- 3 years ago
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta previews their Premier League clash with Liverpool and comments on the close friendship between Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko
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00:00 Yes, she says yes.
00:05 Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Shoba Realty Training Centre. We are here for the
00:10 press conference and we'll kick off with the live section. We'll go into then into a 10.30
00:14 tonight and 10.30 on Saturday. We're all ready? If everyone's ready, we'll kick off with Gail
00:20 from Sky.
00:21 Yeah. Can we start with your favourite, please, injuries, particularly Joe Zeus and any update
00:28 on Partey?
00:31 Yeah, Gabi obviously played and trained with us the whole week and with Thomas unfortunately
00:36 we had a little setback a few days ago so he's not going to be available to be in the
00:41 squad. Whether it's a matter of days or weeks we will see but he had a little thing.
00:46 When you say setback, can you just elaborate a little?
00:50 I'm not a doctor but I can try to. He felt something again in a very similar area and
00:56 he wasn't able to train the last few days.
00:58 When you look at Arsenal and Liverpool, you look at where you both are on the table, how
01:05 much do you need to win on the weekend to keep those ambitions alive?
01:11 All we need to do is play like we played the last two games against them and be more efficient
01:15 in the areas that are going to decide the game. But very excited. It's always great
01:20 to prepare a game against Liverpool. How good they are, they dominate every aspect of the
01:24 game and we play at home. What I sense is a real sense of positivity and enthusiasm
01:30 around the place.
01:31 You came so close last season, for so long you were battling right at the top. When you
01:38 look at this game and you look around where your squad is and your players now, how better
01:42 equipped have you been as a group to go into these big games and come out on the right
01:47 side of them?
01:48 Obviously we had some big experiences and what we did last year was another big step.
01:55 This season we are trying to do something even better and we are in the Champions League
02:00 as well which was a big step. The squad is better, it's true that we had some very,
02:05 very important injuries within that but I think the squad has managed really well.
02:09 You met them a few weeks ago in the FA Cup, a very good first half but couldn't finish
02:16 those chances. You talked about a mental block on that day. How much of a better place do
02:22 you feel your strikers are in compared to where you were at the beginning of January?
02:30 In terms of the team performance, very similar. Obviously we had the opportunity to refresh
02:35 and reconnect again when we went to Dubai and then we had a long period as well between
02:40 the Palace and the Forest game. My feeling is that we continue to play really well. Obviously
02:45 we are much more efficient in the final third and that's very helpful to win full matches.
02:49 Are they friends this week or are you encouraging that level of White and Zinchenko?
02:59 They've been in the same house for the last three days, sharing wives and everything.
03:04 That's fine. They're living together now, they're best mates.
03:16 You don't argue with somebody, you don't have a great relationship. That happens because
03:20 you have the trust and you have the chemistry with somebody to react the way you did.
03:26 What I was actually going to say to you was, don't you like that sort of behaviour on a
03:32 week like this? Don't you need that sort of behaviour where people are right at it and
03:36 right at each other? You must remember from the big games when you were a player there
03:39 was probably a fight going on in the corner.
03:42 I love it. As long as it's in a respectful way and only with the intention to be more
03:49 demanding and be better as a team and it stays there, I'm very happy with that.
03:54 Do you feel like a win against Liverpool is needed right now to give you that extra bit
04:03 of momentum and confidence that you can actually beat those teams at this stage of the season?
04:08 Yes, and we have done it. We have beat big teams already and it's another opportunity
04:13 to beat Liverpool now and be in a much better place. We talk about momentum and we won the
04:17 last two games. I want to win the third one, especially at home with our people. It's going
04:22 to be an incredible atmosphere and we're going to need that. I encourage everybody
04:27 to do that, to play with us every single ball and if we do that we're going to have a big
04:32 chance to win the game.
04:33 Do you sense that Jorgen Klopp's announcement a few days ago might give Liverpool that extra
04:39 bit of determination to end this season on a positive note?
04:44 I don't have a clue. Hopefully not.
04:46 What would you think if you were in that position?
04:51 I don't know. I'm not in that position so I have enough to understand how we feel in
04:56 our position.
04:57 Will you miss Jorgen Klopp?
05:01 Absolutely. I think it's going to be a big loss. As I said before, he's been an inspiration,
05:11 he's been someone who has added a new dimension to the Premier League. A really attractive
05:17 and inspiring way of playing, setting up teams and building a team and transforming
05:22 a club as well. He will be missed but for now he's here.
05:25 You were so dominant against Forrest on Tuesday. Do you feel like you've lost a bit of unpredictability
05:39 from last season or is this the way you want Arsenal to play now?
05:45 There are moments when you provoke certain things and other moments when the opponent's
05:58 behaviour dictates what the game requires and what you can do. We were still the team
06:05 that defended against more deep blocks last season so it's nothing new. We scored goals
06:11 in different ways in the last two weeks as well, which is great to see. The team has
06:16 to dominate every aspect of the game if we want to be up there.
06:18 Do you feel like you're controlling matches more this season?
06:22 We are conceding less than last season. We are generating more and now those margins
06:27 have to be seen in the scoreline and that's the challenge.
