Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the injury to Ben White, other fitness problems and the challenge of facing Nottingham Forest
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London Colney, London, UK
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London Colney, London, UK
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00:00Some positive, some others not so. Trosa seems to be okay. He trained this morning and he
00:25seems to be feeling good. We will assess everything with the doctor right now but he was able
00:29to do part of that session so that's good.
00:32Bukayo and Declan as well, they have the first session today, partial session, so very good
00:40as well.
00:41Ben is going to be out for months, unfortunately, yes.
00:47It's been a different kind of struggle, it's never been the same thing but we had to make
00:56a decision, it's not been improved in the last few weeks, unfortunately. We know that
00:59Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point where we had to protect the
01:03player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and obviously that's going
01:09to keep him out for a few months.
01:11A few months, so when you say a few months that could be anything, have you got a full
01:17cut figure?
01:18I don't know at the moment. We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect
01:23him to be half of a year but I cannot tell you exactly.
01:28Calafiore?
01:29Ricky trained today, so his rehab has gone really well. He was able to set some things
01:38last week with the physios, he trained on the pitch this week, he trained with us today
01:42as well so he's back in the squad.
01:45Chiellini?
01:47Chiellini and Tomiyasu and now I think we're done.
01:50Kieran not yet, he had a couple of sessions with the team but not ready yet to be with
01:57the team and Tomiyasu is going to be out as well for a period.
02:01Anyone else?
02:03You went through a lot of players at the moment, so not that I can think of.
02:11I know that you like to break the seasons down into blocks and in that last block there
02:17were no Premier League wins, so I wondered how much you've taken this time to almost
02:24reset, reset yourself, reset the squad, where you've maybe got inspiration, how you've
02:29thought about getting your side back with their manager, the sort of processes you've
02:35been through?
02:36Well, analysing everything that we've done, the reason why we haven't won games is because
02:41the opponent is superior to us, the clear answer is no. Should we want more of those
02:47games? The answer is yes.
02:49Do I like what our team is doing? The answer is yes but we have to improve certain things
02:54in terms of especially how we have defending and attacking the box.
02:58But overall I can think of a lot of things but I need to understand how the players are
03:04doing and the only way to do that apart from communicating with them on the phone is when
03:07they come back. And the energy of the staff and players yesterday, it was unbelievable.
03:12That's the joy of being with these guys in this journey. They love being here, they love
03:17to be back with us and that brings the energy up straight away. It's not much that I need
03:23to do but it's always good to paint the picture and make sure that we are on the right track.
03:31Pep is staying on. How is that news received in the Arteta household?
03:42If it's what he really wants and I'm sure it is, congratulate him. I already did it
03:47and I'm happy for him because I want the best for him.
03:50It's great for Premier League, is it great for you and Arsenal's title ambitions?
03:55Well, we can only do what is up to us and we have to be our very best to try to achieve
04:00what the others can't do. It's not our decision.
04:05Tomorrow will be your 250th match in charge of Arsenal in the competitions.
04:09I wanted to ask you how much you've enjoyed the experience?
04:12A lot.
04:14And how satisfied you can be with what you've achieved so far?
04:19Well, extremely grateful, very happy, enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoy it because of
04:28the people that I work with every single day and because I understand how lucky we are
04:32to be sitting where I am and you always want more. I feel a huge pride to see the people
04:41that work in the organisation, how they feel about the club right now, what we transmit
04:46as a football club, as a team, the people that I work with. It's about winning at the
04:52end. You want to win more, you want to win big trophies and we are on that journey.
04:58Do you have another 250 in you?
05:01If it's about energy and what I love doing, for sure.
05:06Just on Nottingham Forest, 11 points with them on the table. Has that form this season
05:10come as a surprise to you?
05:13Well, they've been really good, they've been really consistent, they've been top against
05:17the best opposition especially, so big credit to Nuno, the coaching staff for what they
05:22are doing. Very clear, their intentions, how they manage to take the games where they want.
05:29Really impressed to be fair, we've already done.
05:32On beating at home this season, how much confidence does the home support give you playing at
05:36the Emirates?
05:37We love playing at the Emirates, we know that we have a unique atmosphere with our supporters
05:42there and again, the way I saw the team the last 48 hours gives me a lot of confidence
05:49so we're going to be full tail to go on and try to win the game.
05:57You asked about your 250th game in charge of Arsenal, what would you say your achievements are?
06:04If I ask you right now, what is one or two things you massively achieved in those 250 games?
06:11I would bring the club together 100 per cent, lifting the spirit, giving a very clear DNA
06:19to the football club and I said pride again to be representing this club and this shirt
06:27from the players and everybody involved for the club in the way that is expected at this level.
06:32Is the only thing you need to do now are trophies?
06:34It's not the only one, you have to maintain a lot of the things that you do.
06:39Sometimes you achieve them but they can drop very quickly so it's maintaining them,
06:44that's a work that you have to do consistently every single day but now it's about winning,
06:48that's the next step for sure.
06:50You asked about Pep's new contract, you said you were happy for him, you congratulated him,
06:54did you ever think he wasn't going to stay?
06:58Have you seen signs recently that he was getting bored or tired?
07:04I had no clue to be fair and he's done that in the past as well, in Barcelona it was every year,
07:09then in Bayern when I was there it was very similar but I don't know, it's his decision.
