00:01So if we kick off probably with the UK and we'll kick off with Alex from the BBC here, I
00:06think we've gone on mics.
00:12Hi Mikel, just start with some team news please from the weekend, how is Piero Hincapie, Martin Zubmendi I know
00:18was back on the bench and then any other updates from the squad?
00:20Yes, Zubi is back with us, so he will be involved tomorrow and Piero, let's see if he's able to
00:27train the next few days as well, he can be available for Everton which is great news.
00:33This is obviously a massive game, two of the biggest teams in the competition, you've changed mentality a lot since
00:39you've come into Arsenal, so how much of a big step would this be if you're able to get a
00:44win here considering what happened last time?
00:46Well, really looking forward to the game, this is the stage, this is the kind of team, this is the
00:51kind of coach, this is the kind of club, the stadium that you want to be involved in, so we
00:56have prepared the game with loads of enthusiasm and I'm ready to thrive to come here and win the game
01:02tomorrow.
01:03And I know there's been a lot of talk already about Ebrecht Jeze after the last game, just now there's
01:10been a couple of days since that match, why do you think maybe it seems that he is struggling a
01:15little bit to find his best form at this part of the season?
01:17This is good because we have some really good players, the expectations are so big for all of them and
01:24we want more from everybody and that's the mindset and that's why it's going to make us better individually and
01:31as a team.
01:33So I hope that continues because that's going to push all of us to reach different kind of levels and
01:38be better.
01:39Gary from Sky, just behind there.
01:43Looking at it selfishly, a couple of potentially bits of good news, obviously Michael Alise, red carded, won't be involved
01:50tomorrow, how big an advantage will that be for Arsenal?
01:55Well, I don't know, you want to face the best players in these kind of games and he's out when
02:00you look at their squad and the starting possible 11 that they have.
02:04You know, first of all, as a team, one, how incredibly well coached they are, the mindset that they have,
02:11the conviction that they have in their reaction and then individual quality moments that they can create throughout the games
02:17when you look at the goals and chances that they generate.
02:20So that's the position that you want to be facing and we will be facing tomorrow and we're just going
02:26to confront that and go for it.
02:29You talked about them being well coached, obviously in some companies, not very well at all.
02:34Seems to be a feeling in mind that we'll make it tomorrow, certainly in terms of being at the stadium.
02:39I'm sure he'll be involved in any case.
02:42Just your thoughts on that, will that be an advantage?
02:44Well, I hope that he gets soon better.
02:47I hope that he's there tomorrow because it will be very good for the game that his presence is there.
02:54And then, yeah, huge admirer of him, one as a person, because I got to know him and I worked
02:59with him for a few years.
03:00And then what he's done as a coach, his career where he started at first of all in Belgium, then
03:06at Burnley and now what he's doing here.
03:09Because I think the identity and the quality that his team shows in the last few years, it's another level.
03:16And that's a big grade for him.
03:18Ian Delimail.
03:20Hi, Mikel.
03:21I'm sorry to bring this up, but Graeme Souness has got quite a big voice in the English media.
03:26And he's called Bakayo Saka a cheat today on a podcast.
03:31I wonder if you have a view on that.
03:33I haven't heard it and I'm not going to make any comment about opinions.
03:37When people do talk about players in that way, though, is there a danger that it becomes accepted as a
03:45truth and that referees hear it?
03:47He's accusing him of diving, basically.
03:49Has it become dangerous for players getting reputations that they might not deserve?
03:53I don't know.
03:53We are open to opinions.
03:55It's part of our job.
03:56It's part of our roles.
03:58And those opinions have to be respected, especially if they are done in a respectful way.
04:04And we are here to prove that we belong to this level, to this stage.
04:09And certainly always have the intention and the ambition to improve and be better.
04:16That's it.
04:17Dave from the Guardian.
04:18Hi, Mikel.
04:19Over here.
04:20Are you excited to play a team tomorrow night in Bayern Munich who are going to bring the game to
04:25you and play on the front floor?
04:26It might, I don't know, maybe even unlock something in your own team.
04:30Yeah, we know the kind of game that we're going to play.
04:33I think both teams are very clear on that and we've experienced that at the Emirates.
04:37And it's going to be a very similar one in many moments, especially we have the level of connection and
04:45positiveness around the team.
04:48So, yeah, very excited about it.
04:51I just wanted to follow that up.
04:52Do people, I don't know, like fans, pundits, journalists, whatever, underestimate how hard it is to play against a very
05:00low block?
05:02But again, because the low block demands a different kind of game to the high block with a team that
05:06is constantly putting the ball in the last line.
05:09It's different.
05:10I think it requires something different to the team.
05:14Still, I think on Sunday, we could have done things better and that's in our hands and we need to
05:20recognise that openly as well.
05:21But we did a lot of great things as well during the game against a really tough opponent, very, very
05:27well coached as well.
05:28And we did something that we didn't manage to do two years in a row.
05:31So, that's another step and a positive one, a really positive one.
05:36And then we learn from it and we go.
05:38Simon, the sun.
05:39Michael, can I just ask you, obviously the Champions League final was a very painful defeat.
05:47Is that something that you used the summer to get over or is it something that you've kept inside you
05:51when you're trying to go and win the competition this season?
05:55I tried, but I haven't managed.
05:57That's the right idea.
