Here is every word Mikel Arteta said during his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Burnley
Mikel Arteta spoke to the media ahead of Arsenal’s huge final home game of the season against Burnley. The Gunners can put the pressure on Manchester City, who then must beat Bournemouth on the following night to prevent handing the league title to their rivals.
Arteta provided the latest updates on Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino. He also reacted to City’s win over Crystal Palace, which makes any title lift at the Emirates Stadium now impossible.
There are expected to be more fan scenes ahead of the game too, similar to those seen before the win over Atletico Madrid. Arteta gave his insight on the experience of seeing that and how his staff reacted to.
Here is every word the Arsenal manager said in his press conference:
What did you learn from the game last night and what impact does it have on your approach to Burnley on Monday?
Nothing, we focus just on the things that are in our hands, which is to prepare in the best possible way to beat Burnley, that’s it.
What’s your team news, please, for the game?
Not much at the moment, we still have a few days till Monday, so we’ll have to wait and see how certain players evolve and whether they’re available or not for the game.
If you beat Burnley, will you and the players gather on Tuesday to watch Bournemouth against Manchester City?
We prefer just to beat Burnley, that’s it.
It’s 10 years ago since Jamie Vardy had his rescue team-mates around to his house to watch Chelsea help them seal the title. I’m just wondering, is there a player in the squad who would be a most likely candidate to host that kind of evening?
Again, I’m sorry, we’re not thinking about that type of thing, the only focus is on Burnley and winning that game. That’s the things that we can control.
What can you say about the focus at the moment, because here you are at this stage of the season again, two games away, potentially a week away from winning the league?
Well, the team is really present. It’s just living the moment. It’s emotionally at a really good state, I think. The energy level is the right one. We have most players available now. OK, we lost Ben the other day, but the other ones are coming back as well. Everybody is so enthusiastic and so positive about the way that we can finish the season.
In an ideal world, you won’t need the goal difference, but is that on your mind as part of the preparation for these games?
First of all, you have to have the right to win the game. If I make a difference with more goals, that’s obviously even better. We’re all playing very tough matches. We had a very tough match against West Ham and we managed to win it. It was a great feeling, but we know ideally that scoring goals is going to be important.
On that West Ham game, what have you made of the reaction to that West Ham disallowed goal in the days that followed? In general, how do you find the consistency around decisions in a packed penalty area?
The reaction from our side was extremely positive because we were so happy with the outcome and the fact that we won the game. It was such an important game for us as well. We had a really, really intense week as well with the semi-final of the Champions League. In relation to the reaction, I haven’t seen any of that. I’m sorry, I’m very consistent on that since July to now. I think it’s very clear. I think anyone who has played football knows this discussion about the decision. I’m glad they took the right one.
It’s a clear blow for Ben White. Obviously, will he miss the World Cup?
We have to wait and see. It looks like a long-term injury. At the moment, the focus is that we can have him back to be available for Arsenal. That’s not going to happen in many, many weeks.
Just finally, how much thought will go into, in particular, your right-back position for the closing weeks? Not just in the league, but of course, PSG, when you think of their left-hand side?
We need to look at alternatives. The two players that we have there are not available at the moment. We need to look and do something else. The good thing is that we have experienced that all over the pitch this season.
When we had issues, normally, they’ve been in the same positions as well. We have managed to find the right level of performance and consistency. I’m sure we will do that.
Did you watch the game last night?
No, I wasn’t. I sponsored dinner.
Was it nice?
It was good, with Emirates. Very good. Very nice people.
Is it also potentially a little bit distracting for you and the players that the talk is not just about winning the game, but how many goals you might need to score comes into it as well?
I think it’s part of the narrative. There are various options and this could be one of those. It’s a factor that is important from the start of the season. We know that the difference is so small. If you can make that difference bigger in your favour, obviously, it can be important.
How much does it help then at this stage of the season and how things have gone for you so far that actually this game on Monday is at home?
