Here is every word Mikel Arteta said during his press conference after Arsenal won the Premier League title and ahead of the Champions League final
Mikel Arteta faced the press for the first time since Arsenal won the Premier League title following Manchester City’s draw with Bournemouth. The Spaniard was fielding questions ahead of the weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace while also fulfilling media duties ahead of next week’s UEFA Champions League final.
Some big news from the open training session was the return of Mikel Merino. The midfielder was warmly welcomed by his teammates to the session, and his return is definitely a boost ahead of such an important week in the club’s history.
But, understandably, the focus of the questions centred on the victory in the Premier League, what it meant, how he went through it and what he wanted to achieve.
Here is every word Arteta said during the press conference:
Congratulations on winning the title. Arsenal Premier League champions, have those four words sunk in?
Yeah, it’s incredible to hear them, especially understanding the journey, the manner that we’ve done it and how many people have been involved and waiting for so long to accomplish that goal.
Can you just give us an idea of what it was like for you on Tuesday night when that whistle went at the vitality, your overriding emotion when it happened?
You don’t realise it, probably. It was one of the best feelings I ever had. I was supposed to be here, watching the game with the boys, and that’s what they wanted, but I couldn’t. I think 20 minutes later, before the game, I had to leave.
I couldn’t bring the energy that I wanted and I think it was the moment to watch it together, to be themselves and just see what the outcome would be. I went home, I went outside to the garden, I started to build some fire, I started to do some barbecue, I didn’t watch any of it. I was just hearing some noises in the background in the living room and suddenly the magic happened.
My oldest son opened the garden door, he started to run towards me, he started to cry, he gave me a hug and said, “We are champions, Daddy.” And then my other two boys and my wife came over and it was beautiful. Just to see that joy on them as well, that they are always with me, it was magical.
And I think a minute later, Martin with the video. “Where are you? Come over,” he said. I said, “Guys, enjoy it for a while and I’ll see you in a few hours somewhere in London. And yeah, it was beautiful.
So as much as you maybe wanted to watch it with the team, no regrets now about how it transpired?
And after watching the videos and being, it was a moment and they have to be themselves in that moment and if I’m there, I think it was not going to be the same.
And yeah, I’m glad they did it that way, they enjoyed it so much and the staff was all over the place and then we had our moment together a few hours later.
I’m guessing the WhatsApp groups and the messages have gone off the chain at the moment. Can you give us an insight into who’s messaged you and what kind of messages you received?
It’s a bit different when you finish second and when you win it. And that’s the sport, and it’s a big lesson in life as well because the margins are so small and it can go either way, and when you just accomplish it, you realise that, yeah. How immense it is, how big it is for so many people. Just to witness the happiness and the enjoyment, all the things that I’ve seen from our supporters, families in different countries, it’s just so good.
You pipped your friend and one of your mentors in Pep Guardiola to the title. Did that make it extra special, and what’s his reaction been to you since?
I mean, they’ve been a huge part of that journey and Pep has been a huge part of that. Firstly because I started my coaching career and then, not only Pep and Man City but the other opponents as well in the league and all the colleagues that we have in the league, I mean, they continue to raise the standards to a crazy level in this league.
And the only thing that has provoked in myself, the players, the staff, and the club is to be obligated to raise those levels and those standards to try to be better than that. And over the last few years, we’ve been very, very close, and this time, thankfully, we managed to win it.
Was there a moment, I don’t know whether you’ve had a chance to think about this, was there a moment, a team talk, a goal, a match that you look back and think that’s a big moment when I really believed?
There’s been so many, probably I need a bit more time to reflect on that. We have so much footage that probably it will explain a bit the story of the season. One of the main ones was a meeting that we had here next to the tree when I got all the players together and I told them, look at each other, look at the squad that we built over the summer and that we are capable of everything, that we can be very, very good. It only depends on us and on our behaviours and everybody understanding the role I’m going to have daily or on the day, to give the best for the team.
And once they realise that, I think we went to a different level. You’ve seen the impact that everybody’s had in games, through the season and the capacity that we have shown to adapt to very, very tough circumstances throughout the season.
There’s a final one for me and I usually start with this with team news but there was some good news, it looks like with Mikel Merino returning, but no Jurrien Timber what can you tell us about the chances of those two players featuring in the last two games?
Yeah, I think Mikel is going to start to train with the group tomorrow and today he’s going done a little bit and Jurrien let’s hope that he can do the same in the next few days. But still a bit further behind than Mikel.
You talked about the enormity of this achievement. I was reporting when at Anfield in 89, the double years at Bayern, the Invincibles, I didn’t think it would ever get any bigger but the outpouring of emotion on the streets around the stadium on Tuesday night, I’ve never seen anything like it. You’re responsible for that. Tell us about how that feels.
