- 11 months ago
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta previews their Premier League match at home to Nottingham Forest.
Sobha Realty training centre, London Colney, London, UK
Sobha Realty training centre, London Colney, London, UK
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00:00Hello everyone, welcome back, hope everyone's well. We'll kick off with the as live section,
00:24so just a reminder, as live until we leave the room, and then we'll have a 10.30 embargo section for tonight.
00:31If you're all ready, we'll kick off with Gary from Sky Sports.
00:43Hi Gary.
00:44Nice to see you again, having a nice little break if you wanted to get some time off?
00:47Yeah, some time off, some work done to review what we've done in the first part of the season,
00:52and then obviously watching all the internationals play, and most of them have a very successful time with the national teams.
00:59I'm hoping that everyone came back fit and able to take part.
01:04Yeah, it's very different to last season, so I'm very pleased with that.
01:08They had a lot of minutes, some very important impact as well in their games, and everybody's good.
01:15In terms of the injuries we knew about before the international break,
01:18I noticed that Vakaya wasn't certainly the filming part of training, he wasn't out there yesterday.
01:25Yeah.
01:26Now Vakaya is out, still out, and he's trying to get back as quick as possible,
01:31but we need to respect that process.
01:33Willy trained today, and the rest as usual, and Ben White as well.
01:38Ben White as well?
01:39Yeah.
01:40Because he was out there yesterday?
01:42Yeah, yeah, Ben is OK.
01:43In terms of Vakaya, he's out then or is out?
01:48He's out.
01:49So big games coming up obviously in the Champions League, and then next weekend Manchester City,
01:54are you targeting either of those?
01:56Let's see, he's evolving really well.
01:58It's with very specific work at the moment, and the moment that we increase that load,
02:08let's see how he reacts.
02:10He's not being rolled out for the next game in the game off?
02:13Not yet.
02:15And with William Saliba?
02:17Willy trained today, so we have a decision to make whether we play him or not.
02:21Well, that's good news.
02:22Very good news, yeah.
02:23One player that you couldn't talk about before the next break, because you haven't yet got him through the door.
02:28Yeah.
02:29But you have now in cap yet.
02:31Is that right?
02:32Good spelling, yeah.
02:34Tell us about him and why you wanted him.
02:37Well, he's a player that we monitored for years, and he became available.
02:41Obviously, we had the departure of Jakub as well, and we needed another player in that position
02:48that could upgrade as well, what we had, playing different positions, playing different formations,
02:53a player that obviously has a lot of experience already at his age.
02:57So, very, very happy to have him.
02:59And ready to go if selected?
03:01Yeah, he's ready to go.
03:02Obviously, he's trained only two days with us.
03:04He had a long travel with the national team, very successful game at the end against Argentina.
03:09But overall, he's available, yeah.
03:11Ange is returning to the Emirates.
03:14Four times he's tried to beat the Mikel Arteta team and failed every time and lost the last three.
03:19Do you expect any different running this time with this new Forest?
03:23Well, I think with Ange, you know, his biggest strength, in my opinion, is the way he's been.
03:28He has put his fingerprints in that team and he has a very clear way of playing, very clear DNA.
03:34He seems to say it's who we are, mate, but clearly he was adapting that Tottenham side towards the end of the season,
03:48playing different kind of football to go on and eventually win that trophy.
03:52Do you expect he will adapt now with this new set of players compared to the style we expect from him?
03:58I don't know and I cannot control that.
04:00So, obviously, he's made the decision to go to Forest now because, for sure, he believes that with the players that he has,
04:06he can do what he wants to do and be successful again.
04:09But, obviously, we had very different expectations if he would have been the manager
04:15because he was already for a long time and very clear what he wanted to do with Ange there.
04:19And the time that he had, there will be things that were different, for sure.
04:22What problems does it give you as a head coach the fact that he may be preparing for a different manager
04:29and then that change comes?
04:32Well, that you have to focus much more on yourself and improving and taking the game where you want to
04:37because at the end now, even if you know the manager, the scenario can change after five minutes,
04:41twenty minutes, sixty minutes.
