- 4 hours ago
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta previews their game against Tottenham.
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London, UK
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London, UK
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00:16Good afternoon all, hope everyone's well. We'll kick off with the usual as live and then we'll go to 10
00:21.30 for tonight.
00:23If we're all ready in the room, we'll kick off with Dharmesh from Sky.
00:25Good afternoon. Any fresh injury concerns after Wednesday?
00:30No, nothing.
00:32You mentioned before the game that Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard had a chance for this weekend.
00:39What's the latest with them? Are they available?
00:41We have to wait till tomorrow but there is a big possibility that they are available for the game.
00:46Fantastic news. Bukayo Saka put them up fantastic in his new contract for him.
00:51A lot of your key players have committed their long-term futures to the club,
00:55but did this one in particular feel a little bit extra special?
01:02I think they are all very important. We are very happy that the players are feeling in such a strong
01:06way about the club
01:08and what we are doing and the way they feel treated and the fact that they can continue to improve
01:14and win what we want to win together. Bukayo's news is great, it's worth our own.
01:20We've got him free since he was very, very little and for him to make that decision and the club
01:26to be so aligned with him,
01:27I think it's a really positive thing.
01:29Mikel, it was clearly an emotional end to the night on Wednesday.
01:35I'm sure you've seen the headlines, Arsenal have blown it, Arsenal are bottling it.
01:39But from what you've seen with your players, how have they reacted since?
01:43And have you seen anything in the mentality since then and over the past couple of weeks
01:49that's concerned you or worried you at all?
01:53What I've seen is a tremendous reaction again and I'm not surprised at all.
01:58I mean when you lose points, I was in the last kick of the game again, in a very unpredictable
02:05manner I would say
02:06because to predict somebody with a 0.2 expected goal probably and one shot to concede an equalizer
02:12the manner that we did it, nobody can really understand that.
02:17But this is football and that's the beauty of it and that was a chapter.
02:22So we have a long season, chapter 27 says okay we draw against Wolves in this manner.
02:27What I'm very interested is about the next one.
02:30It's what we are made of, okay what do we do about this and how we write our own destiny
02:35from here and going forward.
02:37And that's it and you have to react to that because life moves on, the result has to stay unfortunate
02:43as it was.
02:44There's nothing else we can do, what we can do is a lot, is what's going to happen next.
02:48Talking about chapters, if you looked at the fans at the end of that game, they looked totally crestfallen like
02:54it may be the end for Arsenal.
02:56But clearly there's still a long way to go. What would your message be to those fans?
03:00Because the immediate reaction is tough, you know. You put so much, you look at the first half and actually
03:06what happened in the game.
03:07I was very posed much as well about the standards that we showed. It was much better than expected.
03:14But it's still not enough to the standards that were required. Very difficult to understand.
03:20So it is a shock in the system. But they've been incredibly good without.
03:25And yeah, we wanted to give them the victory. We couldn't. And we have to move on.
03:29You say move on, but it's a small matter of a North London derby next.
03:35Tottenham Hotspur may see this as an opportunity to dent your title chances.
03:39But from your perspective, is this almost maybe the perfect fixture for Arsenal after what's happened in the last couple
03:46of games?
03:46It's the one we have after and it's the one that we cannot wait to play.
03:49If we could play today, I think we would all love to play today.
03:53To get that feeling that we have in our tummies and use it in the right way.
03:57And we'll have to show on Sunday.
03:59How big a challenge is it preparing for this game?
04:03Particularly, they've got a new manager.
04:06Because I'm sure you would have prepared for Tottenham Hotspur knowing that Thomas Frank is in charge.
04:10And this is now his first game in the U of Tudor.
04:12Well, I think it's happened seven times already to us this season.
04:16So we are getting used to it.
04:18Yeah, we have analysed everything that he's done in his career.
04:22Different clubs, different formations, the players that they have available.
04:26And from there, of course, we will have the capacity to adapt in relation to what the game requires.
04:31But the main focus as well is on what we have to do to win.
04:35Finally for me, Mikael, I'm sure you've seen the incident in Midweek involving Ignatius Junior.
04:42Just more on a general thing.
04:45Have you had conversations with your players if an incident like that was to arise during the game?
04:52And have you spoken about what would happen in an instance like that?
04:57For example, if they said, I want to walk off the pitch, I don't want to play.
05:01Is that something that you'd back, that you'd support?
05:04Well, that's why we have meetings with the Premier League or UEFA before the season starts.
05:10To make sure that everybody is very aware of the protocols and what we expect from each other.
05:15Obviously, there is no room for racism in these sports.
05:17I think we need to stick to that.
05:19And then the manner of acting, I think you have to go case by case to understand what's the best
05:24option.
05:24Thank you very much.
05:26We'll go to Sarah from the front.
05:27Hi.
05:28Obviously, it's easy to over-analyse things when a team drops points.
05:32But I want to talk about something you just mentioned to Sky there about conceding late.
05:36The late goal against Wolves, obviously no one could have predicted that and it came from a very random situation.
