Arteta on facing City and Guardiola (Full presser part two)
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on their clash with Manchester City and Pep Guardiola
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00:00 Does Declan Rice come to you in doing a similar job to that?
00:06 We know Rodri, I think everybody has described him as one of the best of the best holding
00:11 midfielder in the world, there's no doubt about that. With Declan I'm extremely pleased,
00:16 he can occupy different positions, I think he's been really, really good as a holding
00:20 midfielder and yes, he has the qualities, the presence, the command, the quality and
00:25 the understanding to be a top, top player for us in that position.
00:29 Has he adapted quicker than you hoped for when you signed him?
00:34 When you pay that sum of money you hope that they adapt really quickly. But there are certain
00:40 things that are very different but I think overall he's adapted really fast.
00:45 Does the fact that he knows a lot of the players, he knows the league, is that an important
00:50 factor in getting him in straight?
00:52 For sure. I think the league, the opponents, the demands that we have here and being the
00:57 player that he was on the national team in his previous club as well and having a really
01:01 important role, there are things that are really relevant for someone to adapt quickly.
01:05 The two games against City last season were probably the end of the season, the two games
01:12 that you beat in the title race, because you win one and you win the title. Does that still
01:18 haunt you a bit knowing that?
01:19 Yes, you still need to do a lot in the rest of them. I think no question, when we played
01:24 in Manchester they were much better than us. I think when we played them here in many,
01:29 many, many moments we were much better than them but we ended up giving the game away.
01:34 If someone had said to you then that it would be such a long run without beating City, what
01:53 would you have said?
01:56 That anything is possible in football and let's change it as quick as possible.
02:00 Can that become psychological?
02:15 I think change it. When I came here I think it was 18 years at Old Trafford, 17 at Stamford
02:21 Bridge and we've done it. So let's change it.
02:25 What I'm aware of is the qualities of the opponent and that's unquestionable. The only
02:36 thing I put my energy on is that on Sunday we have to be at our best for 100 minutes.
02:43 That's the thing we can control and we have to focus on because the rest is something
02:47 that we can't.
02:48 Declan and Thomas were very muscular in April, was that a reaction to the fact that you need
03:04 to have a little bit more of a physical player?
03:10 No, because we played them at home with the same team. Obviously we lost a few players
03:15 for that Manchester game, very, very important players for us. But we did play them at home
03:21 and it was a very different game.
03:23 But physicality is something you need in the league. They are one of the most powerful
03:27 teams in the league, that's for sure and you need to match that up.
03:31 You mentioned the moments, when you look at the last two home games against them, they
03:44 were both defined by very small moments, descending off the last goal. Where is the step and how
03:45 do you get those players to not make those mistakes in those key moments?
03:51 Well they weren't mistakes, they were actions as well. We had three huge clear cut chances
03:57 against them before they scored the second goal. We didn't manage to score and we got
04:01 punished by giving the ball away in the wrong area after regaining it straight away. But
04:06 these are the moments, small margins in football define who wins at the end in big matches
04:12 and those were some big moments for us.
04:14 Will you make any special decisions to try and stop Erling Haaland? If yes, why? If not, why?
04:25 Special, we talk about the qualities of the opponent, how we want to stop them, what the
04:30 sources are like with any other opponent. Then we do the individual preparation with
04:35 the players to understand who they are facing. But nothing different to this game.
04:41 Can you explain why you didn't feel that was a priority?
04:59 Because we believe in the players that we have, first of all. Because we have the resources
05:02 that we have, secondly. And because at the moment we feel that we are covering that position.
05:08 When City have the space to play, we've obviously all seen how much they can destroy opponents.
05:22 Does it need to be one of those games where you need the kind of warriors that you played
05:27 with for example in a match like this to be able to come out or at least get something
05:32 from the game?
05:33 For every big game you need the players to stand and make it count. And duels are a big
05:42 thing of those games. He goes either way, one way or the other. It's true that when
05:46 you have open spaces there are teams that can really hurt you as well. But if you defend
05:51 90 minutes in your box, as well.
05:53 What did you learn from the match against Ireland?
06:16 Like with any opponent, just stopping the sources and trying to do that. But those players
06:20 have the qualities to open you up in the right moment. That game was a while ago, it's going
06:27 to be different. They will try different things as well to what we do. We will prepare to
06:31 play in our strengths like we do every week.
06:33 With how you play in that game, does that show that you guys have that physical capability
06:37 to deal with those kind of players who are willing to put their arms out and really get
06:42 stuck in physically?
06:43 I think we do. I think we do have enough physicality in the back line to deal with those players.
06:49 Something is that we have to prove it in a reaction on Sunday.
06:52 With the weekend where City were defeated by the Wolves and you guys beat Bournemouth,
06:58 does that in a way show that if they slip up you're right behind them to capsize on
07:03 their errors? Is there any type of hedging?
07:08 At the moment we're just thinking about winning our games and playing as well as possible
07:11 to end the right to win them. After that, seven games gone in the season, there's still
07:17 so much to play for and we cannot be looking at City from the beginning.