Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gives a triple injury boost update on Saka, Gabriel and Timber
29/10/2024
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
29/10/2024
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00How is Gabriel after the injury?
00:03We are still assessing him, he doesn't look bad at all. He was much better the next day
00:08so hopefully he will be fine.
00:10Has he had a scan?
00:13He's done some tests, yes.
00:15Do you know roughly how long he's taking?
00:16No.
00:17Do you read the timbre?
00:19Jurgen is fine. Obviously he was very excited to be out for a while and he could not continue
00:26the game but there is nothing, no new injury at all.
00:29Was that cramp?
00:32He could not continue so we decided to make a very safe call but he was fine.
00:37And Riccardo Calafiori?
00:39He will be out for a few weeks I would say.
00:44William Saliba is back potentially after his suspension, potentially tomorrow night.
00:49Will you play him or go in for the weekend?
00:51I will decide that and when I decide we will see the team.
00:53What have you got to weigh up in terms of that decision?
00:56With William, the same as with the rest.
00:59Put the strongest team that we possibly can to win again.
01:02And Martin Overgaard as well. Is he back on the grass this week?
01:09He's been on the grass for a few weeks but there are still a few boxes to tick.
01:13How fast we can do that last stage of the rehab is a question that we will have to
01:18answer once we have players around and he starts competing with the team,
01:23something that he hasn't done yet.
01:24Do you think he will be back before the international break?
01:28Hopefully yes but we will have to see at that stage how it goes.
01:31Just in terms of how you treat tomorrow night, obviously a busy schedule,
01:35a few injuries, how do you balance the need to keep winning and the momentum
01:39against protecting those 13 players?
01:41We will try to find the right balance. As you said we have four very demanding matches
01:47now in different competitions, we want to win them all and we have to start tomorrow
01:51to create a good momentum again and we will put a strong team out there.
01:55Can I just get your reflections on Eric Tena's sacking yesterday?
02:01Well we're sad to see one of our colleagues losing his job.
02:07I think he's done a really good job, he's won titles there, he has changed a lot of things.
02:12He's a phenomenal coach and it's difficult when this happens.
02:17Unfortunately it's the exposure that we have as managers and we are always there in the line.
02:23Especially when you look at the game and how they lost the game, it was incredible.
02:28They made that decision and we wish him all the best for his new chapter.
02:35You mentioned managers' exposure and scrutiny,
02:39are you in a slightly different position to everybody else?
02:42We kind of think that the support you've had from Edu and the board and the project
02:48and trusting the process, you're kind of unsackable.
02:52No, nobody's unsackable. I think when you earn that,
02:55when this happens you have earned something and you have earned that back somehow.
03:00But here we are here to win football matches, never forget that.
03:03But you have been here five years already,
03:06in the great scheme of things of Premier League football managers that is a long time.
03:10Yeah, it is a long time, it's unusual. Unfortunately, it's very unusual.
03:16I have continued to do my job in the best possible way and again,
03:20football matches are the most important thing and you have to win many of those to keep your job.
03:25In terms of that then, how important is the League Cup?
03:28I mean, you've not won it as a manager,
03:31you're a city where Pep won it all the time and clearly saw it as being important,
03:36despite the fact that many people think it's the trophy that is the least important.
03:40Yeah, well it's important because it keeps everybody alive,
03:43you maintain the winning habit which is really, really important
03:47and you show that you care about every competition regardless of what you play.
03:51So you have to compete for every match, you are in or you are out,
03:55the margins are so small and tomorrow we're going to face a really tough opponent.
04:00And whilst it would be lovely if you could sit here and roll off your team,
04:03which I'm sure you're not going to do,
04:06how much of tomorrow is going to be about giving players and experienced players
04:12who haven't had a lot of game time, game time, and maybe some other young players
04:15like we've seen who are scaling when they come through,
04:18giving them a little bit more of a taste of what the first team is about,
04:21because that's important for them as well.
04:23Yeah, it is important. There are players who obviously haven't played that much
04:27and they will have their chance tomorrow, that's for sure.
04:30But you have to earn the right to play and when you have that right,
04:35you have to perform and you have to perform in a way to impact the team to win the game.
04:40And that's what we're going to demand to anybody,
04:42whether you are young, you are an experienced player
04:44or you've been playing regularly for us.
04:47Simon, you can start.
04:48Hi, Mikel.
04:49Hi.
04:49First, on a different note, we saw you and a few of the squad
04:53very suited and booted last night, what was that in aid of?
04:57Yeah, it was a beautiful evening, yeah.
05:00So we have created a partnership between two great foundations
05:05basically what they do.
05:06It changed the lives and hopes of a lot of children,
05:09that a lot of families, that especially they have a lot of special needs
05:14and we've been collaborating with them for almost 10 years
05:17and it's amazing what they do.
05:19It gives you so much perspective about life and we have the power,
05:24we have the ability to connect with a lot of people
05:27and to draw a lot of attention and to raise money,
05:31which is very important because at the end,
05:33these children, this family needs one infrastructure,
05:36they need doctors, they need attention
05:38and they need it in a consistent way.
05:40So doing it once and feeling good with yourself is not good enough.
05:44It's something that we have to build and create for many years to come
05:48and it's amazing what they've been doing.
05:51And also, when you're trying to juggle that team selection,
05:55you were obviously at City when Pep was bloodied in,
05:58Phil Fodor, which I think was one of the most high-profile young players
06:02and there was a lot of time where he was being pestered,
06:04you're not playing Phil, you're not playing Phil.
06:05How difficult is it for you with this group you've got
06:08and how much did you take from your time at City when Pep was managing Phil?