We are all responsible because, and I really want to make that clear, there have been so many people in this journey throughout the years, not only since I’ve been here, but what Arsene built, everything that has happened, even though we didn’t achieve the Premier League. It was an explosion, an emotional explosion, because everybody’s been keeping emotions and lifting those emotions, but not being able to really express them. So when we opened that bottle, I think everybody had so much to release, and it’s been incredible to witness.
I don’t know what plans you’ve got for after the match at Palace, but it sounds like people are keen to get down to the stadium again. Would you encourage everyone to keep on celebrating?
They have to do what they feel. And so far I think what they have created around the club and the team is incredible to witness. That chemistry, that connection, that passion, it’s something beautiful. The truth is great, but that is, in my opinion, something even bigger.
Have you messaged Andoni Iraola yet? Have you spoken to him?
I didn’t message him. I called him yesterday. First of all, to congratulate him for the incredible job he’s done with Bournemouth. I said, “You almost took the Premier League away from us and now you’ve helped us to win it on the last day.” A quick call to say thank you as well to show my admiration towards him and wish him the best in the next chapter of his career, which I’m sure is going to be very, very successful.
It’s been such a journey from when you first arrived. This season almost felt like there was even more pressure because of those second-place finishes three seasons in a row. What was the most difficult moment of this campaign for you?
I think the start was tough because I think when you build the club, the team into a zone where the only thing that is left is to win it and then the margin is so small, especially with our competitors.
It’s to see can the team handle that kind of pressure from the beginning because we remember the conversation at the press conference in September and October. If you guys don’t win, the league is over, and it’s still eight or nine months to play. So to play with that back constantly is not easy, and that’s probably been one of the toughest moments.
That’s why when I said to you, we won the league, but I’m most proud of how we won it. Because we showed a very important value not only in sport but in life as well, which is perseverance. That is to be resilient, to be composed in moments when people are doubting, to be vulnerable because I’ve asked that question to myself. Am I good enough to lead this team, this club, these players to win a major trophy? Until you do it, you cannot validate yourself. And I thought about many ways. What is the best way to do it? We have to bring people from outside and speakers to inspire them. And then you have to find your own way. But the big lesson here is stay humble, stay curious and focus on the point and what you want to achieve. And if you give your very best, you give yourself a good chance, and we’ve given ourselves a very good chance for three years, and this season we’ve done it.
The thing is now, of course, you want more, and we have the biggest one to play in Budapest in a few days. But it’s been extremely rewarding because we know what we’ve been through. And we know that we’re going to step by step. And when we haven’t reached, because somebody else is better, has better resources, they have better capacity to do that, to accept that and be humble, then to say, but I’m not going to stop, I’m going to improve, I’m going to reinvent myself. And I think that’s going to be a theme here in this team, which is, if with this we don’t have enough, we need to think about all the things that we have to do to make that step. And we’ve been very creative and very stubborn in that process to achieve that.
Congratulations. I’m sure you’ve gone through many emotions, joy, relief. Can you allow yourself an element of vindication in your choices, your decisions, your methods, and achieving that goal vindicates all those choices you made that led to this point?
Nobody knows that. And I’m sure that somebody else will have done things in a different way and maybe achieved the same objective or better or earlier. So I don’t know. What I’m sure is that I follow my instinct. I try to represent the values of this football club and all the people. I’m extremely grateful to all the people that have been in that process. I don’t have to name them, because they know who they are, because I have made sure that they feel part of this ownership as well. Because when I joined, they were in a place, and they deserve all the credit for what they’ve done with this football club. And especially, again, the manner that they’ve done it and the way they have inspired everybody at the club. And then, yeah, for me personally, it’s a massive one, because 22 years is a long long time.
You mentioned about that meeting you had, that key meeting with the players. Can you remember exactly when it was, and was there any significance why it was outside next to a tree? Because obviously you have a lot of meetings with the players. What made this one special?
The location and the topic, because normally we have a lot of people and staff there, it was the players and myself. And we talk about what is my role, how I feel about them and every decision that I’m going to make, is to try to impact their lives in a positive way. And any decision that I make, because it’s my job to make it, so don’t take it personally, and just try to sum up and impact the team in the manner that we can.
And it was one of them, but I think to extract the best qualities of the players and all the resources that we have in this world, I think that one was very important.
When was it?
The week that we started the Premier League, before Man United away.
And just in terms of the next two games now, you’ve obviously got this incredible occasion on Sunday. What have you said to the players in terms of just two more matches, not too much celebrating? How are you splitting this game Sunday and obviously this massive match? What have you told the players today?
Well, we had 48 hours to enjoy the success of winning the league. Now, tomorrow and Saturday we’re going to prepare really well and we’re going to now lift again our habits and the standards that we normally do things to be the best possible way to compete. On Sunday, we’ll have a little window there again to celebrate, to lift the trophy in a manner that deserves it, to connect with the people that we have constantly around us. And then we’ll have six days that we need to write a new history in this football club.
People say something changes in you when you win a trophy. So do you understand what they mean now? And do you feel different?
