- 2 days ago
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on facing newly promoted Sunderland and the injury concerns in his squad ahead of the weekend’s game
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London, UK
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London, UK
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00:00Good morning, Mikael.
00:01Good morning.
00:02There's a question I always ask you at the start of the news conference, any fresh injury
00:05concerns after the midweek?
00:07No, no news will remain the same and nobody new that can join the squad, so all the same.
00:15Fantastic boost to see Gabriel Jesus on the trading pitch yesterday.
00:20You said him and the other four or five injuries that you've got are not available for tomorrow,
00:26long before you think Gabriel could be back in the reckoning?
00:30I don't know.
00:31Now it's about making the steps day by day in a different surrounding.
00:36Obviously, he's been doing everything on his own.
00:38Now he's got players around him, very competitive players around him and see how he copes with
00:43that.
00:44But he's full of energy.
00:45I love the reaction of all his teammates when he first joined us.
00:49And yeah, great to have him back.
00:51Just to confirm that Odegaard, Hubert, Maduweke, Jocheres and Martinelli are not available tomorrow?
01:00I cannot confirm all of that, but you are not far.
01:05And are you hopeful still after the international break you will have all if not some of them
01:10back?
01:11Some of them, all of them, I don't know.
01:14There are a lot of things that have to happen in the next two weeks and everything has to be perfect.
01:19But I think we'll be very close with most of them to be in a really strong position.
01:23Sunderland next.
01:24Sure to be quite an emotional game for one player in particular in Granit Xhaka.
01:29He says that you changed him as a human being both on and off the pitch.
01:35Could you give us an insight into the conversations you had with him and what part of your journey did he play?
01:41Yeah, I loved every minute that we spent together.
01:46When I joined, he was in a special moment of his life and his career.
01:53And between all of us, we tried to guide him, to give him a different perspective,
01:58to make him feel loved, valued and he responded in an incredible way.
02:04So, he made me a better coach.
02:07He helped us to develop and improve a lot as a football team and as a club.
02:13And I will be eternally grateful because I have great memories with him.
02:17Given the relationship you had with him, when he did leave in 2023, how reluctant were you to let him go?
02:25Did you try and convince him to stay?
02:27Well, I already did it once and then we extended his contract and when he came in and explained the reasons.
02:34You have to understand the human being, you have to be grateful.
02:37It was a unique opportunity for him to come back to his country, to his family.
02:43And there were certain things that he wanted to experience as well.
02:47And I believe it was the right moment.
02:50So, he was very honest as he is very straightforward, as he always is.
02:55And we find a way to find a good solution for all of us.
03:01Where would you rank Xhaka's move to Sunderland in regard to the signings of the summer?
03:07Well, with the impact he was having, one of the best I would say.
03:11I think what they have done as a football club as well in the last few years is very impressive.
03:18The manner they have done and the decision that they have taken,
03:20and how stable they look and how they have started the season.
03:23So, really impressive.
03:25Someone you know very well is going to be in charge of his 1,000th game, Pep Guardiola on Sunday.
03:31Can you just put into context how big an achievement that is?
03:34Have you passed on your congratulations? Have you had any communication with him?
03:38Not yet, because it's on Sunday. But, yeah, what a number, what a career.
03:43What an inspiration it has been to everybody in football, I would say in sports as well,
03:49and especially for me. So, yeah, it's an incredible achievement.
03:54It goes in the history of the very best and the few that could only achieve something like that.
04:00And, again, as I said, I think it will remain in the history of football for the years to come.
04:08Final one from Mikel. Manchester City against Liverpool, where will you be watching it?
04:13Have you got a preference over the outcome?
04:16I just focus on tomorrow's game. How crucial, how difficult and how tough it's going to be.
04:21And that's the first step we have to make.
04:26Just on Sunday, they're obviously having a really great season this year.
04:32I think only your side have conceded less goals in the Premier League so far.
04:37Has it surprised you just how good they've been particularly at the back?
04:41And I guess what are you expecting from them overall at the weekend?
04:44Well, no surprise when you analyse them and you see how well organised they are,
04:52how they adjust things, the speed that they have within the team.
04:56I'm not surprised because they fully deserve the position that they have at the moment.