07:15He seems very happy with the club as well so congratulations.
07:19And finally from me, from now until Christmas, a lot of games both domestically and in Europe,
07:25more in the Premier League because of Liverpool's fantastic start and maybe you and City
07:30not having to run a formula wanted in the last few weeks,
07:33how big is tomorrow and how big are the next six weeks?
07:37For sure, it's a lot of games as you said, it's about building momentum and getting results
07:41and getting back-to-back wins and that will create the energy that we need,
07:47the belief that we need with a lot of the good things that we are doing.
07:51Just on the 250, you must be very proud of that,
07:55I mean that's quite a considerable number, I also think we've done I think 1,200,
08:00but you know, 250 is quite a lot.
08:03That's perspective, you know, what is a lot and what is very little.
08:07But I mean in your first job, are you proud of that?
08:11Yeah, it could have been much shorter to be fair,
08:13especially in the world that we live in right now, I really appreciate it,
08:17that's what I said, my first word I think was gratitude,
08:20not only for the job that I do, where I do it, with who.
08:23And yeah, that's what I love what I do, there's no coincidence,
08:27I feel really lucky and hopefully we can continue for a long time.
08:32Across those 250 games you've had lots of ups,
08:36can you just talk to us about probably the last two months or six weeks,
08:40how that's been, I know you've been quite positive going into press conferences,
08:44but you must feel like you've had some bad luck,
08:47some things go against you, just what's it been like for the last two months or six weeks?
08:52I know from my side, when I plan the season,
08:55and I have a start and finish and it's a journey,
08:58it's like we all go travelling in the bus together,
09:00it's going to be a bump, it's going to be bad weather, things are going to happen.
09:04My thing is how I'm going to navigate,
09:07how I'm going to make the other navigate with me throughout that period,
09:12because it's going to happen, it's guaranteed that it's going to happen,
09:14unless we become invincible, we win every game and then fine,
09:17we don't have to go through it.
09:19In the way that I predicted the season, it was going to happen.
09:23As many things that have happened, no.
09:26But I love how the team reacts, how the club reacts when there are difficulties.
09:30Before you went up the Chelsea game, you said you wanted all the players to come back fit and healthy,
09:36so you might have a sack of rice back,
09:38but now you've just told us you're going to lose Ben White for a couple of months,
09:41so how are you going to plan for life with that kid?
09:45It is a challenge, it was something that we didn't expect at all,
09:49because we talk about consistency, availability in the defensive line,
09:53Ben has been probably the best with Gabi and Willy,
09:56so we miss him, but that's it, we're going to have to find alternatives.
10:00There's a lot of positives as well, because Declan is back, Bukayo is back,
10:04Jurgen is in a good place because he could not play the last game as well,
10:08that's the one that I was missing.
10:11And Leo came back in a good place, Ricky is back that we're missing for five or six weeks,
10:16so there's a lot of players, and that's great news.
10:19Saka and Bryce missed England, are they in a better position now
10:23than not playing for England in two weeks for you?
10:26I prefer when players are in their routine, in their rhythm to play.
10:29They couldn't do it because they were injured,
10:31so we have tried to facilitate everything that we could for them to be in the best condition for tomorrow.
10:36What do you want now, just no more injuries for the next couple of weeks?
10:40Don't even talk about it, getting some normality,
10:44things that happen normally, not everything that happened lately.
10:48But again, it's like everything, it's a lot to learn from those periods,
10:52from yourself and how you can start too low constantly and get frustrated,
10:57and you have to get really out of that, fight for excuses or fight for something else.
11:01The team hasn't reacted in that way,
11:03and I really love the experience of going through something difficult with them,
11:07because some individual cases were quite tough emotionally to deal with,
11:10but this is it.
11:15Hi.
11:16Last season, before you went on a fantastic run,
11:18you felt a bit senseless in the sense that in the run-up to January you had a difficult run,
11:22and then you had the break to Dubai.
11:24I know you've obviously not been able to go to Dubai this time,
11:26but do you see similarities?
11:28You don't know if I've been in Dubai.
11:34Some of the players have been in Dubai at least.
11:37But do you see similarities in the last season
11:39in the sense that the way the players have come back for a bit of time away,
11:42do you feel like they can go on a run now in a similar way to they did last season?
11:46Yeah, but not because of Dubai.
11:47It would be too simple.
11:48It's because I see, and looking back at all the games,
11:51I look at a lot of the opposition in the Premier League, what they are doing,
11:54just to understand what is the context that we're in
11:56and how good we are in relation to the opposition,
11:59and I'm very confident that this team,
12:03the moment we find a bit of consistency and a bit of normality,
12:07that is going to kick on.
12:08What is the key to the consistency?
12:10Is it just getting the same players out on the pitch?
12:11Availability.
12:12That's it.
12:13I'm not asking for anything else.
12:14And obviously now it does look like he's got another one of those runs that he did last season.
12:18Is there any margin for error anymore,
12:20given how far behind you are from the top?
12:23Well, it's much smaller, obviously,
12:24when you see the consistency in terms of results that Liverpool are having.
12:28They're making, obviously, exceptional improvements and results,
12:34but we are there.
12:35We have played against them and we have seen life,
12:38where we are in relation to them,
12:40so that gives me a lot of confidence.