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London Colney
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta previews their Premier League match at Nottingham Forest
London Colney
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta previews their Premier League match at Nottingham Forest
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00:13Good afternoon all, hope everyone's well. We'll kick off with the as live section and we'll go to 10.30.
00:19If you're all ready, we'll kick off with Gary.
00:22Hello, account.
00:23Hello.
00:23A week ago sitting there, you talked about the pain in the tummy caused by that right defeat that we've
00:28got on for three weeks.
00:30But that pain must have been relieved this week. Two great performances, two great goals.
00:35Yeah, we have responded really well in the last two games, two very good performances and results.
00:42And now we just focus on the game against Forest, which I know is going to be a really tough
00:47one.
00:48It's been a lack of goals last couple of trips to the city grounds.
00:53Lots of chances, but both 0-0. Can you promise us some goals?
00:59We're going to try really hard to score goals and to prevent goals as well.
01:04Both. It's going to be, as I said, a really tough match. Extremely well-coached team.
01:11We know that we already had experience with Oliver in the past and a team that at home can create
01:18a really special momentum.
01:20So we are ready for it.
01:22Talking about goals, 21 goals so far this season, 20 of them from open play, criticism for scoring these goals
01:33in our season.
01:34Is this something you've been working on?
01:38Look what you just said.
02:05Is this something you've made?
02:08It's got a really good time you were ready for this season, so it's going to be a little bit
02:09better.
02:33Again, I mean, we're getting criticized for scoring goals, you know, regardless of in the manner that we're
02:39scoring.
02:40The team is showing a great attacking flow, I think we've scored some beautiful goals,
02:44the value of the goals is exactly the same, so I think we have to be a team that is
02:48able
02:48to score in many, many ways and it will make it harder for the opponent.
02:53Can I just check up on the team news?
02:58Yeah.
03:09Well, Peter is evolving really well as well, and knowing his character and the way he pushes
03:18everybody, I'm sure it's not going to take long, I think, but he will need probably another
03:25week or two.
03:26Zuby looks much better, he already looked much better today, and we have another session
03:31tomorrow, and after that we'll assess whether he's available to play against Forrest.
03:42I'm very hopeful, but we have to see how this evolves.
03:48Again, doing really well, yesterday we had another MRI scan to see how the injury is evolving,
03:53it's progressing really well, another one that hopefully we can have back in a few weeks.
03:58And we know for a couple of weeks now that Williams has been out on the grass to do his
04:05own work,
04:05and you've already alluded to the fact that it may not be before the international break
04:09that we see him playing, is that still the situation?
04:12Again, I think next week we have another MRI with him to see how the healing process is
04:17at the moment, but every sign so far has been very, very positive, and yeah, it will be great to
04:23have him.
04:24Obviously that's a back injury, we didn't see it on the back row, the middle row,
04:28or the front row of the team function, what happened then?
04:33So what happened was that we have tried to do that picture three times already,
04:37and we have to cancel it last minute for different reasons,
04:41and we have some obligation, commercial obligation,
04:43we have people that came and fly over to do that, so we decided to do that picture at least,
04:49we will have another picture with the whole family, hopefully we can get them all together
04:53at some point one day and we'll announce that as well.
04:57So you're going to redo the picture?
04:59Yeah.
05:00Is he happy about that?
05:02It wasn't in his hands, but really, normally he's happy about everything,
05:07and he knows how much love he is, and they were taking some banter out of the place,
05:12and he's completely fine.
05:24Yeah, well, we can see the importance of him in the team, when he's physically at his best,
05:34he's an unbelievable player, a player that can really transform your way of attacking the aggression
05:42that he has in his defending part of the game, and a real character as well on that pitch,
05:47so, yeah, great to have him at that level.
05:49And a difficult question to Cal, it's not really one for you,
05:52but you're the one that sits in front of us twice or three times a week,
05:56and some sad news regarding the club, and inevitably, in this day,
05:59we're all big companies, big organisations,
06:03a review of manpower, some people are going to lose their jobs,
06:06what's your thought on that?
