Every word Mikel Arteta said on Brighton vs Arsenal, Havertz, Odegaard, set-pieces and nerves

Here is every word Mikel Arteta said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Brighton vs Arsenal

Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of his Arsenal side’s clash with Brighton at the Amex Stadium. Naturally, there was plenty of interest in the latest team news following the fallout from the clash with Chelsea.

There has been such a focus on set-pieces and nerves, and Arteta was quizzed on these two elements. It would be fair to say he did so with varying levels of enthusiasm, particularly when it came to any criticism.

He was also asked about the challenge of a Brighton side that have caused the Gunners issues.

Here is every word from the pre-match press conference:

How long did it take for your heart rate to just come down on Sunday and is it ready to go nine games more that could well be nine games like that?

Yeah, and when the whistle went, done. So it wasn't for that long, so I think I have a very strong heart.

I mean you might need a very strong heart as well.

I have.

I think it might be tested, what do you think?

It's been tested since I was two, since I was born basically, so it's been a few years.

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Yeah, talk to us, you touched on a couple that might be back, might not be back for this game, can you just elaborate a little bit?

Yeah, especially Kai, so he's done a part of the session so we will have to wait and see whether he's available and in which condition and the rest I don't think there is...

Odegaard?

Martin is the one. We will see.

But the rest, how's Ben White, how's...

Ben is not available.

No, okay. Max Dowman.

Max Dowman is available, yes. Max is available. It's better if you give me the list so I can go and find him.

I'm sorry, [I’m told] always not to do that, so that's why I've got you to elaborate, but we can go through the list.

With Odegaard, you just said you thought it was a slight problem with his knee.

Yeah.

Will he be all right for the week?

We have to wait and see how comfortable he is to do certain actions.

Okay. And the other one was, Rice came off, didn't he?

Yeah.

Is he okay?

I hope so. He was much better today. Obviously, we haven't really trained because we have only two days to prepare for the game, so hopefully he's going to be better tomorrow.

And the last one on the list was David Raya.

David is good, good to go.

A lot of people have picked up on the fact that you have scored corners again. A lot of people are saying that it's not the football that they want to watch. A lot of people have said you're stretching tactics, particularly the man you're playing against tomorrow night.

But you sit at the top of that kind of corners league with 16, do you think actually every Premier League manager would like to be where you are and have the weapon like that?

I certainly want to be. I'm upset that we're going to score more and that we concede as well. So we want to be the best and the most dominant team in every aspect of the game.

And that's the trajectory and the aim of this team. And as a club we want to be the same. So let's try to do that.

Does it surprise you that you're doing something so well and yet somehow you're still getting criticised for it?

Part of the job.

You also talked post-match about game management towards the end of a match. What have you taken from that Chelsea game in terms of maybe learning from it and easing some of that anxiety that's kind of palpable, isn't it?

I mean, I was emotionally exhausted, and I'm not even vested in this title race. It's so hard to not get drawn into it, isn't it? For the players to not get drawn into it.

And I guess that does come down to game management in a sense.

We have to do much better with the ball. We didn't finish enough actions. And then I said as well, credit to Chelsea as well.

They got from very, very tight situations. They produced the biggest chance from across that. It's not a shot.

Converted into a shot and now it has to make a big set. That was it. So a few days ago against Spurs, the second half 1-1 and the game was much better from our side.

We managed to score three goals and win the game more consistently. So all the time we have to continue to learn.

Just finally, on that sort of anxiousness, do you find that actually you avoid talking about it because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy? Or have you sat down with the players and talked about that kind of sense of nervousness? Because they're on the edge of something very, very great, very special.

We talk about every aspect of the game and managing a game, managing a result, managing a certain concept, whether you are 10 men up against 11 is a very important one. So we discuss about everything.

Brighton tomorrow. A team who are organised, they push up the pitch a lot. Been quite sporadic, sometimes inconsistent, you never know, but they've got quality all over the pitch. What have you made of them? What do you expect?

Very, very good side. The wat they are coached as well and they have a sequence of years as well with a very similar style and players that fit really, really well what they want to do. They really believe in what they do. So yeah, always a very tough opponent.

You spoke about Eze knowing what he needs to succeed. We've seen him be amazing centrally, we've seen his strengths and weaknesses. Also, we've seen him perform on the left.

