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London Colney
Mikel Arteta previews Arsenal’s Premier League match at home to Chelsea
London Colney
Mikel Arteta previews Arsenal’s Premier League match at home to Chelsea
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00:18Good afternoon, hope everyone's well. We'll kick off the ASLive as always and then we'll
00:21go into a 10.30 Saturday embargo. All in the back, all in the back, we'll kick off with
00:28Gary from Sky. Hello. Can I do the usual, inevitable team news, injury updates? Yeah, sure.
00:36Bruno out there, we were allowed to film training yesterday. Everything OK? Yeah, he had a knock
00:41against Villa in the previous game and he's been assessed but probably tomorrow he will
00:46be OK for training.
00:48Christopher Roscaro wasn't there. He obviously came off, didn't he?
00:55He was more precaution than anything else so we'll have to see tomorrow in the session
00:59how he feels.
01:01Is Esri Konza able to start this game?
01:04Well, he's certainly available in the squad so we'll have to make that selection.
01:08And it's good to see Julian, what helps to Cameron see Julian out on the tournament?
01:13Yeah, he's in really good condition at the moment. As I said, he's been now a few weeks
01:17on the pitch and he's been training with us now so he's in a good place.
01:21Is he going to be available, do you think, for selection on Sunday?
01:24We will decide again tomorrow after training.
01:28William Saliba, obviously that's a little bit more long-term for him,
01:32but he's been named in the Champions League squad. So that's encouraging, I guess.
01:37Yes, we don't really know the amount of weeks that he's going to be out because it's about a healing
01:42process
01:42in every human being. It's a bit different. We know that we have to respect certain timings.
01:47The progression has been really positive in the last few weeks,
01:52but we need to wait and see how that bone reaction will start to put some load into it.
01:58But it was an easy decision based on what you know at the moment to include it in that squad?
02:03Yeah, it was. And we have the space to do it as well.
02:06Are you glad the window is now closed?
02:09It's what it is. We don't decide on it. I think we all know we had to make a decision
02:14when we wanted that window to be closed and that's it.
02:19And now it's crystal clear. Everybody's in squads and where the focus has to be.
02:24Particularly on the last day, there seemed to be a little bit of panic going on with some clubs,
02:29maybe paying more for players that maybe potentially don't seem to be worth that amount of money.
02:34But not Arsenal. Have you now reached the level in world football where you can just fish in the very
02:40elite pool
02:41and if the right thing wasn't there, you don't need to do it?
02:45I don't know. I think every moment, every SNS video and every situation is different.
02:51Sometimes you need to react because something unexpected happens as well
02:54and you need to be prepared for that. So I think every case is different.
02:59With Ethan, I have a clause that he can come back in January. Is that a likely scenario?
03:07Is that a possibility?
03:08Let's see. The focus now for Ethan is to go and play in an incredible club,
03:12atmosphere set up with Champions League in front of him
03:16and put all that talent at the service of Dortmund and then we will see what happens.
03:22And obviously it protects you playing Arsenal in the Champions League as well.
03:26Yeah, that's a possibility now it's now open, different roles to the Premier League.
03:30So, yeah.
03:32Chelsea, their front three have become known as J.P. Morgan.
03:37J.P. Morgan, OK.
03:39So that's Obama, Jao and Morgan.
03:41Yeah, I get that. I got there quite quickly.
03:45But thanks for clarifying it.
03:48But with your defence, you'll be banking on keeping them out.
03:52And the banking is with any... No. Banking is just...
03:56Yeah, that would be obviously a team responsibility more than just the defensive line.
04:01And I was thinking maybe a name for your front three,
04:05maybe the front three that finished against Liverpool.
04:08OK, surprise me.
04:09Yeah, it's Saka. Sorry, Saka.
04:11Yeah.
04:12Erzeva, Kai. That's S-W-K-Siek.
04:16Is that quality the reason you didn't seek reinforcement?