05:00So, we know the type of game that we expect to play tomorrow and where the opportunities are
05:05and the things that we have to do very well to beat them.
05:09And that's what we're going to try to do.
05:11As for your side, you keep on winning, you keep on keeping clean sheets as well.
05:16I guess the obvious question is, they're asked on getting enough credit for just how good
05:21they are at the moment.
05:22It's not about credit, it's about doing it and once you've done it, do it again and that's
05:27what we have to do.
05:28Today train at our best, try to improve, try to give a lot of clarity to the players and
05:35understanding of the game that we have to play tomorrow and tomorrow is execution day again.
05:40And how do you improve?
05:41How do you take it to the next level now?
05:43Because for every manager, you want to win and you want to keep clean sheets.
05:47You're doing exactly that.
05:48So, for you, what are the improvements moving forward?
05:51Everything.
05:52Because you learn from your team every single day from your players, every single day from
05:56the opponents that you play every single time and that's information that is so valuable
06:01for us and tomorrow is going to be a different game to Tuesday, very different game to Tuesday
06:07and the week before.
06:08So, we need to read it, we need to understand very early what the game requires, what we have
06:12to do to be better than them and hopefully beat them.
06:15Mikel, you mentioned there the achievement of Pep Guardiola's 1000s game.
06:22With you being as young as you are and having spent a considerable period of time as a manager,
06:27is that one of the things you're personally aiming for yourself to reach that kind of milestone?
06:32Well, I would be extremely happy and proud if one day I'm able to do what he's done in
06:37in his career because, as you all know, he's been probably the most important person in
06:44my football career and I'm incredibly proud of him and what he's done.
06:51You spoke very eloquently about Brandon Xhaka as well.
06:54He came here after the Euro 2016 and stayed for a long time.
06:58Do you think he was, in a way, underappreciated by the Arsenal fans?
07:04I don't know. Certainly, internally he had a lot of appreciation.
07:09I'm laughing because I just visualised that he makes me laugh because he was such a character,
07:16huge personality, very funny, super professional and one of those guys that can change the dressing
07:22room and the spirit of a team and that's a super power to have.
07:26While you're in a smiling, laughing mood, I was trying to work out before, I think I've
07:32worked out there's only one team in the Premier League that probably could stop you achieving
07:36your goal this year and winning the Premier League and I want to know if you agree.
07:39And that team's Arsenal?
07:41No, I don't agree. I'm sorry. Because any team has the capacity and I'm sure they believe
07:49as well that they can do it. So we are fully aware of that. We know our strength, we know the
07:54things that we have to improve as well and we just focus on that.
07:57And last one, which is a more serious question. End of December, you've got Everton away on
08:03the Sunday and then 48 hours later Crystal Palace in the League Cup.
08:08Hopefully not. Very hopefully not.
08:11As things stand right now, that is the way things are going. How much are you pleading with
08:15common sense to kick in from the people that do the fixes?
08:19Well, I remember I'm super optimistic that this is not going to be the case because from
08:24every angle, from the Premier League, from the EFL, from the UEFA, all the time, the only
08:28thing that we talk about is the welfare of the player and the supporters. And if we want
08:33to maintain that principle, that cannot be the case and we cannot play Sunday and Tuesday.
08:38So we have very positive talks to the clubs and to the Premier League and hopefully we'll
08:45find a way to help as much as possible. Because sometimes you cannot help 200 people out there
08:50that they have an issue. But for that reason, you cannot say, if I can help 100, I'm not
08:55going to do it. Because what about the other 100? No, no, no, no. Help 100. If you can help
09:01100 and the other 100, next time you have the opportunity, do it as well. And I think we need to be very thorough and we cannot
09:07allow ourselves to put in that situation.
09:10Thank you. Thanks, Ian. Tom?
09:12Hi, Mikel. Just want to ask you a couple of questions on Gabby, with him returning. He's obviously
09:17a very different profile to Victor and Kai, who will be coming back soon. So what traits
09:21is he going to bring to the team that will be different from what you have now in the squad?
09:26Well, again, a player that is very unpredictable, full of energy, super competitive. A player
09:33that comes from a context of difficulty in the last few seasons for various nasty injuries.
09:40So the level of hunger, desire that is going to bring to the team is going to be amazing.
