Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the impact of Declan Rice ahead of the North London Derby against Tottenham
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00:00 quickly he's settled to become an important player?
00:02 I presume this is a game made for him, isn't it?
00:04 This is a big London rivalry.
00:07 Yeah, I think he's heard a lot about it already.
00:09 And, yeah, in a really natural way,
00:13 he's doing what he's done in the last few seasons
00:16 and for us in an extraordinary way.
00:18 I think he's really enjoying our way of playing, first of all.
00:23 And then I think he's competing and performing at a really high level
00:28 right from the beginning, which is always a question mark when you move teams.
00:32 He's new to the club, but as a Londoner and West Ham,
00:34 he knows all about the rivalry at the top.
00:36 Will that be important for you on the pitch on Sunday?
00:39 Yeah, he knows, obviously, and he's played many derbies as well,
00:42 and he knows what to expect and I'm sure he will set the tone.
00:46 Has he exceeded your expectations so far?
00:49 In terms of how quickly he has adapted, probably yes.
00:54 Yeah, you're all hoped, and especially when you pay big money,
00:58 that it's going to happen and it happens soon,
01:00 because he's going to help everybody, I'm really pleased with it.
01:04 Just finally, you talked about people around the club and in the street
01:07 talking about this match.
01:09 We know your boys are big Arsenal fans now.
01:11 Are they going to be here on Sunday? Are they getting excited?
01:13 They say, "Come on, Dad, you've got to win."
01:14 Everybody is, everybody around us knows the occasion
01:19 and the game that we are playing on Sunday, and they are all excited.
01:22 Harry?
01:23 - Hi, Mika. - Hi.
01:24 In the Champions League, David Reah hasn't had to make that many saves
01:30 in his three games, but he made one after about one minute midweek.
01:36 Is that a sign still about the whole team being alive and alert
01:42 in the early minutes of a game?
01:44 Because I know there have been three occasions in the league,
01:47 and I was wondering, I know you analyse a game, you must have noticed it.
01:51 You have done very well, and I noticed that and I didn't like it.
01:55 We have to react and we have to be sharper,
01:59 and I'm more on it right from the beginning,
02:02 especially at home with what happened a few times.
02:05 How do you safeguard against it?
02:07 Because you can talk about it, but it needs to happen on the pitch.
02:11 Is it a team thing?
02:12 I don't have a clue, that's the reality.
02:14 Because we used to have a lot of people play a send-off,
02:19 we used to talk about it and play with it, and I don't know, we made it worse.
02:22 We said, "We need more clean sheets at home,"
02:25 and then we decided not to do it and we got a clean sheet at home,
02:29 which hasn't been that many in the last 30 games.
02:32 So, I don't have that answer yet, if I'm honest.
02:36 OK, good.
02:37 You've got a tremendous home record against Tottenham,
02:42 I'm thinking is that something you have to guard against complacency?
02:45 I think they've won once in 17 league games maybe now.
02:49 It won't be any of that.
02:51 We know the level of the opponent, we know the game we have to play,
02:55 and we have huge respect for them, but at the same time,
02:58 obviously we're going to go for it and win the game.
03:01 And finally, we've got Sam.
03:02 Hi, two questions in one, if you don't mind.
03:05 Who do you think will have more of the ball, and does it matter?
03:09 I don't know!
03:11 I don't know, and what matters at the end
03:15 is to be better than them in the areas that are very relevant to win the game.
03:19 That's not something that is a big concern.
03:24 People describe you both, you and Ang, as possession-based,
03:28 you want to keep the ball and dominate it.
03:30 Do you mind, would you be happy to not do that,
03:33 if it meant winning one down on the break, for example?
03:35 Well, I don't know, I think every manager has his own belief,
03:39 I don't feel comfortable dominating the game without the ball,
03:45 it's something I don't know how to do.
03:47 So, we want to both have the ball, that's for sure,
03:51 in the right areas, with the right players on the ball,
03:53 and creating what we want to create.
03:56 Let's see.
03:57 A different challenge, because in previous seasons,
04:00 Spurs haven't wanted to play in the same way as Arsenal have.
04:03 Yes, and they've been really comfortable with that as well,
04:06 just allowing you to progress and having space to attack you in the right moments.
04:10 It happens in the league, we have many different opponents,
04:13 some of them have an approach that they are super aggressive,
04:16 they go man-to-man over the field.
04:18 We are used to it in the Premier League already,
04:20 and in Europe against PSV it was very different,
04:22 the first few minutes when they changed, they were a goal or two down,
04:25 and they changed their approach and opened spaces as well.
04:28 So, let's see.