It’s the schedule that we have. Obviously, it’s been extremely demanding from the beginning. I think the team has coped with that in a really fantastic way. This is now our choice. We have the opportunity in front of our supporters. It’s going to be a Monday night. Let’s take it in a really positive way. I think we lived something incredible with our supporters against Atletico. If we can replicate any of that, I know that the team is going to respond very, very well.
Can I just ask about Riccardo Calafiori? He came off at half-time with an injury against West Ham. Has he been able to train since or is he still waiting to find out?
No, we don’t know whether he’s going to be available now. We still have days ahead. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious, but we’ll have to wait and see how he reacts.
With the right-back position, you said you’re going to look at an alternative. Cristhian Mosquera has played there before. Is there a case you could say to Cristhian, it’s your position, make it happen, or will you try and be a bit creative?
There are different options in relation to the opponent as well, and the things that we want to do with sets and plays. But we need to be open to that, not only to one but to two or three options. Because games can vary, players can pick an injury, I don’t know. We need to be flexible on that and really think about that option.
There is a chance by this time next week you could be a Premier League winner. What this season has pleased you the most about your team and has pleased you most about what you’ve learned?
Probably the capacity to adapt to very difficult and demanding circumstances and still perform and win the amount of games that we’ve done.
In terms of the last two or three years, you’ve generally been a team trying to hunt down the team at the top of the table. For most of this year you’ve been out in front with people snapping at your heels. How much has that been a different pressure for you? Maybe it hasn’t been a pressure you’ve enjoyed more, the fact that others have had to try and match you?
The last few years have been different. I think we’ve been in both positions; it’s what it is. I think the fact that we’ve been at the top for a long time shows the level of consistency and how well the team has done to stay there in this league. It’s what we are now, more than ever. Obviously, we want to finish in that position, and that’s what we’re trying to do.
Red Action have confirmed they’re going to do another Meet the Coach event on Monday before the game against Atletico. What was that event like from your perspective inside that coach, seeing the fans, seeing the flares, the noise, everything that was there?
I loved it. I think all the players loved it. I think it builds an energy connection with them that we haven’t experienced before. The whole preparation and the whole atmosphere showed that the level of meaning was higher and the level of implication and desire and passion from our supporters was different as well. It really helps.
Can you take us beyond the tinted glass of the coach as well? We can see the scenes on the outside, but did you see your players react in a different way?
The players were in the other bus, but I could see straight away all the staff and everybody was there just looking at each other and saying, “Wow, we’ve taken this now to a different level.” Just looking, the engagement, the passion, the enthusiasm of our fans in their eyes, I think that was something special.
I’d like to take you back to just after the final whistle at the Etihad, I know not one of your favourite memories of the season, but you said then it’s a new season, obviously from the outside it doesn’t feel like that and you’ve had a rough run of form since then. You’ve won every game except one, which was at the Metropolitano. What changed? How did the atmosphere swing so quickly? Because you’re talking now about a really good emotional state.
It was a reset moment. The performance was there, and I think we deserved much more than when we got out of the game. But we used that as fuel to be even more convinced and to understand, okay, what we’ve done up to now is fine, let’s learn every bit of it and now let’s use it for the last five games. That’s what has remained, and we’ll have every chance to go and do it.
Just on Jurrien, how is he evolving? Because I think he was around the team for the game, but how has he come on?
He wanted to be very close to the team. He’s progressed a little bit in the last few days. He’s feeling better. We’re going to try to get him available as quick as possible. But he’s obviously been out now for a while, unfortunately. He’s such an important player for us. We all know that. And he’s doing everything that he possibly can to help the team in any capacity. And I don’t know, his leadership, his quality and how much the team needs him. He’s trying everything that he can.