09:45So I'm thrilled to have him. I think he's going to add something extra to the team that we don't have.
09:50And I make sure that very soon we see him on that pitch, making an impact for the team.
09:55And naturally, when you bring in a centre-forward and you add numbers to a certain position,
10:00it does lead to question about the players that aren't playing as often or perhaps might
10:03play as often in the future. So do you see a longevity with Gabby in the group, despite
10:08having Victor and Kai there in that centre-forward position?
10:10Yes, because we haven't had them and now we don't have Victor and we haven't had Kai again
10:15for three months or many forwards. Unfortunately, that's becoming something that consistently
10:22is happening. So we need those options and what an option to have with Gabby.
10:29Thanks, Tom.
10:30Simon, for the understanding.
10:31Mikel, just quickly, it sounded like you're hopeful you might have one of those five back
10:36tomorrow, is that correct?
10:38When?
10:39You might have one of those five players, Gabby, Kai, Martin...
10:42I didn't say that.
10:44Let's see what happens in the next few weeks. I don't want to give too much away.
10:49I just want to ask something a bit left-field, but I don't know if you saw in the States last
10:54week one of the coaches in the NDSR was talking about her use of AI in helping her coach and
10:59pick her team tactics. Obviously we see it in all industries now, but do you think in
11:03football we're going to see an increased use of AI in the future?
11:07Yeah, I don't know just to make a decision there, but I think it's a tool that is super powerful,
11:14you use it in the right way and if you ask the right questions especially. So, yeah, it's
11:20in use already for many things and many processes that can help just not a team but just organisation
11:26as well and I think it will improve and it will give us good insight or things at least to think about.
11:33I know here you've got your Football Intelligence Unit, can you give any insight into how you
11:39use it here at the club?
11:41I'm not the most expert on that to comment, but yeah, it's a valuable tool. We have developed
11:46certain things that in our opinion can help us especially to understand ourselves better
11:51and what we do and to evaluate what we do and what we can improve and then I think it will
11:58exploit too many other areas of the club.
12:04I was just thinking about Granit again, you spoke about his force of personality, he was
12:09such a big figure here, a leader and when two years ago you made that decision to allow
12:14him to leave the club, you've got a young group and he's been such a big personality in that dressing
12:20room. How carefully did you have to think about his absence and managing that?
12:27Yeah, it was obviously an easy decision because I knew the impact that he could still have
12:33at the club and the team but then when you have one of those leaders as well you need to
12:38have him in the right frame of mind and fully committed and him feeling that this is the best place
12:46for him. And Granit when he expressed his idea, the reasons why he believed it was better now
12:53or the right timing after everything that we went through together, to take another challenge
12:58and take that journey somewhere else, it really made me think whether it was the right thing
13:04again to try to persuade him to stay if he was having already such a deep feeling about it.
13:09And is there sometimes a benefit if you have a big figure in a dressing room and they leave?
13:14Is that a responsibility, a position that other players start to step up and take?
13:19And is that what you've seen over the last two years?
13:21For sure, when you have such a character there as well, other players are taking different roles
13:27and when that person is not there or that role is not there, some of the people have to step in
13:32whether the players are already there or players that we identify that we want to recruit as well
13:37that could provide something different because it's always going to be different
13:41but it was a good exercise to do.
13:44Thanks James. Harry?
13:46Hi Nicole. Obviously you want to win every fixture and every fixture is massively important
13:50but with this fixture, given that City and Liverpool are playing each other at the weekend
13:54and there's that natural break that you get with the international break,
13:57do you feel like this is an opportunity to lay down a marker in terms of the title race?
14:03Well, as you said, every weekend is crucial. There are weekends that for other possible results
14:10or other games maybe that are maybe more important but at the end you need to just conquer
14:17an entire amount of points if you want to achieve your goals and three points against Anderlan
14:23tomorrow are going to be really tough and we're going to have to really earn them.
14:26And just back to Granit Xhaka really quickly, one of the things you did was alter his role,
14:30you changed his position and Arsenal fans started to see the best of him.
14:34Would you agree then that previous to that he had maybe been mis-profiled a little bit?
14:39No, because obviously when we signed in it was for the right reasons because he was playing a different role
14:46but it was excellent when you see playing the national team with Leverkusen in a deeper role.
