Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the press ahead of our opening game of the Premier League season against Manchester United.
During the press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, Mikel was asked about the squad availability, facing the Red Devils and the success of our academy.
Find out what he had to say with our transcript below!
on how excited he is for the new season:
I’m super excited, I can’t wait. It’s been a really productive pre-season. We’ve made such an evolution in the squad as well and we’re ready to go.
on the mood in the place:
The mood of the place, the energy around it, the enthusiasm that the boys, the staff came with from day one, now we’re going to do better, to keep improving as a team and to win. That’s what drives my energy and that’s why I’m so excited.
on Leandro Trossard’s availability:
I think he’s much better. I think he will be able to train again tomorrow and if that’s the case, he will be fit.
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on if we need to make a sales in the transfer window:
I’ll leave that to Andrea [Berta] and the club. My main focus is just about performing, preparing the games in the best possible way and winning. Now we start the season, it’s been a long off-season, pre-season with the market and being so active in it.
on starting the season with tough games:
We need to play each other, we need to play at some point, and we’ll start at an incredible stadium with so much history and a beautiful way to start the season. We will go game-by-game and make the best preparations and then perform to earn the right to win the game.
on the potential for winning the title:
Yes, especially the consistency that we’ve shown in the last three years. Now the margins, we know how small they are, we know the competition as well has increased the level, with recruitment, with another year together and we’re going to have to win.
on how many teams can win the Premier League:
A lot, too many! And it’s getting stronger and stronger. There are teams that maybe you don’t put them on a piece of paper right now, but suddenly they will surprise everybody. The squads, the quality of the managers, the structure they have in the clubs, they are so strong. It’s going to be very difficult.
on what to expect from Manchester United:
They will be different as well. The manager will have more time with them, they have a pre-season, they make some really good signings as well, like anybody else. I think they strengthened and they will be better than last year, like the rest of the teams.
on what made us sign Viktor Gyokeres:
I can just talk about Viktor and how happy we are to have him. I think he’s going to have a tremendous impact in the team. The adaptation has been very, very good and we’re really happy to have him.
on Odegaard being our captain:
Well, my opinion is clear. It’s not just my opinion, it’s all the staff and especially the players. I asked them to vote the captain and I got the result yesterday. And by a mile, by a big, big 100 marks, everybody’s choosing the same person, which is Martin Odegaard, which is the most clear sign that you can have, how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win. So, I mean, there’s no question about that.
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on how much the club has supported him in the transfer window this summer:
It’s not just supporting me, of course, but supporting the team, supporting the vision, the idea and especially the ambition. And the level that we are playing, the competition we have and what we expect to do. So, we have to improve the squad, we have to improve the quality and the depth of that squad. And we certainly have done it in a really great way.
on getting the best version of Gyokeres:
Well, we want to do everything. First of all, understanding the player and exposing the player to the conditions that he can fulfil his incredible potential. Then that’s going to be the key, and the good thing is that many players, many strikers, they have come from different leagues, they have come to the Premier League and been successful. And it’s for us, creating the right context for Viktor to do what he does best, which is to score goals.
on standout memories against Manchester United:
Well, it’s a lot. Some great memories. It’s history, you know. The clashes when I was younger as well, there were some massive characters as well, playing for both teams. And it created something different in those games. And now it is different, but I think it’s going to be super intense and very exciting.
on if he’s as excited as he was ahead of previous seasons:
I think it gets you more and more excited. And the more I spend time with the players and the staff, the more reason they give me to come every single day with a big smile on my face, with a lot of energy, I’m very enthusiastic about what we do and very privileged.
on the chance to get wins from difficult games early on:
Yes, 100 per cent. It’s a big opportunity to go to Old Trafford on day one and go there and play the way we want to play and win the game. That’s the focus and the energy.
on if there is more pressure on us to win the title this season:
You keep digging, digging, digging. You have to keep digging because one day, the gold is going to be there. That’s all the time, what I’ve been taught, I’ve been educated and that’s it. For three seasons, we have more points than any other team in this league. It’s incredible, that’s why we have all the consistency. Now we have to do it in a season, to earn one more point or the same amount of points and more goals different than any other team. That’s the objective.
