Here is every word Mikel Arteta said during his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s clash with West Ham
Mikel Arteta spoke to the press ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with West Ham at the London Stadium. The Gunners can take a significant leap toward their Premier League title ambitions by winning what is their trickiest test of their remaining games.
There were updates to the latest team news, including Mikel Merino, who has begun doing ball work on the pitches. Jurrien Timber, however, it seems there is much less confidence over.
The fallout from the win in the UEFA Champions League did not receive much attention, however, with a determination to bring the focus back to the Premier League title. Viktor Gyokeres and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s journey’s were in particular focus for all the right reasons.
Here is every word Arteta said:
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Have you got any fresh injury concerns after Tuesday?
No, everybody finished the game well and nothing to add I think.
Mikel Merino and Jurrien Timber of course were missing, what chance either of them or both of them being available for the weekend?
No chance for the weekend.
Are you optimistic that before the end of the season, you’ll see them again?
I don’t know, there’s still a fair bit to do so everything has to be so smooth and quick if they want to have a chance to play any minutes.
Before we get on to West Ham, I just want to ask you about the Champions League finals. Paris Saint-Germain now, you know who your opponents will be. It was a semi-final of course last season, one of those ‘what might have been’ moments for Arsenal. Has that lingered with you at all and does it almost make it the perfect final for Arsenal?
It’s what it is. We knew the level of opposition that we had to face either way Bayern Munich or PSG. We know the quality that they have, and that’s it. But obviously, we’re very confident that when we get to that moment, we’re going to deliver what we need to.
You said you’d never experience anything like the atmosphere that you did on Tuesday. Can you put into words how powerful that emotion, that unity can be now for the final four games of this season?
It’s crucial, immense and needed because what they can provide when we get into that emotional state, to that level of connection with the players, is just incredible. The players described it; they’re the most important ones, and they described it like they never had that feeling before in the stadium. They made them better.
With that atmosphere that was there, after the game and a few days after it, the celebration police has been out. I don’t know whether you’re aware of this but in some quarters some people have criticised how Arsenal celebrated at the end of the game. What do you make of that criticism? Do you care?
First of all, I didn’t know about it but I don’t know. I think you have to respect every opinion and place them where they belong.
Where do you place them?
Where they belong. I don’t know, that’s not important.
You said last week you’ve got a siege mentality in your make-up. Has all of the noise or the criticism just made you, the players and even the fans stronger in their unity?
I’m assuming that that criticism is positive and negative. I’m assuming. I won’t talk about criticism, it’s positive and negative. That’s what makes you better. When you want to set higher standards and performance levels that can give you the chance to compete for the two most prestigious competitions in Europe, you have to be prepared for that because you know the challenge and the difficulty of it. It does make you better, that’s for certain.
I’m sure the mood around the training ground is bouncing just now after what happened on Tuesday. Have you had to do anything to refocus any of the players ahead of Sunday or are they in autopilot and they know what’s coming?
We talked immediately after the game. This is great, what a moment. We earned it, we will have time to prepare and get ready for that final. But now, the focus, the attention, the detail, the energy, everything has to be put into West Ham. There is nothing else there and we made it very clear.
Just finally for me, Mikel, every week when I speak to you it’s one game less, one game less. You are so close now.
Thank God, because if it’s one game more…
You’re so close now, four games from an extraordinary season, potentially a historic one for something the club’s never done before. What’s your feeling, and what’s your messaging to the players and maybe the supporters as well?
Stay present, live the moment, prepare, and show the same level of energy, hunger, and desire that we’ve shown all season, or more. Because, as you said, we are closer and closer, and everything that we do now is going to matter to win it or not.
Can I please ask you about Myles Lewis-Skelly against Fulham, who is first time you started him in midfield, played well against Atletico as well. Can you talk us through the timing of the decision and how confident you had in him before those games, in this position?
I think it’s been a process of probably understanding him better, him understanding as well the standards that are required when you play or don’t play that much at this level. To understand the reasons why you play or don’t play as well. And then he’s been exceptional, his attitude, the way he’s been trained, the way he’s been supporting the boys when he hasn’t played. And he’s given us every sign to think that when we were going to give him the chance, he was going to respond in the manner that he’s done it. But after he’s done it and it’s not easy, especially when you haven’t played that much, to look that fresh, that confident, that energetic, that playing with that determination, it’s something that is surprising.
