Arteta on the pain from West Ham loss, focus on Newcastle and the atmosphere at St James Park (Full Presser)
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta speaks on the impact of their EFL Cup loss to West Ham, moving forward from that and focusing on Newcastle in the Premier League
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00:00 pain gone away yet from Wednesday night?
00:05 It's still always there. I think every time you have a defeat it takes a few days to get
00:09 over but the full focus now is on Newcastle. It's obviously things that we had to do much
00:14 better in the game, especially the way we competed, the way we conceded the goals. I
00:20 don't think that the scoreline reflects what happened in the game at all but we should
00:28 have done much better.
00:29 Did you learn much about the depth of your squad in that match?
00:33 You learn about that every game is very different to the previous one and you have to be at
00:40 it and you take the foot out of the gas in any action in this league against this type
00:44 of opponent. You get punished and it's as simple as that. You have to keep the standards
00:49 at the maximum level and you want to keep winning and winning.
00:52 Are you able to welcome back any players who haven't been available over the last few weeks?
00:59 We have another training session so there is a possibility but I don't know.
01:05 Have you got any further details on Emil Smith-Rowe?
01:09 Nothing has changed. As I said I think he will be out for weeks. How many will determine
01:14 obviously in relation to how he progressed the first few weeks especially. Big blow because
01:21 he was getting some momentum and some minutes and we started to get the Emil that we needed
01:26 but unfortunately he's going to be out again.
01:28 Martin Oerlegaard's playing time has been managed over the last two matches. How much
01:33 has that benefited him and will he be in a position to potentially start tomorrow?
01:38 We have tried to upload him a little bit because he had a little issue that he was grumbling
01:43 with. He felt much better in the last few days. We gave him a few minutes against West
01:47 Ham which was good to see and his contribution was really good. He will train today and if
01:53 he's fine he will be ready.
01:55 The West Ham defeat was just your second loss of the season, unbeaten still in the Premier
02:01 League and a chance to go top tomorrow if you're victorious. How do you reflect on the
02:05 start of the season?
02:06 It's very early. We have to go game by game. We are in a really good position and we have
02:12 to continue to be there. Tomorrow we have a really tough match against Newcastle but
02:16 it's the games you have to play when you want to be at the top.
02:19 How concerned are you that the standards you speak of and the quality that Arsenal fans
02:35 have become used to seeing their team play dropped so much?
02:40 It dropped especially in one phase in the second half. When that happens then you have
02:45 to compete in a different way to try to recover the momentum in the game and we didn't do
02:51 that well enough. We know the standards and we know that the way we play, especially in
02:55 the second half, the other day is not good enough.
02:58 In terms of Newcastle tomorrow, they're unbeaten since their loss to Brighton. St James' Park
03:04 has become a fortress in Leicester. How much of a test are you expecting?
03:09 A big one. One of the toughest places to go and win. We've done it. There's nothing new
03:15 to it. We know what we expect. Very, very clear what they do, what their strengths are,
03:20 what the opportunities are as well for us and we will try to take the game where we
03:24 want.
03:25 Are you seeing a confident squad that can recover from that game?
03:31 This is football. The next game is the next game. The next day you have to be focused
03:34 and our full focus energy is now beating Newcastle. That's it.
03:37 What do you make of the job Eddie Howe has done? When Newcastle were taken over and became
03:48 the richest club in the world, a lot of people wondered whether or not he would be able to
03:52 take them to the next level.
03:53 A huge credit to him. I think he has transformed the club, the environment, the atmosphere.
03:58 What he has created in the team as well. Such a belief in what they do and that's a huge
04:04 compliment to him for what he's done.
04:06 Do you think you've both in a way done similar jobs with the clubs you're at?
04:11 I don't know. Every club is different. I have a huge credit for what he's done. The way
04:14 he's done it, the way his team plays, the environment he has created is fantastic. He
04:22 had a lot of support which we all needed as well and they are now big contenders.
04:27 You were talking about how the standards maybe dropped a little bit at West Ham the other
04:31 night. Can I ask you a question I asked you a month ago and you said no, so you'll probably
04:36 say no again. Are you concerned about the form of Kai Havert amongst a lot of players?
04:42 No, I'm not going to put any individual as you expect. We are a team and we play for
04:46 the best. It's the team when we don't. I am the maximum responsible for that and we all
04:52 need to try to improve every single day.
04:54 Finally, a player you've been linked with, I'm not necessarily saying you're going to
04:58 buy him or even interested in him, is Ivan Toni. This week Brentford apparently put a
05:03 £100m price tag on him if someone wants to buy him in January. It's more about that really.
05:08 You spent £100m on a player in the summer, Chelsea spent £100m twice on a player. It
05:13 now seems that we've gone from being £20m, £30m, £40m is quite a lot to spend on a
05:18 player to nearly every player is now worth £100m. As a manager and someone who's been
05:23 involved in football for a long time, do you find that a little bit crazy?
05:28 I think there's been an evolution. We've gone from the tens to the twenties to the eighties
05:32 to the hundreds. There have been players that cost £220m as well. It's not that we are
05:38 getting used to it but it's something that is happening and it's happening more and more
05:43 often. About all the players, all the clubs, what we are doing, there's no comment on that.
