Mikel Arteta has spoken to the press ahead of our huge north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
We return to domestic football following the international break to take on Spurs and at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, Mikel faced questions on squad fitness, our opponents and much more.
Read every word below, with a video of the full press conference to follow:
on Gabriel’s injury:
Gabi unfortunately picked up an injury with the Brazil national team and he's going to be out for weeks. We need to have another scan next Wednesday, and we'll have the timeline probably much clearer than we have at the moment.
on how much of a blow it is:
It's clearly a blow because he's our leader in our backline and, to me, it's never a positive thing. The good thing, as you mentioned, is that we have very good options and we need to stand up now and do the job.
on Riccardo Calafiori’s availability:
He wasn't available [for the international break], he's been carrying a few things and we had to bring him back. He hasn't trained yet. Tomorrow we have another training session and we'll see how he is.
on our long-term absentees:
We’ve put in a lot of energy during the international break, with all the medical staff as well, to try to bring them as quickly as possible. So tomorrow we have another training session, see how some of them are feeling, whether it's a bit too close for this game, or we feel that they can make a contribution in the game. So tomorrow we have more clarity.
on if some of them could be in the squad:
I'm hopeful that we can make another step tomorrow, but certainly I cannot say.
on what makes the north London derby so unique:
It’s just different. It's a big city, but it's a big rivalry; it's a part of London that we want to conquer, and they want to do the same. There's been a lot of shifts as well over the years, we've been more dominant and it's just beautiful, especially when we play at home in front of our people, we know what it means to them and the energy that they're going to bring, the energy that the team is going to bring in every single action and it's just a privilege to play those kind of games, we cannot wait to get to Sunday.
on the challenge of focusing on just winning the game in a derby context:
It's about bringing everything to the table, that's the context of the game and that's a superpower. When you have everybody playing with that passion and with the emotion within the team in every single ball, it makes a difference and we're very privileged the way that the fans have been with us at Emirates Stadium and especially against our rivals and, on Sunday, I'm sure that the team is going to behave and make them very proud.
on why we’ve been so good against Spurs in recent seasons:
Yes, that emotion requires something else, and you cannot be too high, but, at the same time, that game demands that in every ball and every action, you have to be at it a bit more than in any other game. We have found a really good balance, we played well, some days we have won, some days we've been a bit lucky as well to win, that's fair as well to say. So on Sunday we need a really, really good performance to beat them.
on Wayne Rooney saying Viktor Gyokeres is one of his top three players of the season so far:
I'm really glad that it's come from someone like Wayne, his experience and the kind of player that he was. It's not just related to the goals that he has scored but the contribution to the team, what a number nine can do, and I think you can see the impact that Viktor has in our team, his work rate and the way he opens the spaces for other people. The time that he generates for us and then as well the level of threat that he's brought to the team, which is magnificent. So I'm really happy to hear that.
on how different the challenge is facing Spurs this season compared to last season:
Well I think every game is very different and in the same season as well depending on the momentum of each team the games are very, very different. I think Thomas has brought something very different to what they had before as well. And you just have to see it as his record and how remarkable a job he did in his previous club. And he's given a very clear identity to the team, how they want to play, how they want to compete and it will be very tough.
on if the table has flattered them based on how they’ve played:
I think when you start to be in the part of the season that we are in, you have to really enjoy what you are. And I think they've done a lot of very, very good things. They've set out to win, they've won in some tough places as well. Their record away from home has been very impressive as well. So you need to merit that, nobody gives you anything easy in this league.
on Manchester City coming after us if they win tomorrow night:
No, everybody's going to try to win every game, the same as we are going to do. We just have to go game by game and control the things that we can do. We prepare very well tomorrow. Of course, Sunday we have a beautiful game ahead of us and that's what we can control.
on it being a big opportunity for whoever plays instead of Gabriel:
Yes, for sure. And that's what we're looking for. And the good thing is that we have to take our players in different positions over a very heavy season. And whoever plays is going to be ready to do that.
