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Here is every word Mikel Arteta said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League meeting with Chelsea.
Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League match with Chelsea. The Emirates Stadium hosts the fourth meeting between the sides this season, if there is to be a fifth it will have wait for the FA Cup or a UEFA Champions League final.
Arsenal were drawn on the opposite side of the bracket to their London rivals and have been handed a favourable pathway to Budapest. Arteta gave his thoughts on the outcome in addition to the usual team news.
This was a rare week off for the Gunners, their first midweek without a game since the week commencing December 15.
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Here is every word Arteta said during the press conference:
A few days after your last fixture, you're probably not used to that. Any fresh injury concerns after Sunday?
No, so far. We're waiting for tomorrow, as well as the last training session, to understand whether we have one or two available from last week.
Yeah, of those ones, Kai Havertz, Ben White and Max Dowman didn't make the North London Derby. Are you hopeful some or all of them can be there? Yeah, we are hopeful.
Max will play some minutes tonight with the under-21s. Kai will train tomorrow and then let's see.
Champions League draw has been made, I'm sure you're aware, by Leverkusen next. Are you pleased with that draw and do you see this potentially as a big opportunity for this club to do something that they've not done before and go all the way?
Well, we are very excited to play the next round. We have earned the right to be in a strong position, what we've done in the group stage, and that's it. And now we need to start to analyse them and find ways to be better than them, to try to go through the tie.
Mikel, can you compare the mood and how you've been in the days following Wolves and the days following Tottenham Hotspur?
Not too high, not too low. I try to be as stable as possible. Try to have perspectives always about what our results or our performance brings outside or within the group and I always try to be positive about it.
When you say you try to stay like that, is that something that you've developed consciously over the years that you've been here?
Yeah, it's something that I need, it becomes insane. You are like this every single day, I'm happy and sad like this. You cannot be like this, you cannot give your best with that. Obviously you have to be very critical with yourself, very analytical with what we do and try to be always as good as we possibly can.
I want to ask you about Viktor Gyokeres. Eight goals in his last 12, previously it was one in the previous 10. Can you give us an insight into what has brought about this turnaround and the conversations that you might have had with him?
Well, I think one thing leads to another. When you score the first one, the performance are good, you have more time with your teammates, you understand the game, the opponent, the league better, everything helps. We know his qualities; he's undoubtedly an incredible striker. We need to feed to his qualities, we need to understand him better, he needs to understand the team, the league better, and I think we're on the right trajectory.
You've consistently been asked about Viktor Gyokeres and his form throughout this season and since he signed at Arsenal. You've backed him, you've never doubted him. Has he had any kind of self-doubt about how it's going for him and any confidence issue?
I don't know, that's a question for him. Obviously, I know the demands that he put on himself, expectations that he has to help the team. And I'm confident because I ask a lot of times our defenders when they have to train against our players, how do you feel when ‘It's a nightmare?’ And that's a really good way to understand the quality of a player or how it is to defend him.
It’s seven wins and three draws in your last ten against Chelsea, which looks like an extraordinary record given the two teams that we're talking about here. Is there anything in... ‘Oh, we've got a psychological advantage.’ Does that exist when you're playing a team and you're getting good results against them?
No, I think what it is, is it’s about the preparation, and the preparation gives you confidence and the right emotional state to get to the game with the belief and the conviction that you're going to win it. And after that, you have to have the right to do it. Thank you, good luck.
You've got seven games coming up in March. Does it feel like a month that could define Arsenal's season?
I don't think March will, but I think it will be very important for what is going to be happening in April and May. That's for sure because there are competitions and knockout stages, and there you are in or you are out.
Your side scored 19 goals in the past month or so. The record under you in a season is 113 goals. How pleased are you with Arsenal's attacking play at the moment and can we now officially call Arsenal an exciting side to watch?
Well, I think we have scored more goals in a single season than ever in the history of Arsenal Football Club (2023/24). So you can put any name or any adjective that you want, that's it.
And just finally for me, looking back on the Chelsea game early this month, what did you learn about them? And do you expect a different approach from them this time around?
We don't know. I mean, they've done different things. They can change throughout the game.
They have the players and they have a manager that is very comfortable doing that. So we are prepared. We're going to be prepared in the possible scenarios that we can face throughout the game and then try to be better.
A lot has been made this season about the fact that Arsenal finished second in the last three years. In terms of that, how much is that going to be a driving force for your team in the last three months of the season?
Well, when you finish like this, you only want to be first. That's it. So imagine how the rest of the teams are. So that's the aim. Always get better. Always try to excel the possibilities of the team, whether it's individually or collectively.
And that's what we are trying to do. Get to the last stage of the competitions. And in April and May, see what we are able to do.
Do your side ever show any signs of nerves? I mean, because as we get closer towards the finishing line, you're almost at the finishing line in the League Cup. You're getting closer to the finishing line in the Champions League, FA Cup, Premier League. Do you expect your team to show signs of nerves? Or are they players that are nerveless?
I want to see signs of confidence, enthusiasm, and a lot of will to win what is in front of us. And that's what I see every single day from the team.