04:43I mean, the flexibility, understanding and preparation that goes through now in the Premier League.
04:48So, what you expect for five minutes is not going to be the same picture for ninety-five minutes.
04:52So, that's what we prepare for every single day.
04:55Edu Back as well.
04:56Yeah.
04:57Common consensus is that you've just had the best summer transfer window ever in terms of getting your targets
05:04and maybe getting them in quickly without any trouble.
05:08With the backing of the ownership, obviously, and the new recruitment team,
05:12are you almost better now since he's left?
05:15I was very happy with Edu.
05:17I think Edu did a tremendous job at this club, especially where the club was at the time when he joined
05:23and he was a big part of that transformation of the football club.
05:27And then he decided to leave and they've come in very different circumstances to the club
05:31and done an incredible job as well.
05:33So, good.
05:34It's not necessary to compare when you have two people at that level that are both so good.
05:40That's right.
05:41Alex from Premier League.
05:42Hi, Michael.
05:43Hi.
05:44You said you've been reviewing the first part of the season during the international break.
05:47How satisfied are you with where the squad is at this stage?
05:51Well, I wanted nine points instead of six.
05:54I think Arne explained the game really well after the game when he said we played ten times.
05:59Probably eight times would be a draw.
06:00One would be for Arsenal and the one was for Liverpool.
06:03And a magic moment decided that game.
06:05So, we want more.
06:06We want to win more of those games.
06:08And reviewing what we've done and as well the circumstances that we had,
06:13not only in the way that we play but in other areas, there is still room to improve for sure.
06:17And that's very good because the team is already at a really high level.
06:21Was it a bad time for the break to come?
06:23Did you want to play straight away?
06:25Yeah, 100 per cent.
06:26You know, after a defeat you want to have a game in the next three days,
06:29get it out of the system.
06:30But it's what it is.
06:32But at the same time I look at the players on international duties and how they've grown.
06:36I mean, the roles that they have in the teams, the impact that they have in every single match.
06:40And I feel pride because, yeah, they can lose a game and they can go to a national team,
06:47they can click again, perform and most of them win and be very important in those wins.
06:51But a really positive result of the Emirates before that.
06:53How important to make the Emirates a fortress?
06:56Yeah, that's what we want.
06:58And we had a really good game against Leeds.
07:00It's going to be a very different game against Forest for sure.
07:03But it was a kick-off in front of our people after ten days.
07:07We're looking forward to it.
07:09Just a word on Mikel Marino, because he scored four goals during the break,
07:12including his first ever hat-trick.
07:14Has he asked you to play up front tomorrow?
07:16No, but he did it from the midfield, you know.
07:19But Mikel has this ability.
07:21Yeah, he has some comments.
07:23And after Liverpool saying that we play with three midfielders,
07:26defensive midfielders, I think it was the narrative, no?
07:29When Mikel has a hat-trick playing as an attacking midfield,
07:32I don't know when he's the last attacking midfield, he scored three goals.
07:34So, very interesting to learn and what perception is,
07:37especially when you lose a football match,
07:40but how important it is to analyse and understand your players' quality
07:43in order to make decisions that are based on what you understand daily,
07:47which is very clear as well.
07:49How are you?
07:50Very good.
07:51Good to have Andrew back in football?
07:52Very good, I think.
07:53I think as a character, as a person, what he transmits,
07:54what he brings to football is a joy towards the team.
07:55I've always enjoyed it and learned from it.
07:56So, yeah, very welcome to have Andrew back.
07:58You mentioned about you know how his team plays because of their DNA.
08:05And yet, football, as we saw with England this week,
08:06people are starting to play the ball longer, long throws,
08:08which you've done for over a season.
08:09You've scored a lot of goals from set pieces and mixed things up.
08:10Do you think now just having one style of play, one bit of DNA is enough in the Premier League?
08:15But I don't know what you're talking about DNA.
08:16What does that mean?
08:17Does that mean when they have the ball, when they have the ball,
08:19when the ball is very close to their goalkeeper, when they are in high pressure,
08:22when they are in D, when they have a throw-in?