I just wanted to get your opinion on what you think he can offer on the wing, on the left, a little bit differently, maybe from a Trossard or anyone you play there.

Yeah, depending on the position especially and the relationship that he's got around, because he's a player that needs a lot of movement around him to activate those spaces, to create a space for himself and for him in order to be efficient in those spaces. But it's certainly an option that we have as a team.

And I know previously I asked you about the conceding at the end of games, just closing games out. Do you think it's as simple as when you don't have an Odegaard or Merino controlling and supporting that physicality or it's, we're tired, there's nine games left, it's going to happen?

There are a lot of factors to that. As I said, some of them are related to us and us building and being more clear and more willing to do certain things and then, as well, the opponent, that he does well, and it pulls you on the back foot.

I asked you earlier in the season about set-pieces when you were starting to score quite a few goals, and you said you'd been playing it for five years.

I'm paying a lot of attention to your questions. [Laughs]

So, I mean, isn't it the fact that others are just trying to play catch-up with you and maybe now they're mentioning it more because they're trying to play catch-up with you. You've perfected this.

I don't know. I mean, you as an opponent or whatever, you get upset when you concede a goal. I was really upset the way we conceded a goal against Chelsea and Chelsea looked the quality that they had.

The amount of set-pieces they scored, Manchester United is doing so well. The same, I was at Man City, used to work a lot on them. So, it's something.

There are phases, and there are moments when a team has an opportunity to do certain things, and the game is evolving, and the game is becoming more and more difficult. Before, when you used to do a game plan, and you just invert a full-back and bring an extra player in midfield or a false nine, the opponent is ‘Fini!’ Big overload, four vs three inside, two vs one inside, time on the ball.

So dominant, 70/80% of possession, the other opponent, two counter-attackers, set-pieces, the game is done. Now, teams are adapting. Teams know after every sequence of play, whether it's a throw-in, a restart of play, an open-play situation, or after direct play, exactly what they have to do, and everything is almost man-to-man.

So, it's going to be a different game unless we change the rules because the evolution of the game is that.

I asked Liam Rosenior the same question yesterday about set-pieces. Chelsea fans didn't care at the Emirates how the goal went in, as long as they scored a goal. I guess I also found that between now and the end of the season, they don't care if every goal you score is from a corner, as long as you win games.

We're talking about winning football here, aren't we? We're not talking about necessarily entertaining. It's all about winning.

I don't know how you celebrate one goal different to another one. Maybe for YouTube it's nicer one over another. I don't know, but the reality of football depends a lot.

I would like to play with three players extra in my own half to get some beautiful football and play always against a free man. This is not the reality of football. You want to watch that football, you have to go to a different country because in the Premier League, for the last two seasons or three seasons, this is not the case.

So, finally, how much has it changed since you played? Because you were a silky skilful.

Four years ago. It's a different game. Completely different game.

Different game, different sport. So, could you play in this current era?

Me? Yeah. But as a nine. Only as a nine.

There was a point in the game against Chelsea, I think it was around when the scores were levelled off for half-time, and there was quite an energy in the stadium of wanting urgency.

And I remember, and tell me if I've misinterpreted this, but you turned around and you kind of raised your arms and you went ‘Calm.’ And I don't know if it was to the bench or kind of to the crowd.

It was to the crowd, yeah.

Can you talk me through that moment? Because there's this interpretation that we want energy from fans, but at the same time, it's hard to understand the moments where you need calmness and times where you need energy.

That's a really good point. I mean, I think when you have the ball, you need to be able to make those decisions. If I'm shouting to a player when they have the ball, ‘pass to him, pass to him.’

You are not making decisions, you are just being told what to do and what you see maybe and what you feel. It's very different. I mean, if we've done three transitions and my heart rate is at 180, the game is requiring to slow down and to control the game and to dominate it.

If there's an opportunity to run, because I'm fresh after a set-piece that I had a minute to rest, that's a different opportunity to run. So it's a lot of factors, and the players have to make those decisions. I mean, the crowd normally shouts in this country.

‘Shoot, shoot’ from 40 yards as well. We can shoot all the time. They [say], ‘Why are you doing shooting from there?’

So I think we'll have a split stadium. So it's natural that they are pushing, but we need to understand as well that, at certain moments, we have to take our time to start attacks in the right way.

Is control and dominance the biggest priority in a way now in a team, to get the most out of games? If you can get control and you can get dominance, you have the best chance of winning every game.