05:49 Is that something the manager thinks about, the price tag, how much it costs to buy the
05:52 player before they buy him?
05:53 First of all, what can we do to improve our team and then can we afford it? Does it make
05:58 sense in our project to spend certain money on certain players? There's a lot of work
06:06 to be done there.
06:07 Ben White will make his 100th appearance for Arsenal if he plays tomorrow, I assume he
06:14 will. Can you talk about his evolution from someone who struggled on his debut to someone
06:19 who is now probably one of your key players?
06:21 I think he's progressed in the right way in the last few years. As you said, he had a
06:29 little bit of a difficult start, which is normal because it was a big jump. Different
06:33 expectations, he started to play as well in certain different positions. But I think he
06:37 showed a lot of dissemination and courage to overcome any of that. I think he has a
06:43 big personality, I think he goes with pressure really well, he has a lot of quality, he gives
06:48 different positions and he's been a key player for us.
06:52 A lot of your key players over the last year have signed new deals. Is Ben in your opinion
06:57 the next one off the ranking in that regard as well? Is he close to a new deal?
07:00 Yeah, we always try to keep the squad in a healthy position in any way and the club and
07:06 Eibar especially are working on that.
07:19 He's a really good character on his own way and the way he is, the way he presents himself.
07:25 But he loves football. The way he trains every day, the way he applies himself is top and
07:33 we need players like him.
07:34 On his injury, do you know if he's going to definitely be back after the international
07:43 break?
07:44 I cannot guarantee that. We are trying to get a recovery as quick as possible. I said
07:49 that it will be weeks but very difficult to put a time frame still right now.
07:52 When you're planning your squad, he's obviously such an important player. How disruptive is
07:56 this, the 34th injury he's had in the last year?
08:02 Football is what happens. He hasn't had a lot of muscle injuries. It's true that the
08:06 load he's had in the last few weeks to what he's done in the past, even when he was at
08:11 City has been very, very different. He's still adapting to it. We lost four big players in
08:18 the last few weeks but it's the challenges that you have throughout the season.
08:21 Is the fact that he's played eight or ten games in the league so far and that he's got
08:30 such a big role in the squad, does that vindicate his decision to stay in the fight rather than
08:35 go somewhere else where he was guaranteed playing?
08:38 Yes, but I think he has earned that right. We tried to explain what his role was in the
08:44 team and then the opportunities that he was going to have, like any other player, in relation
08:49 to his performances. The fact that he's played that many games is for his own performances
08:54 and the reason he's given us to trust him.
08:56 Before you arrived at Arsenal, the record away from home, there were some issues with
09:03 it, but you've really addressed that, especially against big teams and tough places, you're
09:07 going to win in Seville this season and last season you won at Newcastle as well. Can you
09:12 pinpoint the reason why that's changed so dramatically under your tenure?
09:16 First of all, belief and then performances. You need to be so convinced that you go to
09:21 Newcastle and you fully believe that you're going to win the game. It has to be really
09:26 clear what we have to do in order to achieve that. Then obviously quality and talent to
09:31 get the performances that we need and that's down to the players.
09:35 I'm curious as to your thoughts on how the midfield has evolved since he's left and how
09:44 the new players coming in have changed things?
09:46 Yeah, Granit was a key player. He played almost every game for us and we knew that he was
09:51 going to take some time, like he did take some time, especially when I changed his role.
09:56 There were a lot of questions about it and then he evolved in a great way and here it
10:02 will happen the same.
10:04 The U17 World Cup squad was announced yesterday. It features two head-enders. Is that a testament
10:10 to all the hard work done by your staff and your team to have two players so talented
10:15 in it?
10:16 Yeah, big compliment to the club, to everybody at the academy that has raised the boys. They
10:22 look really excited. It's going to be an incredible experience for them so wish them all the best.
10:30 With St James' Park, the atmosphere has been massively changed. What were your memories
10:36 of it last season and how much did you take from the way the squad has coped with it and
10:40 got a result?
10:41 You play football, you want to play in those atmospheres. It's like going to Sevilla.
10:45 You know what you're going to get. It's an incredible privilege to play in those grounds
10:49 and you have to embrace the moment and enjoy it and go for it because it's worth it. This
10:56 is the arena that you want to be tested in.
10:59 When you spoke about Anfield before, you described it as a jungle. How would you describe
11:04 going to St James' Park?
11:06 An incredible football atmosphere.
11:10 On the title race, this is the first time in Premier League history we've got three
11:16 teams with at least 24 points. How competitive and how many teams do you feel could be in
11:21 this title race this season compared to years gone by?
11:24 What has happened in the last five years in this league is something unprecedented. It
11:27 never happened with the amount of points, with the level of the teams. Now it's the
11:31 amount of teams with that level that is increasing and increasing. That's why comparing to the
11:36 past this league is a waste of time. It's very different to what it used to be and that
11:41 puts the demands of what we do every single day on a different scale.
11:44 You've got Spurs at the top of that. Are they a team you view as a title rival this season?
11:49 They are right now. They merit to be where they are.
11:53 Yes.