In terms of your record against Chelsea, it's already been pointed out it's a great record, as indeed your record against Spurs was ahead of North London Derby last weekend. Does that give you, yourself as a manager, confidence when you go into a game knowing that generally this is a position whereby you've had a good experience?
That doesn't change the preparation. We know the importance of the game. We know the team that we're going to have in front of us. And we just have to prepare in the best way to earn the right to win it.
As I always said, there's nothing else that you can do. What we've done two weeks ago or two years ago is irrelevant because every game and every context is different because the players might change and all of the teams can be in a different state. Overall, what is at stake is different and we are prepared.
The stats now suggest Viktor is a good signing because he's scoring goals. But you've known that since day one. Do you wait for the stats to come out and say he's a good signing before you're really bullish about him? Or?
I want the stats to show that we are a better team and we have achieved what we want. He can be a huge contributor to our success, scoring goals and doing many other things that he does really well throughout the games.
After the Spurs game, you mentioned that you're understanding Eze better.
I think I might be wrong.
Could you explain what you meant by that?
You see how players react in relation to certain decisions that you take. When they have better games, when they have certain difficulties throughout the games.
His role has been modified a few times throughout the season. His reaction has always been top. But it's been tough, after to perform.
That's what we need. Because he's been exceptional in the manner that he's behaving every single day. But what we need is that those manners are now transformed into huge performances that decide who matches. That's the reason why we bought him.
So would you say it's more understanding emotionally?
Yes, I think so. Tactically as well. Because to understand him, you have to understand how he connects with other players. One of the best connections that we can build in and around him in this space is that he's more comfortable to use.
There are certain behaviours that he's changed dramatically into really positive things. At the end, you don't know if you're going to see them in a week or in two or in a month. But they're coming.
Can I ask you about Piero? It feels like the last few weeks he's gone up another level. What do you think the difference has been in making that left-back position?
I fully agree. Again, having more time with the team. A sequence of games where probably physically he's in a much better place.
He's been extremely dominant in all the defensive actions. He understands what we want in the attacking part as well much better. All the set-pieces, all the aspects that are relative to the game model that we have.
He's very much liked amongst the players. You can see that, the way they interact and react with him. So I'm very pleased that he's showing that up.
He's on loan at the moment. Is that already a deal you're thinking that in the summer you'd like to make permanent?
We will see. Let's go through the season. We have already discussed the possible outcomes that we have after that period. But so far, we are very, very happy with it.
You’re obviously focus on the next game. But just with this Champions League draw showing you the route, now you've got that sort of clarity about the rest of that competition. Does it give you more excitement for that? Because it feels like a real opportunity for you.
Yeah, we are really excited. Obviously, being in the forefront and the way the team is consistently performing gives you a lot of hope and positive thoughts about what can be coming. But we can only focus on the present. That's where we're going to put our energy. And that's on Sunday.
You mentioned the four competitions. Just in your own words, how hard do you think it is to do?
To do? Has it been done? So, that's how difficult it is. Let's go game by game. Let's try to continue to be there until the last stage of every competition. And then we'll see what happens.
Do you allow yourself to think about it?
Not really. Not so much on the outcome. I focus a lot on what we have to do to continue in the manner and trajectory that we are as a team. And from there, obviously try to improve.
Just going back to Eze, quickly. I've seen Martin was on the bench at the weekend. You said in the past that what happened at Villa and the Matty Cash incident wasn't directly linked to us not really seeing Eze play on the left since that game. So, is there still, in your head, the option of him playing on the left if you want to maybe get him and Martin on the pitch together at times?
There is a possibility to that, for sure. I think we've only done one and it was for a very short period of time because Martin had his shoulder injury. As well, obviously, because we had players out now in midfield.
Martin was out, Mikel is out, Kai was out as well. Ethan was sent on loan, so we had less options. And that's the reason as well that he's been playing more regularly.
And just on, you mentioned Piero there. If you look at Piero as a sort of left-back behind Eze, as he would play on the left-hand side, do you see, because Piero maybe plays that left-hand role more as a sort of touchline left-back rather than drifting inside, leaving space behind maybe in the central area. Do you look at that partnership, him potentially with Eze on the left, as working better without the left-back options behind him?
Yeah, these are combinations that we can do. When we talk about connection, that's a connection that I think will work really well, especially against certain types of opponents. So, that's another option that we have.
A few of your players have praised you in the media recently, you said that you've been crucial for his development and that he's become a better player under your guidance. Declan himself also said that everyone at Arsenal Football Club believes in the work that you do. We as people like compliments, but does it feel extra special when you hear your own players speaking highly of you, especially in a season where Arsenal could achieve so much success?
Well, I always said that the difficulty of being so long at Football Club is probably that relationship that I believe that you need to have from the players, because at the end, when you look at them and you're talking or you're proposing to do something, you need to inspire them and they need to be on board immediately. If you have that feeling, I think it's a really bad thing for the club in general. I'm very pleased that the boys are feeling that way, that they want to continue to work with us and with all the coaches and the staff. That means that they enjoy what they do.
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