on having multiple young players available from our academy:
Well, that shows the great work that has been done in the academy throughout the years. Especially because those players have come to the first team and performed at the highest level without any professional experience. And that’s a very different case to any other player at a big club that has been playing at 17, 18, 19, 20 with many other experiences before that that is long, so playing at different teams. So that shows again what the academy has done, the preparation of these boys, the maturity of these boys, and as well the quality that we have in this squad to support the young players, to feel so comfortable immediately to perform at the highest level. So it’s a compliment for everybody at the club.
on if Gyokeres is ready to start on Sunday:
Yeah, he’s getting better and better every day. He’s normally a really fit player. It’s true that he hasn’t trained so much with us. He had those two moments in games when he’s participated and the feeling was very good. So let’s see what we do on Sunday.
on if he’s had to manage availability differently with Calafiori and Havertz:
Well, especially because those two cases, they were players that were coming back from long-term injuries. So, we have to be very cautious throughout pre-season, especially when you start to travel abroad and there are so many conditions that change for those players. We have more players, more balance as well in terms of availability. We have improved that in relation to the individual qualities of players as well and it’s going to be key to maintain them for as long as we possibly can. Fit, available, at their best.
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on if Zubimendi is available for Sunday:
Yes, he had a great integration. As everybody can see this immediately, a very big impact on the team. I’m really happy and he will be fit.
on if it’s a fight between Gyokeres and Havertz for the number nine position:
Well, it’s always good. I play with 11 players, there are going to be some players on the bench that are going to be used, some others that cannot be used, some players that we’re going to have to leave in the stands. That’s the level. That’s the next level that we’re going to face, something that we probably haven’t faced before and then I heard a lot that you have two players per position. Well, we have three and four because there are players that can play in different positions as well. So, it’s going to be about earning the right to play, to compete and when you don’t have the chance to do that, to cooperate in the right way with any teammate to improve the level. It’s going to happen to all of them because the season is going to be so demanding that the first week is going to be a little bit different. But the moment we start to play three times a week, it’s going to flow in a really natural way.
on if we have enough in attacking midfield:
I think we have great versatility, very different qualities in relation to the opposition as well. We can manipulate that and have some great cohesion within those units. So, I’m very happy with that.
on what he’s earned going into this season from last season’s reflections:
It was a long list of things. First of all, with the amount of situations we have to deal with, I think the team showed an incredible capacity to adapt and win a lot of matches in a very different context. Something that is not common and I revised that in the last Premier League for 20 years and what happened. After that, how we have to evolve as well, the squad, the individuals, certain roles that have changed and it’s the moment to move away from that. And then what is the real deal? What are the things that we have to continue to do or do better to give us the best possible chance to win the major trophies? And that’s clear.
on the evolution of our midfield:
There are a few in relation to the players that we have and their qualities. Now we have probably elements and possibilities that we never had before and some others that will emerge naturally that probably are not in the book. So that’s a really good weapon to have.
on the players voting for who our captain is:
Especially because we change a lot and we change all the leadership groups because a lot of the players that were there, they are gone. So, we need to re-establish that, and it gives you so much information, how they feel about themselves and who they see as a leader and how they see the people that can join that leadership group.
So, it was really interesting to analyse all the data and to gather information.
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on the captaincy qualities Martin has:
We all see it different and if we’re going to talk about leadership and the kind of leaders, we can be here for hours. So at the end, what matters the most is how these guys feel about who needs to lead them, how they feel comfortable, who’s going to push them, who’s going to give them support when it’s happening. Basically, who do you want to represent the club and the team when we go out there and face any opposition? That’s the key.
on tweaks to the rules in the Premier League and what happened last season:
It was very particular, and it only lasts for a few weeks and we were really punished for those few weeks but hopefully it won’t happen again.
I think they’ve been very clear, we have very good meetings with the referees when we came here and in the manager’s meeting as well. I think it’s very clear what to expect and wish everybody the best. I think we’re going to need the best of all of us and to have the best Premier League ever, which I think is going to happen, and hopefully we’re going to come on top of that.
on if the rules will be implemented more consistently:
I think, and a lot of the data says, that there have been many, many improvements as well in the last year or two and we need to reinforce that message and try that process and support it.
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