Well, it changes because the level of emotion that you feel is something probably that I haven’t felt before. And as a manager, as a player, it is different. And it’s been incredible. The last 48 hours it’s been so much fun and enjoyment, and great to live it.
The whole season there’s been a lot of negativity in terms of what else you haven’t been doing well in terms of highs and lows. Now looking back on it all, how tough was it to go through all that? What’s going through your head when people are saying bottlers and all these other kinds of not-so-good things? How have you ridden through that to get to the end?
I think I said it a few weeks ago. In our job, you have to respect every opinion. I think the difficulty is to place those opinions in the place that they belong. Some of them can be extremely useful and they can help you to be better, to see or to appreciate something in a different way or to open your eyes to something that maybe you don’t have the capacity to look at.
But others that can be just damaging and the only purpose is towards that. I think they have to be really far from you. Otherwise, it’s going to affect you in a way that you’re going to transmit it to the team, and that cannot happen as a manager.
What is it going to mean for you and for your family if you win the big match in Budapest against PSG?
Well, we’re going to prepare that game with the intention to win and write a new story in the club’s history, that’s for sure. And we know what it’s going to be. We need to earn it. We need to prepare so well. I’m really confident that we’re going to get there in the best possible place. And it’s going to be for 90 minutes, short time, at the biggest stage that we can play in a club competition against a top of one or two.
When you walk out, your team walk out, your players walk out, against Paris Saint-Germain, they walk out as Premier League champions. What value do you put on that? And is the weight being lifted?
I think so. I think it’s a lot of emotion. And joy, happiness, being proud. And as well, it’s a relief. Because when you see so many people for so long just waiting for something to happen, and when you actually achieve it, it’s like everything that we’ve done, and it was worth it. And now we need to sustain that energy, that positivity. And again, that presence that now we have as a team, as players, in that moment to take the game to a different level and win it.
From your point of view, has the season been more a tactical evolution or a mental process? How would you describe it?
I have to say both. Because the team had to adapt to a lot of difficulties throughout the season. We had so many injuries from big players in the same positions throughout the season. And that’s been a real challenge. And we have to adapt. Sometimes our way of playing, sometimes it is the qualities of the players.
And that has an impact. But we knew that we had to do that to find ways to win our games and achieve what we have. But mentally, there is a hurdle that if you don’t do something, you have to jump in. And there have been moments throughout the season that we’ve done certain things as a team to prepare them to be able and to have the tools in the moment to achieve that.
Whatever happens in this final, there will obviously now be a parade the next day. How excited are you for that? How special are you expecting that to be, considering what you saw on Tuesday?
I understand that, but I want to have the parade with the two big trophies.
Obviously, getting that first title out of the way, the Premier League title, is such a big achievement. Do you think now that Arsenal can go on to dominate and stack up these trophies?
Well, we’ve done another step there and now we have to show that we have the ambition, the quality and the consistency to do that. And that’s going to be the next step, first of all, as a football club in every decision that we make to continue with those levels, with those standards and with that ambition.
(Rough translation from Spanish questions)
How has the presence of many Spanish players helped you and the team in general? What does the Spanish player bring to the team and what does he bring to the team?
In the end, every player has a role and, within the personality that they have, the way they play and the way the team needs them, that’s in my hands. We’ve brought players for a club that is multicultural and that needs a lot of diversity. And that diversity, when it comes to Spanish players, we already know what it brings. Competitiveness, a lot of desire to lead, which I think is an aspect in which we have grown a lot, and above all to transmit. I think we’ve brought players who have adapted very well to what we want as a club, but who have given us a very good competitive boost.
How do you manage, you always say that you have to be present for a player’s heart, brain, connected to the action, but how are you going to manage this final, taking into account that you can make a historic double for the club? Because in the end, some of the players are a bit anxious. How are you going to manage it?
Through excitement. Without a doubt, I think that’s our power, the energy that we are able to generate as a team, the excitement, the union that we have with each other, and to be very clear about what we are going to do, the game that we are going to play, and how we are going to compete. This team is going to show the way it competes, and day by day, we are getting closer, and we are playing the game as if it were necessary, and I’m sure that the team is going to be more than ready to go to the Champions League.
You have spoken very well about the fact that you have been a group in everything, both the staff and the players, everyone has won a group. But I was very struck by the figure of Gabriel Heinze, he has a very good reputation within a dressing room. The players speak very well of him, the technicians who have worked with him also speak very well. What does Heinze bring to a group like Arsenal?
Well, first, his arrival comes for two things. One, the first professional, because he believed that he was going to give us a competitive soul and a layer of transmitting certain messages through his experience, which we did not have anyone within the staff who had it.
And the second, because for me he has been one of the most important people in my sporting career, and I join him in a relationship that goes far beyond the professional. And I think I also needed someone inside with whom I have lived many things and give me that tranquillity and that contribution on a personal level. But I am convinced that if you spend ten minutes with him, after ten minutes, he will want to hug you.
