Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on his "dark arts" to keep the media and managers guessing his starting XI
29/10/2024
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
29/10/2024
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00Since you've been here, just still how special is that trophy that's just yet to come?
00:08I can still picture the video of you dancing and dressing them, holding it in all the players.
00:13I mean, for all the title, going for the title and rebuilding the club and the squad,
00:19does that still stick in your heart and your mind as a real special moment?
00:22It was, it was such a special moment. Obviously the first trophy as a manager,
00:28especially what we were going through as a club in that moment after the COVID,
00:33which was an extremely difficult experience to all of us,
00:36so to bring some joy, unfortunately not being able to show it with our supporters live,
00:41but yeah, it was a great memory.
00:44I think when you talk to maybe some fans and they say,
00:48well, I'd rather finish in the top four and be in the Champions League
00:51than maybe win a League Cup or win an FA Cup,
00:54where in your mindset is it? Obviously you want to reach others,
00:57but how hard is it to give the preferential treatment that a club needs to go and win a trophy like that?
01:03I mean, maintaining the level, maintaining the hunger,
01:06maintaining the energy of a football team is extremely tricky.
01:09And when you think that you have everything, suddenly something happens, puff, and it comes down.
01:15So you have to be really alert. So every training session, every decision,
01:19every game is so important because at the end of the day,
01:21training is what energises you, is playing well, having a good feeling and actually winning.
01:26So you have to really look at every circumstance because it can really affect the team.
01:30So when it comes to this competition, the best thing we can do is perform really good,
01:34have a really good feeling about it and win. There's not a better thing that we can do.
01:38And just finally, this time it's Tommy Stepford, if he's the star,
01:41how nice it is in your head that you've now got a generation of keepers who are teenagers
01:46who have made their debuts, who have experience, who can step up?
01:50Because we often look at the squad in different positions and empires,
01:53but having that little keeper as well?
01:55Yeah, we have to build that, obviously, especially with Jack.
01:59We throw in there much earlier than we actually wanted.
02:03OK, it worked out and it was a beautiful day, but it's not ideal.
02:08You want to build something long-term, it's something that has to be built brick by brick,
02:13and they have to go through the right steps to those steps to be really solid,
02:18to be able to play at the level that we want them.
02:20That's what we are trying to do. It takes a while, but we have some good potential now.
02:26Just quickly, is it possible to win all four trophies?
02:29Is it realistic to even try and win all four?
02:32So we certainly have to try.
02:34That means that if you win a couple of them, you win three or you win the four,
02:39give yourself the best possible chance, that's for sure.
02:43Jürgen, can we always... I'm constantly asking you questions about which players you fit in,
02:49who you aren't fit in, you're always giving us updates...
02:53Sometimes more than...
02:56I understand, yeah.
02:58That was going to be the crux of my question, really,
03:01is that you tell us what you want to tell us.
03:04How much of that... Obviously, was he fit, wasn't he fit,
03:08did he look like he was and you told us he might not be, then he was.
03:11How much of that, the injury updates,
03:15how much of that is you making a decision on how much you want to give away
03:20to keep people guessing for your opponents, for us,
03:23to try and make marginal gains?
03:26That's my job. For me, I will tell you everything, but it has consequences.
03:31I need to be very careful because sometimes I can tell you a play is going to be a few weeks,
03:37and it's a few months, what happens.
03:40I don't know if a play is going to be fit in two days' time when we do the press conference.
03:43And sometimes when I know, I'm not going to lie to you.
03:46I'm not going to say, he's not fit, and then I play and I start.
03:49I would never do that.
03:51But if I am certain or I don't want to tell you, I will keep you guessing.
03:54This is my job.
03:55But as well, to keep these guys, everybody, alert as well, it's important.
03:59I was going to say, not accusing you of lying,
04:02but sometimes do you think you have to be a bit playful with how much you give away
04:08so that you don't give away too much?
04:11I don't want to make it easy for nobody.
04:13If the opponent has to work and think and prepare, make sure that they do the homework.
04:18I have to. I wish I knew the starting line-up and who's on the bench and so on,
04:22but I don't.
04:23It's our job as well to guess and do the work that we have to do.
04:27How difficult is it for a new manager to come into a club that has such huge expectations
04:41as you did here and have to build something with all that?
04:47How difficult was it for you to put in such a manager as a big club?
04:51It's very demanding, and even if you do an incredible job,
04:55your job is going to be to judge whether you win or not,
04:58and whether you win more than the exceptional teams that are already in this league
05:03that have been doing it for nine years.
05:05That is the level.
05:06So nobody is going to value how you have transformed something or do that.
05:10All they do is for a period of time.
05:12And even if you renew your contract, you can be in that position a few months later,
05:17and we've seen that.
05:18So that's the reality of our job, and we know.
05:22We are sitting here and we know that that's the case.
05:25Thanks, guys.
05:27Cheers.
05:30See you Friday.
05:34The other option is you don't ask me about it.
05:36I don't say nothing and then I don't have anything to do with it.
05:40That's the other option.
05:41See you guys.