04:24I didn't go that far to make that analysis and afterwards that conclusion.
04:31But what I have to say is that I love the players that we have, that's for sure.
04:35Yeah.
04:35Let's take a look back to finally, obviously you've got Goldman Sachs.
04:41Oh, my God.
04:46Yeah, he's been very reliable so far in the first two weeks.
04:51I don't know how many weeks to go, yeah.
04:55Thanks, guys.
04:56We'll go to Anita from the Premier League.
04:57Hello.
04:58Hi.
05:00Sorry, I'm distracted by the whole language.
05:04I'll put that to one side.
05:06I'm definitely not going to attempt to stick to the football.
05:09But in terms of the game, looking at Chelsea, did you speak to Xavi when he was announced as manager?
05:17I spoke to him before that, but yeah, really happy for him.
05:21As I said, it's incredible because obviously we have the history that we have together,
05:27the same with Antony, and to be facing each other in such a level
05:31and with the responsibility we have managing some of the top clubs in the country
05:35is a really beautiful thing to experience.
05:39Were you surprised by the signing of Emi Martinez?
05:44No, obviously.
05:45I know Emi really well.
05:46He's a top goalkeeper.
05:48It's clear what he's going to bring to the team,
05:51and I think it's a really smart decision.
05:54There's so much talk about their front three and how they look world-class.
05:59Many are questioning if Arsenal have world-class attackers.
06:03Do you think Arsenal don't?
06:05I love my players, that's what I can say.
06:08The bracket that you want to put them, I don't know.
06:11I think the end of the season will put everybody in their place,
06:15and let's trust them.
06:17Let's make sure that we are right behind them
06:19and we'll do everything we can to help the incredible talent that they have.
06:25Ian from TalkSport.
06:27Hi, Mikkel.
06:27Hi.
06:28Very good, thank you.
06:29You mentioned there that you, Xavi Alonso,
06:32and then you were very close to him earlier.
06:36You were talking very well about him last season.
06:39Alonso, do you share that same kind of close friendship
06:42where you maybe would meet him or talk to him outside?
06:47Yeah, now it will be tougher to meet because of the schedule that we both have.
06:51But, of course, that relationship has been for many, many years
06:55and I will share some great moments together.
06:59That's natural, but now it's the competition
07:01and when you face each other you know what happens.
07:03We saw with the transfer window, a lot of money was spent,
07:06especially in the last few days of the transfer window,
07:09on a lot of foreign players.
07:11The club in this country that tends to really lean hard on this academy
07:14is Arsenal.
07:15Kai Saka, Max Downman, Marcus Skelly.
07:19Does that come from you in particular?
07:21Does it come from the relationship you have with the academy?
07:24It comes, I think, with the quality you have in the academy
07:27and some days just a generation that can fit in in the right moment.
07:33It's about timing as well, the needs that you have.
07:37I think as a club we want to provide the opportunity
07:39to our academy players to shine
07:42and to be at the level that we believe they can be.
07:46So far, obviously, they've been really, really good.
07:48I saw an interview yesterday with Richard Garlick
07:51about the success Arsenal had here last season
07:54and very much backed up your mentality that you always talk about.
07:58That's not the end, that wasn't the end of the story,
08:00that's actually page one of the story.
08:03In terms of that, how difficult this season is it going to be
08:07keeping everyone in the club on situ
08:11with the fact that what you did last season was just the very beginning?
08:14That's easy.
08:15I think the message was clear from day one.
08:17So if you think differently, I don't think you have to be here.
08:20You have to go somewhere else.
08:21And finally, I've seen pictures online from Chelsea today
08:25about their players that are using rugby pads to bump into
08:29because they think they're going to have a very physical...
08:31Wearing?
08:32Yeah.
08:33They hold up pads and they run into...
08:37It's going to be really physical.
08:39Your team is apparently a very tough, very physical team.