05:41But we've got Vida, Liverpool, Sunderland and Man United.
05:43Goals conceded after the 80-minute mark.
05:45Do you believe these are all isolated incidents on the States?
05:50Or do you believe that towards the end of the match, maybe Arsenal defend too much, soak up too much,
05:54and there's something that can be fixed?
05:56I think every game has had different situations.
06:00We have one as well against Palace in the Carabao Cup as well in the 90-something.
06:04So, yeah, there are different situations to analyse.
06:08Certainly, it's not the intention to defend any result.
06:12That's not the mindset of the players.
06:14Sometimes you have to be created with opposition.
06:16And sometimes because you are not doing exactly what the game demands in certain aspects with the ball,
06:20which is more what happened on that one.
06:23But sucking pressure without conceding a single shot as well.
06:27Which is the reality of what happened.
06:30The Villa one was, in my opinion, very different in the last seven or eight minutes of that game.
06:34We've seen Zubomendi and Timber's stats, they're the highest output players for their minutes this season,
06:40and we could say, as we approach 12 games left, they're looking fatigue and their level of drop, which is
06:45normal.
06:46For me, they look great.
06:47Yeah.
06:48They do, obviously.
06:49It's normal for some players to drop.
06:52But I've asked you previously about Norgard.
06:54I'm going to ask you again.
06:55When it comes to sometimes when players do that regular drop in performance,
06:59what are you assessing ahead of picking your team that maybe Norgard can't come in sometimes?
07:04Well, we've played with Christian, Declan has played there as well.
07:08We have changed a lot of players in the team.
07:11So it's depending on the kind of game that we expect.
07:14Who do we believe is in the best condition?
07:15And that's, as you said, physically, mentally, or technically and tactically to deliver what we require.
07:21Ian, talk to you.
07:23Hi, Michael.
07:24How are you?
07:24Good, thank you.
07:25While over the last 48 hours, as you've already been asked, people are saying,
07:30have asked them possibly or blown the title.
07:32I was wondering, is everybody losing a bit of perspective here?
07:36Because you're still five points here at the top.
07:38You're still through to the quarter-final of the Champions League.
07:41You're still into the League Cup final and still in the FA Cup.
07:46Do you think the wider world is losing a bit of perspective?
07:50No, because I think everybody has his own opinion and his perspective is the right one.
07:56I think if we all have an individual book, I don't know what your book would say,
07:59what you predicted three months ago, five, seven, eight,
08:02it would be very interesting to go through yours and understand how you predicted
08:07or how you see the season going.
08:08We have ourselves a very clear instruction.
08:12We have to live the present.
08:14What we did in the past is great, but we have to live the present.
08:17And the present is beautiful.
08:18We are exactly what we want to be in every competition
08:21and what is there to play.
08:23We need to earn it like we've done in the last seven or eight months.
08:26So you're a better manager now than you were this time last year.
08:29Is it just now for you about keeping calm, keeping everybody else here calm?
08:34Yeah, keeping calm, keeping my eyes open, my ears open and understanding what the players need
08:40to give their best.
08:41That's it.
08:42And one of the things that we have to tweak every day, every game,
08:46to keep doing what we are doing, which is winning a lot of games
08:49and being in the position that we want to be.
08:51Final one for me.
08:52You used four words just now, which I thought were very interesting.
08:55Write your own destiny.
08:57Arsenal players want to write your own destiny.
08:59For me, this North London derby is one of the biggest in decades.
09:03I know they've won the title at White Hart Lane.
09:05But with Spurs possibly in a relegation fight, you go for the title.
09:09Is it the biggest North London derby for a long, long time?
09:12I don't know.
09:13For us, it's the most important one because it's the one that we have in a few days' time
09:17and the one that is going to give us the chance to be closer to achieve what we want.
09:23Alex Bibsey.
09:24Hi, Michael.
09:25Supporters will be expecting a reaction after a disappointing result.
09:30In the week, it's going to be a tense and emotional game in the North London derby
09:33as it always is.
09:35Can you use those feelings in a positive way?
09:38Well, that's what we are trying to do.
09:39And that's the instant reaction.
09:41First of all, it's pain.
09:43And after that, it's OK, what can I do about it?
09:45And that's it.
09:47That is not any other thing that we have to do.
09:50Now what we have to do is perform on the pitch.
09:52The words are clear.
09:54I was a player.
09:56Love me when I draw or what I lose.
09:58When I win, to love you when I win is very, very easy.
10:01You have to love the players and be next to them when they need it the most.
10:05Did you have to love them a lot after the game the other night?
10:09You were seen trying to keep the players calm towards the back end.
10:12Were you surprised with how the tension or the game situation seemed to get to your players?
10:17No, because I know how much they want it and that's part of it.
10:19And when you are so keen to achieve what you want to do
10:23and you are putting so much throughout the season every single day
10:26to get closer and closer to your objective,
10:30you are living with that passion.
10:31That's very normal.
10:32And this one is off the pitch.
10:34I'm not sure if you've seen it.