06:11Well, obviously I was there and obviously we knew the quality of that squad
06:16and how strong those teams were when you were putting them against any opposition,
06:20but we have a really good squad as well.
06:22It's true that at the moment, obviously, we are missing quite a lot of players,
06:25especially in certain positions, but you have to be really strong
06:28and you can make changes, but the team has to have a balance,
06:31it has to have a chemistry, it has to have an energy
06:34that has to be really good to end the right to win the game,
06:37especially when you're playing away from home.
06:39Can I just ask you one on Alex?
06:41Obviously the last two games, you've turned to Miles in that left-back position.
06:46Is Alex still a key player for you in this squad going forward?
06:49Yeah, well, that's decisions that are always difficult to make.
06:53You make them with the only intention to get the results
06:56and get the performance that you want,
06:58but Alex has already proven for many years,
07:01something that Miles has to do, that he has the ability to do it.
07:05Another one of your left-backs, Kieran Tierney,
07:08we've not seen him this season, but is he getting any closer to a return?
07:12I think he's quite close, he's looking really good.
07:14I think he's over the period where he was still struggling,
07:19so yeah, he looks really sharp out there.
07:21He hasn't trained with the team yet,
07:23but hopefully he can do that in the next week or two.
07:26In the last round against Bolton,
07:27it was obviously a big night for Jack Porter,
07:29the U17 goalkeeper.
07:31Is there a chance that maybe we'll see another young goalkeeper
07:34tomorrow night for Tommy Settford?
07:35And what have you seen from him since he's arrived in the summer?
07:39Yeah, well, obviously we brought him because we know that he's got the qualities
07:42that we're looking for for our goalkeeping area,
07:46but unfortunately he's been injured, so he hasn't really played,
07:49and let's see whether we play him tomorrow.
07:52In front of him, in front of the goalkeeping position,
07:56there's been so much instability in the back four this season.
07:59I remember last press conference you were talking about,
08:01it's not just the back four, it's the rest of the team,
08:02it's the unit, it's the midfield.
08:04I'm just wondering, how does that instability impact the whole team?
08:07Because it felt like, just as you were getting something going yesterday,
08:09the back four was in the back, sorry, against Liverpool,
08:11and the back four was working, Gabriel comes off and throws another spanner.
08:14How does that impact the rest of the team?
08:16Well, I planned for a lot of things for that game.
08:19Three different, four different scenarios, actually.
08:21I didn't plan for the one with Gabi because normally it doesn't happen.
08:24It happened, we have to adapt to it very early in the match as well,
08:29and, yeah, it is not ideal.
08:31It's what is happening at the moment that's making us think and learn a lot,
08:37and, yeah, we'll be stronger.
08:38There's no other way to look at it.
08:40Just finally on Myles as well,
08:42obviously you've thrown him in these big games,
08:43I'm just wondering what you've seen from him
08:45that makes you so confident to throw him in?
08:46Because City, Liverpool, they're massive games,
08:49maybe most of their team,
08:50but you wouldn't throw him in what you've seen from him?
08:52First of all, huge personality.
08:54He doesn't care, he plays with full belief,
08:59with a lot of commitment.
09:00He's got the qualities that we want in that position,
09:03to play outside, to play inside,
09:05defensively he's a really strong player and really wants it.
09:09When a player is like that, I don't care if he's from the academy, whatever,
09:12we need to give them the opportunities
09:14and he has the right to play those games.
09:17James, I'll let you go.
09:18Hi, Mikel.
09:19After the Liverpool game on Sunday, Jamie Carragher on Sky
09:22compared your managerial approach and tactical idea to Jose Mourinho,
09:28and I just wondered, he even said that you're more similar to Jose in some ways than Pep,
09:34I wonder what you made of that comparison?
09:36I don't talk about myself.
09:41That's their job, to talk about others,
09:43so I let him give his opinion the way he can.
09:48Has he been a reference for you at all, Jose?
09:50Jose?
09:51Yeah.
09:51For sure, I know since I was 15 years old, he coached me.
09:54At one?
09:55Yeah, he was in Barcelona.
09:58I mean, he's won, I don't know, 26, 28 titles,
10:01so it is someone to really admire the way he's done it,
10:06the way he's changed the culture in clubs,
10:08the way he's done it in different countries.
10:14Do you take it as a compliment in that case?
10:17I take it as an opinion.
10:19I don't like myself comparing to nobody,
10:22because I'm myself, so I don't know.
10:24I don't do things because other people have done things,
10:27I do things that I believe are the best thing for the players and for the team,
10:32to get us success and play the way we want to play, that's it.
10:37Hi.
10:37What would your message be to the travelling fans who will be there to support you?
10:43Keep doing what they're doing.
10:44They've been absolutely phenomenal.
10:45We really thank you for the time, the effort and everything that they invest in,
10:50and we are really grateful.
10:52Hopefully we're going to perform really well and give them a lot of joy.
10:56OK, there's a question from Spanish media.
11:12What's your message to the fans who will be there to support you?
11:18We're going to see a lot of changes tomorrow for these players.
11:23It's not a question of giving.
11:24If they play, it's because they deserve it, just like everyone else.
11:28In the end, we have to reward the people who behave in a certain way every day
11:32and have the level to play the way we want to play.
11:35And if that's the case, I don't care.
11:37If they're academy players, young or old, they'll play tomorrow.
11:41And are there academy players who have the chance to play tomorrow?
11:46Yes, all those who are in the first team and play with us have the chance tomorrow.
11:51OK, perfect. Thank you very much.