And just on what you were talking about earlier in terms of the ability to adapt, is that something you’ve grown to understand more about yourself? Or is there something else that you’ve, across this season, really been able to…
That goes back to recruitment as well. And with the necessities and the demands that the players have nowadays, we need players that are comfortable, able and they have the qualities to perform in different positions, otherwise it becomes really difficult. Especially when you’ve been hit with injuries in the same positions for long periods of time. It would have been unsustainable. I mean, what the team has done in that sense, I think it’s remarkable.
On the right-back options, I think in the league phase game against PSG last season, you played Calafiori at right-back for 45 minutes. How much is what he offers at left-back transferable to the right?
Well, I think the sample is so tiny, you know, so it’s very difficult to judge a player when he had some low minutes. The same when we played Thomas Partey, we had some really good moments, some others when you don’t win, and it’s because Thomas plays as a full-back. Declan Rice, when he’s played as a full-back against Brighton, he was exceptional. But then the other night, it was something else. It depends. I mean, the sample is still so little. It will remain so little from here to the end of the season to judge whether a player is good enough or can perform in the position. And what is the cost of moving that player from one position to the other? And that’s the balance that we need to try to find.
And some of the big calls I guess you’ve made recently with your gut in terms of throwing Myles in or other players, those have paid off. Would that give you more confidence maybe taking a risk or someone else at right-back that you haven’t tried much so far?
I don’t know if the word is risk. At the end, we have to make a decision because the circumstances are requiring that. With Myles, it was a bit different. It was a choice because of what we saw and what we believed that he could do and what the team was needing. And I think he’s done a very good job.
I just want to ask you about how you sort of handle the mentality of your squad coming into these really crucial games. There’s a lovely video on YouTube of Myles being taught how to cook by his grandma the other day.
How to cook?
How to cook.
[Laughs] I haven’t seen that. Is he good or not?
Well, it’s his first time.
That’s a no.
Just a reminder how young some of your players are. I just wonder whether you treat them differently. Are you like a sort of father figure to the teenagers and the younger players?
Well, they have a great father and mother. I don’t think they need a father, but they have somebody that they can rely on whenever they need. And we are very aware that at 18 you are a kid, but at 22, 23 you still have a lot to learn. Even at 28 as well. I’m 44 now and I still have a lot to learn. And I need great people around me to give me advice and support. We all need that in different stages. The thing is how willing they are and how humble they are to try to learn and to be given advice and support at the same time. That level between support and demand, I think that’s where the sweet spot is. Families are critical. So I’m glad to hear that he’s learning how to cook.
On matchday in the changing rooms, do you just treat everyone the same?
Well, there are generic messages and generic demands to all of them. But then the players are very specific. They all are in a different moment as well. It’s not just about the age or their nationality. It’s what the player requires to perform at the highest level. And that’s what we have to try to provide.
On Jurrien. You said that he’s doing everything he possibly can. Does that mean he’s got a chance to play?
There is a chance. But how big that chance is, I cannot tell you. I’m being completely honest. He’s going to try to do everything he can to convert that chance as high as possible in the shortest possible period. And that’s the challenge ahead.
Just on this league title, obviously two points clear, two to go. But you could say you’ve got one hand on the trophy.
I feel that we have another opportunity on Monday to be a step closer. And that’s the only thing.
I just wanted to ask you about the contribution of the Spanish coaches. Because you and Guardiola are fighting for the title. And you are in the final, he’s in the final. So what is the contribution and also the influence of the Spanish coaches since Benitez? Because the way you’re playing is changing with short passes and playing from behind. What do you think about it?
I think the contribution comes first by the opportunity given by this country, this league, to a lot of foreign managers to fulfil a dream. And to give them the chance to do what they love the most in their best league in my opinion. And that’s it. And then it’s football and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But I think we are very grateful. Especially the way we get treated here and the opportunity that we’re given.
What makes you different? Because many clubs are following the Spanish coaches.
[The players] are the most important ones. The players are the ones that make the difference. I have no doubt about that.
