- 4 hours ago
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta On Stamford Bridge Trip And Making Another Big Statement
28/11/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
28/11/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Can we just get the latest team news that you've got, in particular Leandro Trossard?
00:10Yeah, with Leo there is another test today. We have to see how he's feeling.
00:15He doesn't look much, so we still have a few hours and we'll have to wait and see.
00:20It is a potential chance, yeah.
00:23You welcomed back Martinelli and Odegaard and Madweke during the week.
00:29You did mention earlier on this week that you were hoping to get a behind closed doors game for Gabriel Jesus and some of the others.
00:36We understand this happened yesterday. Can you confirm that that happened?
00:39Who was involved and if they're in contention for some day?
00:42Yeah, it did happen, so Gaby participated, Ethan as well, because he wanted some minutes.
00:47So we took that opportunity for the players that need a bit of exposure and competition to provide that to them.
00:54And it was very positive.
00:56With regard to Victor and Kai and one more. It completely slipped my mind. Anyone?
01:04Big Gabby?
01:06Sorry, we know about Gabby.
01:08Yeah.
01:09Are any of those available or how are they progressing?
01:12Yeah, we have another day tomorrow, so let's see how everybody is tomorrow.
01:16You described your players after the Bayern Munich game as immense.
01:21Have they surprised you in any way with how they performed and their mentality and their character, particularly in light of the injuries that you've had so far?
01:31Not that they surprised me, but you have to be able to perform in the manner that they did individually throughout long periods of the game against that opponent.
01:42And that's very, very difficult to do.
01:44And I just said that that's the way I felt about the players, how I feel about the players.
01:51And now it's about finding again the same consistency on Sunday to go and win again.
02:01He said Arsenal rely on set pieces, they love to play long balls. Today was not so much about football.
02:08What do you think when you hear stuff like that? Do you care? Do you use it as fuel or motivation or just ignore it?
02:15No, but I think the way we both teams play, I think the game they play against PSG was very similar when everything becomes man-to-man.
02:23And the way they are with their full backs, the way we do what we did in terms of rotation, they create a game that are very low sequences of passes.
02:30So I know what he's saying. So that's fine. It's part of the game. I think the game is provoked in the manner that both plays games.
02:39So it's very understandable.
02:41Arsenal seem to like this fixture in recent years. The last seven games, Arsenal have won five and drawn two against Chelsea.
02:49What is it about this fixture that seems to bring the best out of you and in your players?
02:54I don't know. Obviously, it's a big game. It's a big London derby. We're going to play a really, really good opponent.
03:00They are in really good form. And yeah, we know the challenge. We know the opportunity that we have as well on Sunday.
03:07So we are fully ready for it.
03:09If you speak to Chelsea, they seem to play down their chances of potentially challenging for the title.
03:15How do you view them? Are they title challengers? Are they your main threat?
03:20Well, I think we are all there. And they are there because they fully deserve where they are,
03:25what they have done in the last few years. I think the squad that they assembled, the numbers that they have,
03:30the amount of quality, the manner and the coaching staff that they have.
03:33It makes sense that what is happening there is very, very positive and they deserve to be there.
03:39Final one from Mikel. This time last week you were looking ahead to the North London derby, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
03:45You've successfully negotiated the first two of those tests. How big a statement would it be?
03:53And how big a statement of the week would it be if you were to go to the Stamford Bridge and win?
03:57Yeah, those statements, we are talking about them every three days.
04:01So after beating the Spurs at home, then we had to make the statements again Bayern Munich.
04:06We've done that and now we have to go to the next one. That's where we are. We knew the importance of the week.
04:11Not only that, what is coming afterwards after three days is going to be exactly the same.
04:16Nothing is going to change. But we are super motivated for the game. Thank you.
04:21If you do win on Sunday though, how will you keep a lid on expectations?
04:28We don't talk about it. It's not a lead or no lead. I think we need to understand basically what we have to do to be better than the opponent,
04:37to have the chance to win. And if we are able to accomplish that, it will be to do the same in the next game.
