.
18:43And hopefully we're going to come on top of that.
18:45Are you confident that those rules will be implemented more consistently,
18:49not just across the teams but also throughout the season?
18:52I think a lot of the data says that there have been many, many improvements
18:56as well in the last year or two and we need to reinforce that message
19:01and trust that process and support it.
19:04OK, guys, that finishes the live section, as live section.
19:07We'll now go to 10.30 tonight.
19:09Who wants to kick off?
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