06:08Well said, first, because this question is not for me.
06:13So, I was explained about the exercise and analysis that has been done across the club,
06:19and with the intention always to evolve, to improve,
06:24some decisions have to be taken to put people in the right roles
06:28and keep investing to achieve what we want to achieve
06:33and all the success that we want to create.
06:35So, that's been explained.
06:37Obviously, I'm not the right person to answer that question, that's for sure,
06:41and hopefully everybody will respect that.
06:46Just a word on Myles Lewis Skelly, such a young man,
06:51constantly playing quite a lot so far this season,
06:53but sometimes good field, sometimes left back.
06:55Just a word on how impressive that is for such a young man.
07:00Yes, we just discussed that a few days ago,
07:02because we had a doubt when a player is in such a good moment,
07:05playing in a certain position.
07:08To change him is not ideal, but we had an injury with Piero,
07:12and we knew that at some point we were going to need it with the schedule that we have.
07:15He responded incredibly well.
07:16I think he had a big performance the other night,
07:19and that shows you the maturity, the capacity to adapt,
07:23the intelligence of the player, and he's in a really good moment.
07:26What did you then discuss with him before, depending on where he's going to play?
07:31Well, we always made him aware, especially when we have some thoughts to be prepared
07:35and to understand first of all the role,
07:37and to understand the things that he needs to dominate in that specific game.
07:42And he's very open, he knows that as well.
07:46Being able to play in different positions, as a six, as an eight, as a full-back,
07:51is going to open more possibilities to play.
07:54And that's a massive asset, and he's got the capacity to do that.
07:58And just last thing, on Forrest, are you surprised at the start of the game,
08:01he didn't have struggled a bit under the passing?
08:04Yeah, but in some games it was the result,
08:07because in terms of the performance and what he deserved for the game,
08:10it should have been very, very different, and we are very aware of all of that.
08:17Can I ask about Victor Jokeres,
08:19because it seems like last season when we were sporting,
08:21that was going to be the missing piece in the Arsenal Jiu-Jitsu,
08:24they may run the title and score goals,
08:27but this year doesn't seem to be going for him at the moment.
08:30How are you dealing with him, and how is he dealing with the fact
08:33that maybe he's not first-choice,
08:35he's not scoring as well as goals, striker as well?
08:38These are moments in a player's career, or in a season, I would say,
08:42and we are trying to help him as much as possible.
08:45The other day, I think, he has some very good moments,
08:48he's three or four times in front of the goal with no keeper,
08:51and the goal should arrive to him, and he doesn't,
08:53and maybe you are talking about something else,
08:56but these are the strikers, it's very small margins,
08:59scoring or scoring changes the narrative,
09:02for sure not the perception of how much he can help the team.
09:06I was also thinking about the calendar,
09:09we always go on two or three times a year about how much players can play,
09:13and how much rest they get.
09:16This is a busy week, Leeds, Neon, Forest, Bayern Munich,
09:20and so it goes on and on and on.
09:22There's very little time to rest.
09:24Have you thought again about, or have you got any more thoughts,
09:26about how maybe they're overworking players?
09:31The thoughts is how we'll recover them
09:33and get them in the best possible condition for the next match,
09:36because that's not going to change.
09:38It's a lot of talk about it,
09:40let's see what the action is after this season,
09:43but it doesn't look like it's going to change.
09:45The last one I was going to ask you is non-footballing,
09:47not about what you asked before.
09:50Sadly, you came prior past the Champions League,
09:52and you were someone I'd seen around the end of the season,
09:55about 35 years.
09:58Can you just give us a little tribute to what it meant to you and the football team?
10:03Well, as I said in the press conference after the match,
10:06I think if you had to embody someone to represent the soul and heart of this football club,
10:15that would be him.
10:16I think the way he came to the club and the way he leaves the club,
10:21the legacy he leaves in between in so many different roles,
10:24in so many different moments of the club,
10:27it's someone that is incredibly difficult to achieve.
10:31And he's done it through his full commitment to the club,
10:35love for the club and doing it in a manner that it was so special,
10:39because he was a character, he had a personality, an aura,
10:41anybody that has met him, that he was different to anybody else.