08:23What DNA?
08:24So, it depends.
08:25So, yeah.
08:26It depends.
08:27So, yeah, football, as we saw with England this week.
08:28Football, as we saw with England this week,
08:29people are starting to play the ball longer, long throws,
08:30which you've done for over a season.
08:31You've scored a lot of goals from set pieces and mixed things up.
08:32Do you think now just having one style of play, one bit of DNA
08:33is enough in the Premier League?
08:34But I don't know what you're talking about DNA.
08:35What does that mean?
08:36If they have the ball, when the ball is very close to their goalkeeper,
08:40when they are in high pressure, when they are in D, when they have a throw-in?
08:43What DNA?
08:44So, it depends.
08:45So, yeah.
08:46People will alter their way of playing, their way of thinking.
08:48They will trick things in relation to that.
08:50Try to maintain certain ways and certain approach to the game that they want to play.
08:55That's it.
08:56Tell me about your DNA.
08:58Your also team DNA.
09:00We can go to a blood test and then you can see my DNA.
09:03Fair enough.
09:04Goalkeeper, David Ryan makes his 100th appearance in all comps for you.
09:1041 clean sheets.
09:12Nearly 50%.
09:13That's pretty good.
09:14Pretty good.
09:15It's the best in the history of the football club.
09:18OK.
09:19I'll rephrase the question.
09:20Yeah.
09:21Very good.
09:22It's great.
09:23Very good.
09:24It's unbelievable.
09:25Unbelievable.
09:26And I was hammered when I brought him, yeah?
09:28So, that's perspective as well.
09:30Very good to understand the game and especially when a few months or years go.
09:33It's really good to look back as well and reflect on that.
09:38You're right.
09:39People did wonder why you brought him in.
09:41No.
09:42We did.
09:43And obviously with the help of everybody, I think he has a tremendous impact on the team.
09:48So, congratulations.
09:49What he's done in that period, he's been an exception.
09:52And finally, I also thought that about Madueke in the summer.
09:54Nani Madueke, who, by the way, has just been a star for England.
09:57I know you're watching Spain, but England won two games as well.
09:59And he's been a star for England.
10:00Does that give you a bit of a headache when Bakario comes back?
10:05Because...
10:06I hope so, yeah.
10:07That when they come, that B is in his best condition.
10:11And Nani is the same, but that's what we want.
10:13And I'm very happy to have him.
10:15I think looking back at what he's done with the national team as well,
10:19I spoke to Thomas as well, very pleased with that.
10:21So, he's really good.
10:22He's in a really, really good moment at the moment.
10:24Good luck tomorrow.
10:26Alex, BBC.
10:27Hi, Miguel.
10:28Can I just ask about Kai Havertz?
10:30How is he getting a zero timeframe and when he's going to be coming back to fitness?
10:34Yeah, he's looking really good.
10:35I mean, he's working freely.
10:37He's starting to load Nani and start to do some bits.
10:41Obviously, as I said before, I think it would take him from weeks to months.
10:45But knowing Kai, I cannot give you any time scale,
10:48because I know what he's going to try to do, same with Gabi Jesus.
10:52So, I think he's in a good moment.
10:54It was a very tough decision for him to go and have that procedure done.
10:59But I think it was necessary and it was the right decision from the medical team
11:05to persuade him to do that.
11:07And now the window shot, Piero and Kapi,
11:10is in all the players back from international duty.
11:13The first time you probably have the squad here.
11:16How do you feel about that?
11:17How are the competition levels?
11:19Well, happy because at the end, through the summer,
11:21through the preseason, there is a lot of unknowns and players
11:25that don't really understand their role, their future.
11:28And at the end, we have managed to accomplish what we wanted.
11:32Take the opportunity as well to say thank you to some of the players
11:35that left us after a few years and a great contribution to the club
11:39and the team.
11:40Wish them all the very best.
11:42And now we have clarity.
11:44This is the squad that we have here at least till January.
11:48And I'm very pleased with it.
11:49And now the window is shut.
11:51I suppose the work moves to keeping the players here that you have.