04:42Nothing is going to change.
04:43And on Sunday, Piero Hincapi obviously played against Tottenham, then you had Mosquera playing midweek.
04:48Can Hincapi do enough to keep his place in the Premier League team last week?
04:52They both have obviously a really good possibility. Piero has played as a left back as well,
04:57which is another option that we have in relation to the opponent, the game, the state that their players are in.
05:04Miles as well is obviously a very good option that we have there.
05:07Keep using everybody and making them feel that they are connected with the team.
05:13And just lastly, I know you said Chelsea deserve to be where they are.
05:16They always like to play down their potential role in being in the title fight. Does that surprise you?
05:22I don't know. That's a question for them, I think.
05:26Ian, talk to all.
05:28Hi, Mikael, how are you?
05:29Very good, thank you.
05:30The Premier League leaders and team that are going really well in Europe yourself against the world champions in Chelsea,
05:36is this the biggest game of the season so far?
05:39We always have the same question, you know. I understand. For us it is because it's the next game.
05:45And we just live in the present and making the best possible preparation to try to be better than them and win the game.
05:52I know you don't like talking about position players and you've obviously had lots of very good young players coming through here at Arsenal.
06:02You've seen lots of very good young players come through with you when you were at Barcelona.
06:06Can you give me an idea of how exciting Esteval looks for Chelsea compared to all the players you would have known at 17 and 18?
06:15I don't want to talk individually. When you look at the players that they have, the squad that they have, the quality that they have in those forward positions,
06:22is immense and they've done that really well. They have recruited over the years top talent and it's not a coincidence where they are.
06:31It seems that youngsters these days, because you've had Marlon, Skelly, Ethan, Max Down coming on for appearances this year.
06:39They've got Esteval. It seems youngsters these days that they're not phased by anything.
06:43Years ago you wouldn't be throwing in 17, 18 year olds into this kind of high profile game.
06:49Now it seems that they relish it more.
06:51Yeah, well I think that relies on the individual and his personality, his character and his ability to cope with that context and the pressure that comes with it.
07:02And yeah, I think it's a really positive thing.
07:05I know you don't like to talk about opposition players or indeed highlighting just one of your own team, but I would like to, if I can, in depth and rights.
07:12Are we looking at a, if not this year, maybe next year, a Ballon d'Or winner?
07:17I hope so. That would mean that we have won a lot.
07:22Because normally it goes very much related. Again, I think he was in men's the other day.
07:27I think he's been in men's since the start of the season and it's an incredible and crucial play for us.
07:33Michael, I know that Gabby was going to have a scan on Wednesday to try and get a timeline on that.
07:41Have you got any more details on it? Because the sort of fear was he might not play again until January.
07:46Yeah, not yet. I think he's evolving really, really well. We have to wait for that scan a little bit longer to be more precise in terms of the timings.
07:56But I'm quite confident that, especially the way Gabby takes every injury and the way he's going to push everybody, that is not going to be that long.
08:06So he might get back before the end of the year?
08:08I don't know. We have to wait and see.
08:09And just on Gabriel Jesus, now that he's had that behind closed doors game, is he ready to return to the first team squad
08:17or do you want to arrange another friendly maybe to get some more minutes away from that?
08:21We have to see. Obviously he's been out 11 months and you need that progression.
08:27You need to see how his body, Daniel, reacts and what else does he need. The players that we have available as well.
08:33It has to make sense to have the right balance in the squad.
08:37So the good thing is it's very, very close at the moment.
08:40Tom Pogba.
08:41Hi, Michael. You've played Nicomarino a lot at centre-forward this season.
08:46You've admitted obviously he's not actually a centre-forward and he's had to play that role.
08:50Have you learned anything from him playing that role that's perhaps changed the way you think about the position
08:55and the likes of Kai and Victor come back into that?
08:58Yeah, we did learn that last season because that's where we had to play a long period without a nine.
09:04He brings all the things to the table. I think his intelligence, the way he competes,
09:11the way he masters a lot of the things that are crucial for us in any play, he's got them.