10:36Wolves posted a TikTok mocking the way the game played out the other night
10:41and how things felt for you.
10:43Have you seen it and what do you make of situations like that
10:46when the clubs post things towards other clubs?
10:48No, what I read is the press conference of Rob, their manager,
10:52before the game and what he said about us
10:54and what he texted me.
10:55He thinks that we are the best team in the league by far.
10:58I'm as more interested about that than any other thing
11:01that I don't know who posts or whatever,
11:04especially because I don't read it.
11:06Tom from Rich.
11:07Can I ask you about game states and the idea of taking one goal leads in games?
11:12What are the core principles for you when your team takes a lead in the game?
11:16What do you want to follow next?
11:17I know the game states throughout different periods.
11:18I scored the second and the third one.
11:21What were you expecting the players to go on to achieve that next job?
11:24Attack better, be more dominant in the high press,
11:27dominate all the restarts of play,
11:28don't give unnecessary fouls so the goalkeeper can start to put balls in the last line
11:32and put the two centre-backs up.
11:34Dominate all the chaos situation, all the things that we want to do.
11:37Keep the ball under pressure.
11:41Since the start of last season, Arsenal dropped 28 points from winning positions in games.
11:46What have you identified from the analysis from the retrospect that has led to that
11:50and what's being done to address that?
11:52If we address that, we are the best team in the world and unstoppable
11:57because we will be 30 points or 32 points ahead of everybody else.
12:04You mentioned margins after the Wolves game and it's a word you've used before as well.
12:10I was wondering, when you look at those margins and wanting to widen them,
12:14is it something you see as something happening by chance with goals or is it deeper than that?
12:20Goals for or against?
12:21Both?
12:22Well, against very unpredictable to predict the kind of goals that we conceded.
12:28The Brentford one from our throwing, much more.
12:31What we can do before that to prevent that happening is still improvable.
12:36And in attacking process, the first half are very different outcomes.
12:41In the second half as well, very, very open situation.
12:43We didn't even finish with a chance.
12:45So, a lot of room to improve.
12:46And just on Saka and Havertz, you said Havertz has a possibility to be available.
12:53And both of those players have played as number 10s recently.
12:57I was just wondering, with them both available, would you, I guess, like using them in a combination that you
13:04haven't so far?
13:05So, I don't know, with Kai being able to...
13:08Yeah, we can.
13:09It depends as well on the availability of the players in terms of the load that he can absorb.
13:15Bukayo was okay to start the game, but we knew that he could not finish the game.
13:19So, we had to get him out because probably he was going to start to cramp or take a risk
13:23with the previous injury that he had.
13:25And we didn't want to do that.
13:26So, depending on the state of the player, how much we can use them.
13:30Okay, we'll do the last couple now. Matt from Standard.
13:33Is Leo okay for Sunday?
13:35Yeah, he's fine, yeah.
13:36And you've had a lot of big players sign long-term contracts over the last six months,
13:40obviously shows the faith they haven't done that.
13:43Do you need to now win trophies for that to remain the case,
13:46and players to still be convinced that this is the right case?
13:50Well, up to now, that hasn't been the driving force, probably, for them to make that decision.
13:58So, we will see from here forward. I don't know.
14:01And for the players, obviously this is the fourth Cesar Omao coming into this time of season,
14:05so being in the thick end of the title race.
14:08Do you think it's becoming mentally tougher or is it sort of an advantage having had these experiences?
14:13I think it's becoming more and more exciting because that means that you are closer.
14:16The more repeatedly you are in these kind of positions, you're going to win it.
14:20The same in the Champions League.
14:21You don't get to the quarter-finals for, how long it was, 20 years.
14:26For the semi-final, it's impossible. You have no chance.
14:28You can dream whatever, but you have no chance.
14:30So, first of all, you have to be there.
14:32And then in April or May, that will get decided who is the best
14:35or who can get over the line.
14:37James, Ilias?
14:38Hi, Michael. You mentioned the XG of that first Wolves goal.
14:41You conceded a lot of low XG goals this season,
14:46more than any other team if you've got the data right.
14:49Can you explain why that's happening?
14:51Is this a coincidence or is there something you're doing wrong?
14:57Probably a bit of both.
14:58I mean, we would have to go goal by goal,
15:00but somebody from a really low scoring position can put the ball in the top bin.
15:05What are the odds for that to happen?
15:07Or something like putting the ball in the top corner and costing you points.
15:10I don't know.
15:10It depends on the players here in this league.
15:13I think they have a lot of quality as well.
15:14That's a credit to that.
15:15And you can see quite a high proportion of your shots and XG
15:19and chances from outside the box.
15:20Can you be the best team defending in the penalty area
15:23and still be the best team defending outside the penalty area?
15:27Yeah, that's what we want.
15:28There are certain margins there in terms of when we approach the player,
15:32the space that you cover in relation to the defender and the keeper.
15:36So, there are things that we are constantly working on
15:39and try to improve them.
15:41Okay, we'll go to 10.30 tonight now.
15:43Who wants to...
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