11:55So how are the discussions going around the future?
11:58The contract for Kaio Saka and William Saliba?
12:01That never stops.
12:02But I think the collaboration between the club and what Andrea is doing
12:07and the agent is very, very, very good.
12:10I think the good thing is that the players want to remain here
12:13because they're going to be a big part of the history of this club
12:16in the next few years.
12:17And that's always positive.
12:19And there we'll drive that and see where we go.
12:23Come to Art from The Athletic.
12:25Hi.
12:26Can I just double-check on Saliba?
12:27You said he trained.
12:28Yeah, he trained today, yeah.
12:29Was that his first session back?
12:31He trained today, yes.
12:34Okay.
12:35And also I noticed during the break you did the talk with Steve Kerr.
12:40And in that he said something quite interesting about, I guess,
12:45groups needing kind of a joker.
12:47About Dennis Rodman?
12:48Yeah.
12:49Yeah.
12:50And I was just wondering, in a football sense rather than personality,
12:54is there room for a joker in a Mikel Arteta team?
12:59Well, I don't know if there is a room for a joker in this society,
13:02in this industry in football right now.
13:04I think, I don't know if that will be respected
13:07and viewed as something positive to that.
13:10I think the credit as well went to Phil Jackson,
13:14how he managed that personality.
13:16You can name it as you want it.
13:17But when he had to compete,
13:19he helped them to win major trophies
13:21and he was instrumental on that.
13:23And he managed to deal with this character
13:27in a really smart way to get the best out of him.
13:30And that's at the end.
13:31You can call it as you want.
13:32We have 19 different nationalities, 26 different players.
13:36We have to live with them and we need to get the best out of them.
13:39That's it.
13:40In that, I was also kind of referring to him saying,
13:44I guess, someone who does things a bit differently.
13:46And do you see, I guess, space for someone like that on the football pitch,
13:51not just about their kind of personality and how they are?
13:54About the players, you mean?
13:55Yeah.
13:56Yeah, well, especially when he's effective
13:58and then as to what he had to do and the role he had in the team,
14:01he was the best in the league.
14:02So you have somebody that does something different
14:05to help you to win football matches, more than welcome.
14:10James, you guys?
14:11I would like to go back to what you said there
14:12about the perception of the back of the Liverpool game.
14:15The team had more shots in that game,
14:17the bad centre were expected goals.
14:18Why do you think the perception is that your team is negative?
14:22Because that generally seems to be the conversation around you.
14:25Well, I don't know because I don't read that,
14:28but obviously after reviewing the match and analysing it,
14:32it's a very different perspective or opinion
14:35than the one that I have in relation to that.
14:38But you have to respect every opinion.
14:40At the end, the opinion is going to be different if you win or lose.
14:42That's it.
14:43You have to accept that.
14:45And just a follow-up,
14:46you've probably now at the end of the window
14:48got two top players in every position.
14:50It's the manager's dream, really.
14:52But how are you going to keep them all happy?
14:53Well, the same as the other top teams, nothing different.
14:55So that's what we have to do.
14:57OK, last question in the afterlife, James from ESPN.
15:00Hi, Mikel.
15:01You mentioned earlier that the players coming back fit
15:04is different to what happened last season.
15:06Yeah.
15:07I mean, do you think with the squad you've got now,
15:09you're in a better position to negotiate this period
15:12at the stop-start with the international break?
15:14Negotiate in what sense?
15:16As in player availability
15:17and being able to get everyone through this next quarter?
15:20Yes, for sure.
15:21I think that's why we've done it
15:22because last year we were much shorter,
15:24especially in certain positions.
15:25And now I think we have better depth, better quality,
15:30better options as well
15:31because some players can play in two or three different positions,
15:34which is great to have
15:35and it's going to give us very different options.
15:37And just on edge,
15:39obviously he's got this very distinctive style of play,
15:42which is very different to how Forrest used to play.
15:45So is it quite hard to kind of anticipate
15:47what you're going to face tomorrow
15:48because it's the first time we've seen an edge
15:50and it's possible to come very long for Forrest?