Bukayo Saka scored the goal on Tuesday. It hasn’t been easy for him in terms of injuries. But in general, you’ve worked with Bukayo for so many years. How enjoyable has it been to work with Bukayo, the player and the human being?
A joy. I feel extremely lucky, I said it from the beginning, to find somebody at the club that you can lean into at any level, knowing that he’s going to respond. Knowing that his heart is in the right place, knowing that everything that he does comes beyond certain values, certain education, certain principles. It’s been a joy. On the human level, I think we know him. And on the football level, what he has provided to this club and what he did the other night is just remarkable.
Massive London derby this weekend. Is it fair to say that it’s a game with big jeopardy for both sides?
Understanding the context of the game for both clubs, it’s huge, obviously. We know the process of it, we know what we want and what we have to do to win the game.
This week couldn’t have gone any better for you. Before you even played in the Champions League, Manchester City dropped points at Everton, then you qualified for the final. Just talk us through the emotions you’ve had, maybe since then, from being on such an emotional high, or unless you’re still on that emotional high.
I was in a really high emotional state after the game, obviously, because we know what it means to everybody, to the club. You could tell what it means to everybody, to our supporters, players, the staff. Straight after the game. But you have to believe me, straight after that, my concentration, my focus, my energy was West Ham.
What do we have to do on the mental side, physically, tactically, technically, to prepare in the best possible way to go there and win the game. That’s it.
But you’re so close now, can you not even allow yourself time to enjoy this final cruise at the end of the season?
I enjoy every day. I enjoy every day with the boys, with the staff. I love what I do, so I feel very privileged with what I do. I enjoy it, but those periods are very short. I enjoy preparing a lot for the game against West Ham now, understanding what we have to do, trying to pick the right topic, trying to understand very well our players, the situation that we’re generating in the game, how the game can pan out, how can we change it if we need to. That’s what I like.
So, your group of players, the next three weeks could be life-changing. They win the Premier League, and they win the Champions League. As a manager, is this bigger than anything you’ve encountered even in your playing days?
Yes, but that’s if if if. If in football, doesn’t work, we have to do it. What we’re going to do today, what we’ve done today, that’s a fact. That’s the most important thing and tomorrow we’re going to have to do what it takes to be in the best mood, physically, mentally, to get ready for the battle that we have on Sunday.
The professionalism in your squad was summed up this week by Declan Rice. He put out some really nice words about his former club, who on Sunday could help relegate to the Championship. I suppose that came as no surprise to you that the boy you picked up from West Ham has grown into a man.
Yes, he was already really well developed, I would say. He’s been outstanding for us. He’s one of our leaders, one of the main players, without a doubt. What he’s doing for the club, for the team, is just really powerful.
On Viktor Gyokeres’ hold-up is that something you’ve worked on? Have you noticed that difference yourself?
Yeah, but from the beginning, some of the things that you see, certain improvements from players. Probably the work is not from the day before, two days before, or months. Maybe it was months ago. It doesn’t happen overnight and Viktor has been working extremely hard. The level of demands he puts on himself are incredible high he always wants to learn, he’s always asking questions, he always wants to do extra things. He’s always trying to find ways to find those connections with his teammates, whether they’re in the canteen, in the dressing room or on the pitch. At the end, when you have that kind of behaviour, you get rewards.
And just about some of the big decisions that you’ve made this season, particularly in the run-in. You put Eze back on the left wing at Man City for what was the biggest game of the season at that point, and then Myles Lewis-Skelly in the centre midfield, Fulham and Atletico. Was that always the plan?
No.
Is it something you’ve learnt from previous title run-ins?
No, I think there is something that is related to your intuition. What the game is going to require, the state of the players, the way you can imagine the game and where the players can have the most impact. And then you can get it right or wrong, you never know. But if you do what you feel, at least you have the certainty that you’ve done the preparation, you’ve done the thinking, and when it comes time to deliver, that’s something else.
