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Here is every word from Mikel Arteta’s pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal vs Sunderland
Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of his Arsenal side’s Premier League clash with Sunderland. The Gunners can move nine points clear of Manchester City before they face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
The Arsenal manager provided updates on Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, who were all absent from the open training session on Thursday. After Liam Rosenior made some interesting comments regarding the warm-ups before the Chelsea match, the Spaniard gave his reaction to the discussion over respect.
Here is every word the Gunners manager said during his press conference:
It's a big weekend on Sky Sports, I'm sure you're aware. I wanted to build up to that with a Nasa-style 10-1 countdown. It'll be quick, don't worry.
So 10 games you won on the bounce, that's the 10 until Sunderland ended that run. Revenge tomorrow?
Another opportunity to win, to be better than the opposition and then the right to win again, that's it.
If you do win, nine points, that's the night ahead of Manchester City. Overnight, at least, is that a big statement at this time of the season?
The statement is that we do what we have to do and we get a really tough match. I think they've been in an incredible run all season and what they've been doing, so we know the complexity of the match.
Eight, the number of letters in Rosenior.
You've been thinking about that all night? Your wife involved?
Also eight letters in encroach. He seems concerned about what he thought was a lack of etiquette before the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg. Do you think he's overreacting?
I don't know, it's his opinion and obviously we respect everybody and at any point one of the staff members went through that, we apologise and that's it. It's very common in football, especially with the keepers because they have to keep long balls and all that, so nothing left to comment.
Seven, Bukayo squad number and how's his hip?
His hip is getting much better, so hopefully, very soon, he will be with us.
How long?
Very soon.
Number six.
Six, seven, six, seven.
Timber and Odegaard?
So, Martin again, he's getting better, it will be a matter of days we believe and he'll be fine.
Five, it was fifth time lucky in terms of getting through a big semi-final and you're still in the big four competitions. Now that the dust has settled on reaching a Wembley final, just over the last few days, have you sensed a real vibe around the place, it's a springboard to move on?
Well, the energy that it brings winning a big title against a great Chelsea side and the fact that you visualise yourself in Wembley in a couple of weeks, obviously it's exciting, it's what we want and you can feel the excitement around our supporters as well, which is great. So, yeah, on to the next one now.
We're nearly there, three, Max, three letters, Max Dowman almost back we hear.
Max hasn't trained with us yet, so it will be still a few weeks I think, but he's getting better, yeah.
And the man with two surnames, Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Yes.
He said goodbye to his friends here at the training ground, looks like he's going to Celtic, not confirmed, but has he got a lot to offer the club still?
He’s been brilliant, it's been great to share some time with him, his experiences, obviously we played together as well, so some great memories, so it's been really helpful to us, hopefully we can help him and support him in that tough period for him and wish him all the very best whatever he decides to do.
And finally, one, anyone else picked up an injury we're not aware of?
No, the rest we are aware of, thank you.
You're the best one, the top one, thank you.
Thank you.
Just reflecting on that game at the City Flight back in November, what makes this Sunderland team difficult to play against?
Well, they are all extremely competitive, really well coached, they have very good individuals, very clear identity of what they want to do, where they want to take the game, and they are very good at it. You could only see the result that they had against the top side, so we know what to expect, but we need to deal with that tomorrow.
Merino led the line that day, how much are you going to miss him?
Yeah, obviously it's a big blow, Mikel offers something unique in the team, but he's going to be out for months unfortunately with a very rare injury, so we need to support him, make sure that he's very connected with the team, because he can still add a lot of value to the players and the staff, and yeah, keep him around.
What kind of atmosphere are you hoping for at the Emirates, what are you asking for from the home fans?
The best, tomorrow 2.30, the best atmosphere that we've seen, ready everybody for 3 o'clock to exploit. That's what we want, we start to get in a really, really crucial part of the season, and we know what every game means, and we need to get into that stadium with that energy, all of us.
Really crucial part of the season as you say, fighting on four fronts, what is the priority, is there a priority?
Yes, tomorrow, that's the priority, and the only priority and the only focus that we have to put, all our energy and commitment, and we will do that tomorrow, and try to end the right to win the game.
You've been unbeaten in your last 43 matches against promoted teams, that's the joint longest run in Premier League history, so that's a bit of history you can make tomorrow.
Your team has scored the second most amount of goals, kept the fewest goals from going into your net. You're winning the league or you're winning games this season in the right way, aren't you? You're going about this assault on four trophies in the right way.
Well, that's what we're trying to prepare every week, and every opponent is different and brings very difficult challenges, and we need to face them, and we've been doing that for a lot of months now, and that's the thing that we have to continue to do, and play with that hunger and that commitment every single game, because if we do that we have a big chance to win a lot of games.
A couple of your key signings, first David Raya, 20 clean sheets in 38 games this season, took 58 games for him to keep 20 clean sheets last season. He's been pivotal to you, while a lot of people are focussing on the other end of the pitch, I'd argue he's been your most pivotal player?
Well, obviously, when we are where we are, it's because the individuals are doing so well, and certainly David has been immense for us since he joined us. This season again, I think he's gone to a different level, very stable, really, really consistent, and it's a key player for us obviously.
Key player for you, and you've spoken before about how you went against what some people thought by bringing him in. Another one, Kai Havertz, also a pretty good player for you, and we've seen that in the last couple of games.
Yes, we are really happy to have him, again he offers something very different to the team, and to be able to mix it up, and for him to show the level that he's showing immediately after such a long injury, it's very impressive, so great.
Just one last one, I was thinking about your answer about Liam Rosenior before. How important is it for managers to keep their calm, even before the games when they come out and watch the team warm up, but also use the right kind of body language and language as well, because I think one thing that maybe Liam would probably look back on is the fact that he swore at camera, during that period. You've been doing this six years now, how do you keep yourself in check?