08:43That's something that a lot of clubs, we use those pads as well.
08:45Everybody uses those pads in circuits.
08:47I think that's something very, very common.
08:49Thank you very much.
08:51Alex, BBC.
08:52Hi, Michael.
08:54Gabriel Martinelli has left now.
08:57I know you asked last week.
08:58I know it was an emotional decision to let him know what he's done at the club.
09:02Just some words about that process and his meaning.
09:04With Gabi, gratitude.
09:07And it's been a pleasure to work with him, to be part of this journey with him.
09:14The Gabi that I met and the Gabi that just left, it's a huge transformation,
09:20both in the personal side and in the professional side.
09:24I think the impact that he had for the club, his ambition, his love for the game
09:30and the way he has, I think, helped us to grow and achieve our goals.
09:35I think he's been a critical player.
09:37So, yeah, the story ends and we wish him all the very best in a different one.
09:44And this is part of football.
09:46Can you tell us about the transfer window?
09:49Obviously, lots of talk about a forward not coming in and maybe chat around that externally
09:54from Arsenal.
09:56Is it too extreme to say that it's a missed opportunity to not bring in a new world-class
10:01board?
10:01Could you come into this season as champions?
10:04I don't know.
10:05These are just opinions.
10:06The window is closed and I prefer to look at all the incredible things that we have in
10:10this squad and not to spend any more time on the things that are not part of us right
10:17now.
10:17So, that's it and that's my main responsibility.
10:20James, CBS?
10:22Hi, Alan.
10:23I'm sure you have a vision of how Xabi Alonso plays football and how Chelsea might
10:28play football.
10:28Their first two games, very low possession, really open games because, as Xabi said,
10:33that's to do with game state.
10:35I just wonder how do you go about preparing when you've got kind of maybe a little bit
10:40of what your idea of how Alonso might play and what you've seen on the pitch so far?
10:44Well, that would depend on a lot of factors and game state is a massive one, especially
10:48because the two games that they played, they scored very, very early and that changes the
10:53momentum and the shift of the game.
10:56But they are capable and he's capable of playing in various ways.
10:59That's been a really successful manager so far.
11:02Can you just sort of reflect on the inspiration that you and Xabi and Andon have taken from each
11:06I think especially what Xabi did at Leverkusen showing that even without the biggest wage
11:11bill in the league you can do something amazing.
11:14What inspiration did you take from that?
11:17First of all, the courage.
11:19Obviously, we know each other for so long.
11:20We have experienced different countries, different moments and just to go abroad and deliver what
11:26is done.
11:27The same with Andoni as well.
11:28I think it is remarkable.
11:30It shows you that doing what you feel and how you feel it and being able to translate
11:37that to a club to players and ultimately achieve the goals that you want is possible,
11:44regardless of where you are born and where you are from.
11:47This was the first summer since 2021 that Arsenal haven't signed a player from Chelsea.
11:53What was it about Chelsea's players that attracted you so consistently to sign him?
12:04I need to make that reflection but there is an opportunity and obviously a need that the
12:09club or the team has and the opportunity comes and this can happen.
12:14But yeah, it's a good start.
12:18And just to take you back to the room in Budapest when we had that press conference
12:22after the final, there's been a lot of focus on a particular quote from afterwards
12:25where you said you hoped that you'd be very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.
12:30If you were to look at those three as kind of tick boxes for the window,
12:33do you feel that all those three were ticked?
12:34Yeah, 100% ticked.
12:37The outcome after can be different to what you expect but the intention is certainly there,
12:43which is, in my opinion, what I value the most.
12:46Back to the standard.
12:47Just on that pure numbers, the club have obviously sold Martinelli, Jesus, Trossard
12:52this summer and only brought in Solis.
12:54Do you consider that to be a risk in any sense?
12:59I understand the point of view as well but we have to understand as well
13:02the amount of minutes that those players played and the ones that they were injured last year,
13:06especially in the first six months.