05:59So, I tried for many weeks during the summer, even today.
06:02And when I see the ball, when I see the music, when I see the scenes, I won it so
06:08badly.
06:08We know that we have to go step by step.
06:11But I think that fire is within the team and all of us individually because we know what we have
06:17to go through by a penalty, not being Champions of Europe.
06:21So, yeah, let's try again.
06:23James ESPN.
06:24Michael, just on some of the style questions that you've been getting.
06:28I mean, you've won 10 out of 11 games in all competitions, but is it part of the scrutiny that
06:33maybe comes with Champions that people are looking at how you play as well as how you win?
06:38But this is for every team, guys.
06:39If you analyse the top teams in England and I go, okay, what are they talking about?
06:43They all have a list, eh?
06:45So, we all have a list because none of us are perfect.
06:47Thanks God that we are not perfect.
06:49Thanks God that we can still improve even though we have won the amount of games that we've done.
06:54Because otherwise, the next day, what do you do?
06:56You just expect to be better than the opponent and that's it.
06:58And especially in the Premier League, we know that that's very far from the reality.
07:02There does seem to be this debate around the style of the team at the moment.
07:06Are you sort of aware of that?
07:07Do you think it's...
07:08I don't have that impression because I heard that the style was incredible because we have scored so many goals.
07:13We have more possession, more shots, different players participating, no goals on set pieces.
07:17So, the story is completely different to last year and it will be a part.
07:22I think we are talking about a very small minority.
07:26I think the other ones, they know that I think they have enjoyed a lot the way we have played
07:30and dominated games this year.
07:33And I think we have proven that.
07:35So, that's my opinion.
07:36Art Athletic.
07:39You speak about being at this stage, this stadium.
07:42I think the first time you came here with Arsenal, it was a 2-0 win for Arsenal, but they
07:47lost on away goals.
07:49And I was just curious, obviously there's no away goals tomorrow, but what you could remember about playing in a
07:54game that involved away goals at the time?
07:57I remember it was a quite bizarre tie and game, that one, because of the feeling.
08:02But, yeah, you know that when you come to that stadium, you know what you're going to be facing.
08:06And the level, the standards and the quality that's going to require to get out of this stadium tomorrow with
08:13another three points.
08:15You've spoken about how rules can change the way football matches are played before.
08:20With the Champions League getting rid of away goals a few years ago, how do you feel that's kind of
08:24changed the competition?
08:26Do you think it's better for it or would you prefer away goals to stay?
08:29In my opinion, it's much better.
08:31And I think it keeps both teams as well very much at it and less speculation.
08:35This is my feeling.
08:37OK, we'll do the last three.
08:38John from the BBC up here.
08:40Hi, Mikel.
08:41On the subject of opinions, what did you think of Oliver Glasner suggesting that maybe Gabriel and Konza are the
08:48best defensive partnership in the world at the moment?
08:52That's a great opinion.
08:56For me, my players are the best in the world and I think the partnership that they have developed in
09:02such a short period of time, it is remarkable.
09:06Credit to both of them, credit to the rest of the team as well.
09:08But I think on Sunday, both of them, especially in key moments, they were exceptional again.
09:13This against Harry Kane, is that the ultimate test for central defenders right now?
09:20Well, they get tested a lot in the Premier League, certainly.
09:24And they have already done in the Champions League.
09:26I think what Harry is doing and he's done in the last few years is just something else, another level.
09:33And that's the level they're going to have to face tomorrow.
09:35OK, we'll do the last two.
09:36First to Gary and then Daniel.
09:37So first to Gary for the Times.
09:39Can I just ask you, last time you were here, you left after a defeat talking about magic moments and
09:45needing the magic moments to win the big games.
09:49Two and a half years on, do you think you've had enough magic moments consistently now and at all going
09:56forward?
09:57We can see that at the end of the season.
09:59I think so far, yes, because in the games that we have played, we have produced those moments and they've
10:05been produced by different players, which is something very positive.
10:09And this is football.
10:10Tomorrow we have to show it here in this arena, what we are made of.
10:15OK, finally, Daniel from Benchviews on this side.
10:17Good evening, Mikkel.
10:18A lot of talk about Esri having an exceptional start to his Arsenal career.
10:21Are you aware that Harry Kane has never scored an open play goal against him in seven games?
10:27Sorry, sorry?
10:27Harry Kane has never scored an open play goal against Esri in seven games.
10:32No, I didn't know.
10:33And also, speaking on one of your former teammates, Serge Gnabry, he spoke about how he was playing out wide
10:41and now he starts in the 10 and he's a bit more fluid and he's using space more.
10:45Did you see him evolving his game like that or was it always him being a wide player, being very
10:50electric?
10:51Sorry, the question is what?
10:52Did you always see Serge, your former teammate, Gnabry?
10:55Did you see him always being a wide player or did you see him transitioning into being a number 10
11:00and behind the striker?
11:01No, it's true that playing wide he was very comfortable coming in because he dominated both feet.
11:06He was a 360 player for a winger, which is quite unusual to do.
11:11A little bit like Alex Chamberlain, they have both of them, that kind of range and capacity and qualities to
11:19play in these spaces.
11:21I'm really happy for him personally, for what he's done over the last few years, the way he's developed himself
11:26and what he's done in the game.
11:28Okay, thanks everyone. See you tomorrow.