15:52Before the game, yes.
15:53But the moment the game starts,
15:55after five minutes we will see very clear behaviours,
15:57what they want to do
15:58and that's what we have prepared.
16:00And just finally, just in the wider one
16:03in terms of the title race,
16:04Liverpool obviously sat right at the end of the window.
16:07How do you think that changes the title race overall?
16:11Well, they are the strongest for sure.
16:13They have recruited probably the two most decisive players
16:17that were in Europe in the market.
16:19And they don't really want to recruit that.
16:21They were already very strong.
16:23I think we need to look at ourselves
16:25and what we have to do in terms of our abilities
16:29to be better than them.
16:30That's it.
16:31Tom for Blondon.
16:32Hi.
16:33To ask about a coaching question quickly.
16:35Players in general have changed and evolved
16:38and so has the system over the five years
16:40that you've been managing.
16:41There's a discussion at the moment, I think,
16:43around some of the players who had some real peaks
16:46a couple of seasons ago
16:47and perhaps their output has slightly dipped
16:49in the last couple of seasons.
16:50As a manager,
16:51how do you tackle when that happens,
16:53where a player has gone through a big riot
16:54and then maybe their output has slightly gone down recently?
16:57Well, that normally happens as well,
16:59especially with attacking players
17:00in relation to what they have provided.
17:02But that's a very volatile thing
17:04and you have to recognise that.
17:06First of all, look at yourself.
17:07So if you are doing something that is not helping enough their qualities
17:12or to get in position that they can express better
17:15or have a better chance to exploit their qualities there
17:18and then communicate with them as well.
17:21And it's something quite normal in football
17:24and especially for attacking players
17:26that have to create those moments.
17:27Is there ever a fear about over-coaching a player from a manager's perspective?
17:32It can be.
17:33Yeah.
17:34Or coaching badly.
17:35It's like communication on the pitch.
17:37You can say,
17:38no, I want you guys to coach.
17:39Yeah, coach but coach well.
17:40Because coaching badly is a terrible thing to do.
17:42It's better not to coach and be on mute than coach badly.
17:45So, yeah, that's always a line that is very important.
17:48Phil.
17:49Yeah.
17:50I was just wondering why you spoke about him a bit earlier,
17:53but obviously when it emerged that he was going to go in Arsenal
17:56as a bit of a backlash against the fans and all that sort of stuff.
17:59I just wanted to get your opinion on how impressive he's been in the sense
18:02that he's been able to block that out into the score for England
18:05and make the start for Arsenal.
18:07How impressive is that?
18:08Well, I can talk about what I've seen and what I have experienced
18:11and I think the welcoming that our supporters give to Nani from day one,
18:15it was incredible.
18:17So, I don't know other ways that people communicated the disagreement with that,
18:24but our supporters have been exceptional and rightly so
18:27because he's an unbelievable player.
18:29Just a quick follow-up on the title race question.
18:32How difficult would it be to start Liverpool this year?
18:35Not about Liverpool, it's about the league in general,
18:38how difficult it's going to be with the level that it is,
18:40to be so consistent and winning the amount of matches that you need
18:44to end the right to win the Premier League.
18:46And that's going to be a really long run from all of us.
18:49Quick one from Charleston Gold.
18:51Just on Gabriel Jesus, he was left out of the Champions League squad,
18:54for the league base, which I think surprised a few people
18:57who have seen videos of him out of the pitch,
18:59trading with the ball, that sort of stuff.
19:00What was the thought process in that that leaped him out?
19:03And how far away are we from Gabriel Jesus' return?
19:06Well, he had a major surgery that it was going to take in many, many months.
19:10So after discussing that with the medical staff
19:12and understanding the schedule that we had
19:15and when we thought that he could be available,
19:18that it would be between December and January,
19:20we decided to make that call.
19:22Like we've done it in the past with other players.
19:25Hopefully we get it wrong and he comes back earlier,
19:29but at the moment the provision was very clear.
19:32December time is when you're in the minute?
19:35To start training with the team,
19:36it was around that time the schedule that we had.
19:38OK, that finishes.
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