It’s been a while, can I ask you about the five-phase plan again?
Can we do that at the end of the season?
Could you just tell me what phase we’re in now?
I don’t know, I’m lost. It doesn’t matter, the phase…
The only reason I keep bringing it up is because a lot of managers go in with a blueprint, their vision for what they’re going to do, and then they get sacked, things go wrong. But you seem to be four games from realising something you laid out six years ago. It’s an incredible journey on the cusp of completing, isn’t it?
Yes, but again, to respond to that question, at the moment it doesn’t matter. Let’s live the present, and when we have time we can talk about that. If we got the timing right, every decision right, and the most important thing is what’s the outcome when it comes to the end of May.
Just in terms of David Raya, I think it’s confirmed now that he at least has a share of the Golden Glove for the third season running. This season it seems like a lot of his saves have come at big moments, so whether the game is 0-0 or maybe 1-0, and he’s really sprung into action and concentrated throughout the whole game. In those moments, what is going through your head when he makes those saves, and is it something that surprises you every time, or are you kind of used to it now?
First of all, obviously, he’s been exceptional. His level of consistency since he joined the club has been something that probably nobody expected. I think he has reached a level that is incredibly high, and sometimes we take as normal some of the things that he does, and they’re not. He has responded in crucial moments. Obviously, I think the team deserves a lot of credit for that as well, because the work that everybody puts in in that phase for the third consecutive season to achieve that, I think, is remarkable.
With Myles, you mentioned understanding him better, and you obviously spoke about that with Ebere Eze a few months ago. With Myles, what things did you understand more with him as this season has gone on?
Because I need to put on a Myles Lewis-Skelly hat to understand how he’s feeling. He’s a boy that was playing with the Under-18s in the under-21s, but he wasn’t even playing. He was playing a different position. He comes in, he comes through, he plays in a completely different position that he’s never played before. He’s exceptional. Everybody’s talking about him. He goes to the national team, he comes back from pre-season, and then he starts to realise that maybe he’s not going to be a starter. You need to go through those emotions. Not only you, but the people next to you as well, who are giving you advice. You have to navigate through that, and that’s not easy. I understand that. It’s easy when it goes so well for you, but when it goes the other way, the temptation is going to start to point to people. I need to understand that, and I need to guide him, and I need to give him my perspective, the reasons why he wasn’t playing that much. And he took it on board, not the first one. After three or four times, I think he realised, okay, I think if it’s not this way, I don’t think it’s going to happen.
We often ask you about injuries throughout the previous few seasons and this season, but as we enter this final stage, only Mikel Merino has been out for a long time. And Jurrien with this muscular injury, the only ones for you missing, and you this time have Gabriel available, you have a centre-forward available this season. How important is that for your team as it enters this final stage?
Very important. It was great to see, to witness the quality that we have on the bench the other night. If you compare that to a year ago, that’s a very different picture. We have managed in the last week or so as well to have some more players fresher, and you could sense that as well. And I said it from the beginning, that’s the most important thing. If we have that, we have a bigger chance to achieve the goals.
And while it’s really important to win, obviously, the Premier League games with that ultimate goal at the end, does it almost feel like for the players every game is almost an audition for the final, to get in your mind for that game?
I don’t think they think like this because they know the audition is every single day in training, and what they are doing and giving us the headache like they have been giving us all season. But especially the last few weeks as well, okay, what is the best thing to start, what is the best thing to finish the game?
The last few matches we have seen more of Ben and Bukayo’s relationship on the right wing. How much of a strength is it to be able to play those two together again?
Yeah, well, when you talk about the right wing, for example, I think the amount of minutes that they have played this season has been extremely low for different circumstances. And it’s great, they have a really good connection, really good understanding, they have played many years together, and you can sense and notice that in a really positive way.
And on Jurrien, I think at the time it was hoped he would only be out for a matter of days, has that just been a more complicated injury than expected?
Yes, and that’s been probably the most difficult thing to manage, with the player, with myself as well, because we didn’t expect it to take so long, and at the moment he’s not fit to play.