13:07And then the data shows something completely different.
13:11But it's what it is, it is what we have and as I said before,
13:16we already have some very, very good players.
13:19When it comes, I guess, to the final few days of the window,
13:21then it is clear you're maybe not going to sign another attacker.
13:24Do you have any, does any regrets start to come in about selling Martinelli
13:28or sanctioning some of those departures?
13:31No, the selling of players can come from different aspects as well.
13:35It's not always the same one and that's part of the responsibility
13:40that we all have at the football club.
13:42Okay, the last couple of years live.
13:44Firstly, we'll go to James from ESPN.
13:45Hi, Mikel.
13:46Following on from Tom's question about ambition in the market,
13:50is that about intent as much as outcome for you?
13:56Yes, because it doesn't depend on you only.
14:00I mean, I know you won't talk about specific players,
14:02but when you're linked with Vinicius Junior and Alvarez,
14:06players are right at the top of the game.
14:08Can you just give us an insight about how hard it is to pull a deal like that on?
14:13I think Andre is better, or Josh, to talk about that
14:17because I'm not in those negotiations.
14:19But you're going to know better than that.
14:22Well, I hope so.
14:24But they know much better than me.
14:25So I think these are questions that are related to the market
14:28and all the aspects that I think it's better that they speak about it.
14:33All right.
14:33Well, just finally on the market, just in general,
14:35it seems as though the prices went up.
14:39Looks like it.
14:40I mean, do you think there's any wider concern in that,
14:43just for the game in general,
14:44that it's pushing clubs to maybe, you know, risk more
14:48and spend on a sustainable level?
14:51Well, I'm sure when this happens,
14:55it's because there's been an analysis behind it
14:57that this is going to be sustainable
14:58and all the kind of resources will appear
15:02or the valuation of every player will be then much higher
15:05and it will be done in a sustainable way.
15:07But again, that's I think someone for the Premier League
15:10and the owners to look at and evaluate.
15:16Just on the Villa game, the midfield,
15:19you completely changed it in the second half.
15:22And the quality didn't seem to drop at all with Bruno,
15:26Michael Marino and Martin Zubinetti coming in.
15:29I think last day you spoke about wanting to kind of have the ability
15:32to change profiles a little more within games.
15:35So how important was, I guess, having the ability to do that on Monday?
15:42Yeah, that was really useful and we discussed that game by game
15:46and then on match day as well in relation to what the needs of the team
15:50or the moment requires to bring different kind of profiles
15:54to help us to win football matches.
15:56And Monday, that's what I said, that it was a squad victory
15:59because everybody contributed and very specific qualities help us to win the game at the end.
16:05With that, would you see those kind of two, three midfields that started and finished the game
16:11a set partnership or can they all play in different combinations?
16:16Yeah, there are multiples. I started to do combinations
16:19and you cannot finish doing them and that's the beauty of it
16:22because they all complement to each other
16:24and because they all have the mindset to be able to play
16:27and occupy different spaces throughout the game
16:31and that's what we need from our midfields.
16:34And just finally, when we've spoken about the state of football,
16:38you've mentioned the Bayern PSG game quite a lot from last season.
16:42And one thing that stood out to me and I don't know if it stood out to you
16:45was PSG using two wingers on the same side of the pitch
16:50and it seems like Saka and Solis have done that a few times this season already.
16:55Is that something you would ask them to do or was it just them feeling the game?
17:00This is a very random situation, sometimes not something as a game plan,
17:04but the chaos of the game or sets and actions within the game
17:07because of our previous movement can lead you to those two wingers
17:12to play closer to each other because there are all models.
17:15Even if you want to the speed of the game, it doesn't allow you to make those movements
17:18because you're going to need time in order to bring players that are 60 metres apart closer together.
17:24So it has to do a lot with the dynamic and the opportunities that the game offers.
17:29OK, that finishes as live.
17:30We'll now go to...
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