09:18And then he's a real threat tonight again. He could have scored two goals, he was involved in many positive actions
09:23and his work rate was unbelievable again.
09:26Gabriel Monaghani came on in school and actually has a very good record against Chelsea.
09:31He's enjoyed some really good nights there.
09:32In your thinking when you pick a team, how much does a player's specific record against a certain club
09:38come into your mind when picking an 11?
09:41Not necessarily. I think we look more about the state of that player in the moment.
09:46What happened six months ago or a year ago is not that relevant.
09:51There are experiences, there are connections within the team that in my opinion are more important than that.
09:55And yeah, I'm very happy with what Gabby did again the other night. It was superb.
10:00OK, last couple of minutes live. James and his again.
10:03You said the other day that Jokeres and Havertz would have repeat scans. Did they come back clear?
10:09Clear, not yet, but they are getting closer and closer. So we are very positive with both of them.
10:16And that's it.
10:18Just on Vipto, obviously there was so much focus about signing the striker in the summer and a lot of factor when he came in.
10:26Is he so important to you that when he is fit he comes straight back into the line?
10:30Or is the way the team is playing in the moment making it more complicated?
10:35Well, the good thing is that now we find another option because we like three different options.
10:42The first three probably that we had in mind at the start of the season.
10:45But that's a really good learning as well from all of us, especially for me to understand that, yeah,
10:50with all the players, with other connections, with other ways of doing things, we can still be very, very efficient.
10:55Does it help him then that the team has done so well without him? Or does it leave him with a bit of a point to prove?
11:01No, I think it's very positive. I think everybody wants, OK, we lost a player, two or three.
11:05We lost at some point six players in the front line and the team continued to win and be very, very efficient.
11:11So I think that's very positive.
11:13And now what we have to prove is, OK, once we have everybody back, we're going to be still as good or hopefully better.
11:20Just last one for me. In March, when you played Chelsea afterwards, you said they were the best attacking team in the league.
11:26Are they still?
11:28Yeah, they were.
11:29Well, the example now this season is a little bit early in the season, so it's difficult to say, but it's one of the teams that I enjoy the most watching.
11:36And they have a lot of fluidity. They have a lot of threat. They have a lot of individual talent.
11:41They are very clear what they want to do. And yeah, that's why they are very tough.
11:48Just on Gabriel Jesus, you mentioned it's very close at the minute, would you need to see him playing multiple of those internal games before you even throw them for the first team?
11:57Or does this festive period with our so many games midweek kind of help, I guess, bridge that gap?
12:04Yeah, it's what we see every single day, how he's reacting to the change as well that he had in load.
12:10And then he needs to get into the chemistry of the team, understanding the things on match time, which are very different to anything that you try to replicate in train, obviously.
12:22And those gaps try to make them as short as possible.
12:26When he first joined, I think he really connected the team really well.
12:31And the team now, from when he got injured, is even very different in the past 11 months.
12:37So has he been able to build those connections well on the training pitch?
12:43Yes, well, he's been always one of Gabby's qualities, the capacity to relate and connect and make other players around him better.
12:51And he still has that and now he needs to find a way to do it with, as you mentioned, as well, some very new players.
12:58And over the last two, three years, I think there's been moments where I think you can see the team going to another level in within a game.
13:09So one of the first ones that sticks in my mind was the Liverpool game where Martin only scored after a minute.
13:15And that seemed like a real mental shift in the team.
13:20And the buying game in midweek felt similar.
13:24I was just wondering if you kind of felt that and what you took from that game in terms of a mental state?
13:33Well, obviously it brings certainty, security and really positive energy every time you beat top opponents.
13:41When we did in the derby, it helped to generate that momentum and that belief for the next game.
13:47We did it against Bayern and now we have to carry that against Chelsea.
13:50But it's just on the moment for the next day and we have to use it in the right way.
13:55Okay, I think she does a lot, we'll go to 10.
13:57We'll go to 10.
13:58.
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