06:29 You mentioned the scoreline. You haven't signed a striker in this window. If you draw going
06:35 forward in the next few matches you're going to get questions about. Can you explain to
06:39 the fans why you haven't signed a forward this winter?
06:43 And if we win tomorrow and we score a lot of goals?
06:47 No, I think like this. I love my players and I think that tomorrow we're going to score
06:51 goals and they're going to be top. They fully deserve all our credit because of the way
06:57 they are.
06:58 Do you trust in the players?
06:59 Absolutely, yes.
07:00 Can you explain to me why it's so good for a football manager to see his players fighting
07:10 with each other on the pitch? If my boss saw me fighting with one of my colleagues, I don't
07:15 think he'd be sitting in front of a press conference saying, "I think it's great and
07:18 it shows they get on very well."
07:22 Maybe we have a different understanding of what the word 'fight' means.
07:28 Disagreement?
07:30 Or a conversation. A little bit heated, a little bit emotional after the game when you
07:34 are 200 beeps an hour. A minute, sorry. Normal, nothing new.
07:41 Explain why you like to see that?
07:44 Because I want to see passion. I want to see commitment on my players. I want my players
07:48 to have the desire always to be better. In order to do that we have to be demanding with
07:51 each other. If not, it's Disneyland.
07:54 Is it a game you think you're going to win? If you don't win it, if you lose it, is that
08:04 you're out of the title race?
08:05 I don't know. My mindset is to win it and I'm in that frame at the moment.
08:09 Do you look at it and think, "I must not lose a match"?
08:14 No, this is a game that we want to win and we have to earn the right to win it. In order
08:19 to do that we're going to have to do so many good things because there is a reason why
08:23 they are there but there is a reason why we are where we are.
08:26 You haven't signed a striker, in fact most clubs didn't sign many players or indeed any
08:31 players during the general transfer window. Is this the sign of things to come now because
08:37 clubs are looking so much at FFP and financial fair play and what have you, they're almost
08:43 being hamstrung in that they might want to go and look at a player, they might want to
08:47 consider signing a player but now that option isn't possible or it was maybe two, three,
08:52 four years ago?
08:53 Yes, I think that's a big reason. I fully agree and as well that maybe there is not
08:59 a player in the market that can really make a difference or the impact that you need if
09:04 you are able to recruit him.
09:05 Will you look at the win over Man City as a good example of how you can beat the teams
09:15 at the top of this league?
09:16 Yes, or Manchester United or it was Brighton and when we played here last season against
09:21 Liverpool we've done it many times and tomorrow is a different game. The team looks really
09:27 ready and really prepared and is really looking forward to the game. We know that the stadium
09:33 is going to be fully with us as well and we want those days. We want to have those afternoons
09:38 with our supporters where we are challenging for big things and tomorrow or the next day
09:42 is a big one.
09:43 How concerned is it long-term for you that since you've had him you've not been able
09:51 to keep him fit?
09:52 Yes, a big concern because he's such an important player for us and he was getting some momentum
09:58 at the start of the season and then we lost him for a while and now it's been a long time
10:02 without him. He gives us something very different that no other player can give us in the squad
10:07 and it's been a real miss.
10:10 Have you been able to isolate a particular reason it happened or is it just bad luck?
10:14 Well, there have been different kinds of injuries but not everything is bad luck but there are
10:20 a lot of things that are very difficult to control as well and obviously the player has
10:24 a history as well where he has had some issues in the past but we have to try to protect
10:30 him and do everything that we can to try to avoid it again.
10:33 How important is it to create an environment where you can prepare well and perform at
10:50 the highest levels?
10:51 Yes, we just want to welcome Shoba Realty to our football club. I think it's going to
10:57 be a great way for us to evolve all the facilities and the updates that we need around the place
11:05 to improve performance basically and to make this place more special. We have some necessities
11:14 and they're going to be really, really helpful to fulfil them.
11:17 Why did you let Lionel Souza leave the club?
11:30 Well it was a club decision and obviously he had a really particular situation with
11:37 his contract and there has been a lot of talks about it and the club believe it was the best
11:42 decision to do that and I supported that decision.
11:45 You're coming up against Klopp at the weekend, there's a lot of talk about his legacy apart
11:49 from trophies. One of those things is his willingness to give young players a shot in
11:53 the first team. I think there's 11 this season that have played one or two games at least.
11:57 Is that something you think you need to improve on at Arsenal? It's been a few years since
12:02 Saka broke through. Is it something you want to be a bit more bold in giving players a
12:06 chance to prove themselves?
12:07 Yes, we certainly want to do that and first of all we need to produce those talents and
12:13 they have to earn it and secondly when we produce them they have to be in the positions
12:17 that we need fulfilling. So everything has to come together and we are working on that.
12:22 We have a few prospects which are not far but yes, the reality is that we want more.
12:28 Is that the thing now? It's not that the talent is there and you're choosing not to use it,
12:32 you don't think the talent is there, the credit?
12:35 Today? To give the opportunities and to play in the first team at the level that we're
12:40 required, we are a bit short.