10:46Next slide.
10:48Actually, you're not going on Uri,
10:49and you've hardly been available against the last six months in the World Cup too.
10:53How difficult have the last six months been meant to be, I guess,
10:56and also the work has had to do to get back to it?
10:59It's been a challenge, but it's true that obviously he overcome a really difficult one as well
11:04on the first competitive match with Arsenal when he injured his ACL.
11:08So he had some background and some experience on that.
11:11I think he has used this time as well to challenge himself in other areas,
11:16probably to value more the profession and the fact that when you are available
11:21and you have the opportunity to play, it's just one of the best things that can happen to you.
11:26And then, yeah, I think he's put so hard because he has some difficult moments
11:31and he's put so hard with the people next to him to get him back to this level.
11:35You've spoken a lot that you've quite rarely had him and Ben fit at the same time.
11:39What is the relationship like between them?
11:41They sort of connected with each other and push each other off?
11:43Unbelievable.
11:44I just had the two of them there in my office reviewing the game.
11:49The way they talk to each other, the way they respect each other,
11:52the way they like each other, it's just a joy.
11:54That's why when somebody plays, the other one is there to support him.
11:58And that's what we need because with the amount of games that we play,
12:02it cannot be any different.
12:04Go ahead and talk about it.
12:06Michael, this one of Bruno.
12:09I was maybe expecting him to be slightly slow back after the international fight,
12:12given how far he travelled across the world,
12:14but he's really hit the ground running after coming off the bench against Leeds.
12:17Is there anything you put that down to in terms of being successful,
12:20maybe with his family, finding that kind of thing, or was it purely football?
12:26There were a few factors.
12:28They arrived to London on Sunday night,
12:31so we almost had six days before the game.
12:35And because they've been travelling and training,
12:37the temptation was, okay, land here on Sunday,
12:39get the chicken in and give them two or three days off,
12:42they can go to Marbella.
12:45No, no Marbella.
12:47They were in India, they were in Australia.
12:49What they needed is recover, sleep, eat well, have some proper training,
12:55and have to have a day off and two days to prepare the game.
12:58And I think that changed a lot
13:00because otherwise they would have been in a very different position.
13:03And just on Bruno again, five shots against Little,
13:06no player had more.
13:07When you signed him, everyone was kind of talking about the steal that he did,
13:11but is he someone that could actually put kind of decent numbers on the board
13:15in terms of scoring goals arriving in the box?
13:18That's one of the best attributes, I think.
13:21He's a player that is constantly playing to have the position,
13:25whether it is with passes, whether it is with runs, with shots, as you mentioned.
13:29And you could see his numbers last year as well,
13:31and he's a player that has to add a lot of value and impact in the final thirds.
13:38Hi.
13:39Just going back to Victor, you spoke that
13:41and he said he tried to help as much as possible.
13:44Is he struggling at all with confidence?
13:47Obviously, you say he tried to dodge the goals,
13:49and he's confident in those.
13:51That's a very personal question.
13:53I think what he transmits is an incredible will and determination
13:58and work to improve and help the team.
14:03That's it.
14:04And that's Victor every single day, regardless of his position,
14:07whether he has scored a goal or not.
14:09And that's why he's always an option to play.
14:12Just on the left-hand side,
14:14as you saw this,
14:15when you saw two players in that position,
14:20do you think that's going to be a flight in that side?
14:23Just a moment where you'd like to perhaps reinforce that area?
14:29Well, obviously, when somebody misses this a few weeks,
14:35you are lighter.
14:37Light? I don't know, but you are certainly lighter.
14:39Are we lighter as a left-back? Yes.
14:40Are we lighter as a centre-back when Mosquera was there? Yes.
14:44So that's what we want to be,
14:45players that are available and robust enough to be available always.
14:49And when they're not, somebody else.
14:50The good thing is that somebody has come in,
14:52whether it's EBS or none in this case,
14:55and they still perform and do really well.
14:57Okay, that patient as well.