14:50He did very well as well as the necessity of the team or the understanding of the manager or the coach
14:56about a player and the chemistry that he can create around other players as well.
15:01And we believe that Granit's position had to be modified and it brought him a challenge as well.
15:07That I think was quite positive for him to say, I'm going to show everybody that I can do it.
15:12And Granit needs that as well in his personality.
15:16Nick in the back.
15:18Just a couple of questions on the international break.
15:20You've got well represented in the England squad again.
15:23Particularly Dechman Rice.
15:25Would you say he's in the form of his career at the moment this year?
15:29Well, he's been super consistent and playing at such a high level.
15:34And now we see him impacting the games in various ways, in different areas of pitch, in different phases of the game.
15:41And this is exactly what we want.
15:43I think his role is growing at the club, in the team naturally as well, in a really organic way.
15:48And he needs to maintain that because he's been an exception.
15:51He seems to work very well with the younger players too, almost as a mentor.
15:55Miles has been left out of this squad.
15:57Do you think you or he will have to have a word with Miles today just to reassure him?
16:01Yes, for sure.
16:02I think we are here to support and help each other and to give a good perspective of the situation.
16:10And in case of Miles, when you look at his age, what he's already done, it's just remarkable.
16:15So don't look at the one moment what is happening for you.
16:20Because maybe it happens for the right reason and today you cannot see it.
16:24With Kai Havertz, when he is available, how cautious do you need to be with him?
16:33Because obviously he's missed a period but then he did get that place finished in three seasons.
16:37Well, let's see.
16:38Let's see how he absorbs the load first when he starts to train with us.
16:42And when he's done that, obviously we're going to have to be, especially the first few weeks,
16:47with an eye on him to manage the amount of minutes and when we play him.
16:52Same.
16:53But when you look at his record and what he's done in his career, he's played every single
16:57game.
16:58He's never been almost injured and now he has this issue with his knee that he will be resolved
17:03and hopefully he will be back to his best.
17:06Thanks, Josh.
17:07Hi, Mikel.
17:08Jovan Kraut-Roz with Venturi Sport TV.
17:10Mikel Moreno has been in fine form when he's been deployed out front for you.
17:14Another two goals in the middle with another two well-taken goals.
17:17Will he be a bit of a selection headache for you moving forward?
17:19Maybe you play them out front a bit more often as well?
17:22Well, it always is when we have players of that quality and we have found a way to play
17:28Mikel in three different roles already this season and performing in all of them.
17:32Yeah, he had a massive contribution the other night with his goals, especially with Victor
17:36out, which is great to have.
17:38Thanks very much.
17:39Just to wrap up the live session to you, Sam.
17:41Hi, Mikel.
17:42Hi.
17:43With Mikel Moreno, we also saw the two goals of the day.
17:45I'm sure you're surprised if he played on top of the options you already have or injuries
17:50have caused that.
17:51What does he kind of bring to the table that maybe you're the strikers don't bring or the
17:55strikers in general don't bring?
17:56Because it's not a natural position for him, is it?
17:58No, it's not natural because he hasn't played before in his career.
18:01But he's such an intelligent and competitive player that he can adapt to any position because,
18:06first of all, he's so willing to do his very best to understand what he needs to do.
18:11He's always asking questions and he's a winner.
18:15Whatever he plays, the only thing he wants is to win, to contribute to the team.
18:19And when you have that mindset, things normally go well for you.
18:22And is he the kind of player that starts week in, week out, but is this just a representation
18:26of these kind of squad players?
18:28These are the players that are needed across the season to sustain a title, but in order
18:32to sustain being in trophies across the season?
18:34I think there are squad players because that way we have built a squad that can have the
18:39capacity to achieve what we want.
18:41And their roles will change and he's changed now in the last two seasons in different ways
18:47for different situations as well.
18:49But the impact on the team remains very, very positive.
18:52Thanks.
18:53Thanks, Nick.
18:54Thanks a much.
18:55Thanks, Nick.
18:56Thanks, Nick.
18:57Thanks.
18:58Thanks.
18:59Thanks for having me.
19:00Thanks.
19:01Thanks, Nick.
19:02Thanks.
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