Yeah, but especially in which areas we want to be dominant and we want to control the games. And what sequences of play we want really, that are more favourable for us, that's the objective.

Can I ask you about Martin Zubimendi? He's obviously played more than any other outfield player, maybe a bit unusual for a player in a new league, a new club.

What have you, I guess, seen in him, as he's ready to play that much football in his first season?

Well, different circumstances, obviously the amount of games and competition that we are involved in, sets and injuries as well. And the fact that, obviously, he's doing so well and for our first year, I think we're having a great season.

Do you have any concerns? Obviously, it's the first time not even a winter break, but are there any concerns that could start catching up with him? Do you sort of have to manage his training or work load?

We have. I mean, if we do that now. I think we are late. We've been doing that for the whole season. It's an unprecedented season for us. We've never played that many games ever in our history.

And on top of that, those guys, they're going to go with the national teams in March. And on top of that, we have a World Cup. So, for sure, that is something that we keep an eye on.

But they're going to break every record that they had in the past, whether it is in one season, in two or three, because the amount of games that they have here is inevitable.

I just wanted to ask about, actually, Martin and Declan in midfield. It feels like they've struck up a really natural chemistry that's really developing as a partnership. Do you think of them now in your mind as a pair, as a two?

Yes, I do. I mean, we always talk about these kind of relationships and chemistry. And there is one, and it's very strong off the field as well. That makes it what happens on the field, I think, very, very special.

And when you've got two players like that who are so consistent, the level of performance is so good, obviously the physical demands in that position are massive. You must think about, can I give them a rest? When do I give them a rest? Is that difficult to do when they're so valuable to you on the pitch?

Yeah, it's always like this with any player. You have to understand which games are more fitted for them and to other players as well. And that's what we have to do.

And then understand how they are feeling, because there are moments when you feel that it's the right moment to go, and others when you say, I'm in a great moment, I want to continue to play.

This has the potential, obviously, to be an amazing season for Arsenal. The team's established, you've been building it over a number of years, you've shown tactical flexibility.

Do you think the biggest challenge between now and the end is managing the emotion that everybody keeps talking about around the club as you try and achieve all those amazing things?

Yeah, I mean, those emotions are going to be different now, but we have managed a lot of emotions over the last eight months. And the deal from here to the end is we're going to have to do a lot of things that have nothing to do with emotion as well, to continue to be here and to hope to win what we want to win.

And you talked about how the game's changed and adjusted, and there's obviously some trends in Premier League football now that maybe weren't there a few years ago. Do you think data has played a massive part in this? And how much of a role does data play in tactical approaches and game plans nowadays?

Well, data, education, that will all have, I think, the influence of a lot of countries within the league. And then, yeah, what we learn from other teams, from other leagues, from other managers, that everybody's implementing it in the system. So it's a very rich system in the Premier League.

We all learn from each other and the game becomes more and more complicated. And I know we have to do something. We have to agree.

There are certain ways that we cannot play football, that you cannot go man-to-man. We're going to see tomorrow it will be a different league, believe me. So that's choices that we have to make.

But if everybody wants to be more competitive because it's more efficient and this and that, then we have to accept that there's going to be a change.

There's been a lot of talk about Bukayo and his output this season. But it's clear that when you are breaking down teams, he's integral on and off the ball, especially when you guys have been playing Viktor Gyokeres and Eze together. Could you enlighten us how you can use him against Brighton to hurt them? And how happy are you with his adaptability throughout the season?

Well, to the first question, no. And the second one, yes, we know the importance of B and everything that he brings to the table emotionally, to the team, the experience and the role that he already has in the team and how this affects us while the position is clear. And his performances have been really good. We can increase the numbers, obviously, that he's producing at the moment. But I think he's in a good place.

A lot of people regard your defence as the best backline in the league. Brighton have only kept one clean sheet in the last five. In comparison to the previous five, we kept three. Isn't it a bit odd that... Do you find it a bit odd, especially the fact that you are so good at set-pieces and you seem to concede from them, or you have to end up conceding a ‘worldy’ strike?

Well, I think there are moments throughout the season about the type of goal that we have conceded lately. It's not very usual for us. But as I always said, we want to do our best.

But there is always an opponent as well that is really good and someone that he forces or they do things that you don't expect.

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