I don't know, sometimes it's difficult because we cannot be aware constantly about everything, and we are human beings and we react to things, so I think it's normal. I try to give the right example always, and if that's the intention, that's okay.
Across the Premier League this season, I think it's the biggest share of goals from outside the box in 12 years, and with that increase, I think we've seen Zubimendi and Eze score for Arsenal this season. Last week you mentioned when you can't be vertical when teams drop in, you have to take those shots, do you think that kind of increase in shots from outside the box is a reaction to how teams have started to play in recent years, and how do you view that kind of evolution?
Well, yes, the more density there is inside the box and the more contact there is, the more difficult it is to score goals, especially in open play, so that's clear, so you have to find other ways, and I'm not surprised that that number is increasing; the quality of the players as well is increasing. It happened in basketball especially from 2s to 3s, the stats were incredibly high, it's not that easy here to score because of the distance and the crowd that is around the goal, but it's another weapon to have.
And for you as a player, you obviously scored quite a few goals from outside the box, if you were a player today, would you be doing the same, would you take the same shots with all the talk around xG for instance, would that be in your head or would you still back yourself?
I don't think you can be thinking about that, you are in the right position with the right timing, with the right angles in front of you, you have to take the shot, the objective has to be to score. If you have somebody else free next to it, probably pass it, depending on who it is, especially. But this is a football that you have to make decisions in milliseconds, and you cannot be thinking about, OK, they have 0.1 more, expected goals chance to score from me, I cannot see that happening.
Declan Rice spoke earlier this week about how important Gabriel Heinze has been for you this season, he's obviously been there and done it in a Premier League tied tournament, has he become even more important as the season has gone on, having had that experience?
Yeah, but right from the beginning we knew that Gabi was going to bring something very different to the coaching staff, the staff and the players, and with the games that we have at the club, he's someone that has done it in various countries and obviously I have a really personal relationship with him, so I knew how he was going to fit in with his character within the team, so I'm very happy that the players are enjoying his company.
What do you think the messages are that he is able to pass on having been there?
The best one is experience because when you have lived something you can talk and the detail there is incredible and the things that have been helpful, the things that have not been so helpful, and try to support the players and he's got a big role in that.
Do you think it makes a difference from the players' perspective hearing it from someone who has achieved what they want to achieve?
Well I think the players have huge respect for all the members of the staff, and everybody is unique with their experiences, obviously because they have been with great managers as well that they have won things, so everybody's opinion is very valuable. How you transmit it and how you connect with the player is probably the most important thing.
You mentioned it's getting to a really critical part of the season now, you've been with your side for six months and being at the top of the table, top of the Champions League and into the later stages of these cup competitions. Is this the best group that you've ever worked with since starting Arsenal as manager?
I don't like comparing, it's an amazing group obviously and they're doing an incredible job so far and we are all very excited and I'm very privileged to have each other and we're going to enjoy it until the end of the season.
One of the things that tends to happen when you are at the front and at the top is that you're the most exposed, I don't think I've ever heard as much spoken about an Arsenal team in the last ten years as I have about this team this year. How do you deal with that and do you expect to hear more voices and more talk around your team when you are in that position?
We don't have much time so we are so busy with games, training sessions, planning and that, we are a bit far from that but it's normal and I think it's something very positive, whether it's a positive feedback or not so well, I think we are here to learn and improve and the fact that we are there is the most important thing at the end.
I heard you talk about the positive reaction in Europe to the way you play and I just wonder, how do you know? Do managers call you, are you on WhatsApp, do you Zoom with them, do they call you to tap into the things that you are doing? Is that a discussion that happens?
Yes and we have a lot of people coming here as well and when I was in other clubs I would like to work with other people, I love having coaches here from different sports, from different countries as well, and some of them are now working that I admire and we can get so much from them.
Just going back to the Liam Rosenior’s comments, obviously I think you said we apologise, just wanted to know if you would change the way that Arsenal go about the way they warm up, just in case to avoid another similar incident?
I already replied to your questions on that, I think that's enough.
Just in terms of the Premier League, obviously, if you win on Saturday, you will be nine points clear of City, When do you start believing that this is going to be the year?
Is there a moment when the gap is so big that you think this is going to be the year that we are going to do it?
Yes, before the pre-season started, I started to prepare everything with the intention to be where we are and make sure the players are very convinced that we are going to achieve it and then go day by day, that's it.
Were you surprised to see him come back to the Premier League and then what impact has he made?
The fact that he came back is always a possibility in football, but obviously, he has spent quite a lot of time away from his family, and it was a critical part of the decision that he made when he left us. About the impact, not at all because I know his character and when you give him that role, he grabs it with a lot of authenticity and in an incredible way, and I'm very happy to see what he's doing.
When he was playing here a lot of people said that he had all the make-up of a good future coach or manager, can you see him following in your footsteps?
If he decides to do that, I think he's going to be a great manager, yeah.
At this stage in previous seasons Arsenal were the ones chasing title leaders, but now you are the ones being chased, does this feel different? Is it a different type of pressure on you and the team?
It depends, I think we've been in both positions in recent years, at the end you just have to focus on what you have to do, try to perform every single day and in May we will start to think what is better.
With Rosenior incident in mind, are teams going to try and unsettle you because you are doing so well?
I don't know. I don't know, I have no idea. but I don't think that, that [Rosenior] was intentional.
Trying not listen to any of the noise?
I would engage with the things, that in my opinion, are relevant for the team, and what is the best for the team, and the club.
Have you spoken to anyone like Arsene Wenger about how to deal with mind games?
It's the same with other managers and I've experienced [that] myself. On one side, on the other, what is the best thing, in my opinion, to do, and then, we'll make the right decision, based on that.
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