on how to prepare for three big games coming up in a short space of time:
Well, we knew the preparation and the international break. We knew that was coming. It was, again, very intense but beautiful as well. We had a very tough start to the season as well, we're ready for that. And now, have everybody healthy, or the most of them healthy, which is a key thing obviously. And then again, get in the rhythm, start to generate momentum again. We're in a really good moment and we need to continue to do that game by game because the games are going to be very thick and fast. And we need to be ready, everybody has to be at it.
on if so many injuries are taking away from the quality of the game:
Injuries are a part of football. Obviously the demands that those players have in the way that the schedule is, there's more demands than ever and probably that's going to bring more injuries. We will try to avoid that as much as possible, but you can see that in many clubs, even in different countries as well. So we're going to have to live with that.
on how Gabriel Jesus is getting on in his rehabilitation:
Very good, so he's doing everything with the team at the moment for the last almost two weeks. We're going to give him some exposure as well internally with some games so he gets that fitness. But he looks really good in training and he's going to be a big addition to the team.
on advice to give Eberechi Eze ahead of his first north London derby:
Nothing special, nothing different to any other player. I'm very happy that he is with us. Over the years he had many options to go to different places. In the end, he was allowed to leave and he chose to come here, which I'm very, very happy and proud of. It's going to be a game that I can't wait for him to experience because it's very special.
on his record in a north London derby as a player or manager:
Trying to prepare as well as possible. Of course, trying to perform during the game and trying to be better than the opposition.
on Saka’s contract situation:
Well, what I'm very aware of is that he wants to continue with us. He's very happy that he's in the place that he wants to continue to be and achieve everything that we want to achieve together. When that happens and how it happens, I leave that to him and the club.
on going until March with no more international breaks:
We have a lot of work to do until that point. Again, go game by game, put the focus in the present, the things that we can do and we can control, try to improve every single day. Try to be a better team, we’ll have different videos, playing different kinds of oppositions, we’ll have different resources available as well in the team. We’ll try to be as competitive as we can and win as many games as we can.
on what it was like during the time when we were trying to sign Eze:
I don’t know, at the end of the day there are three different parties. My feeling when I spoke to him was that he wanted to join. It’s all about timing as well in football, which is something very difficult to predict and maybe it doesn’t work. But I’m very glad that it did work, it worked in a great way, I’m very happy with what he’s doing, what he can do for the club and the team and it’s just the start of the journey.
on if there’s more to come from him:
A lot, because those relations you have to build and a creative player needs to understand that. It’s all about connections and timing and about being in flow. He’s playing in a different position, the more he’s settled in one of the positions and has had to interact with players a bit more freely, which he’s doing at the moment, his natural talent will come out and he will have an even bigger impact on the team.
on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain training with us recently:
It’s great to have him around. Very proud to have him because, first of all, he wanted to be back. So when that happened, he’s a player that has been out, that he wants to come, that he felt loved here, respected and he believes it’s the right environment for him to again start to build something new in his career. We all know Alex, how magnificent a person he is. He can be a great example for the players as well, a great experience, even for me, so good to have him around.
on if the current team has an edge and a nastiness:
Yes, I do feel that we have everything that it takes to win.
on who the nastiest players are:
It's not about that, I don’t know if that’s the best word. It’s at the end, you need to have everything that is required to win, and then you have to deliver and do it. I really believe in my team.
on managing Calafiori’s loading:
He’s been dealing with a little issue and he played, then we rested him and took that load because of that, and when he got into the last game and had to travel with the national team, they were very understanding of that issue, and that’s when they allowed him to come back.
on if he’d like to see more of Odegaard roaming around attacking positions:
Yeah, we have new players and new players create new connections, create new ways of attacking especially, and we need to let that flourish. We are learning a lot from them and where they feel comfortable, how they can do that in the most efficient way, and when he’s back in the team I’m sure that we’ll be able to do other things as well.
on if he’s optimistic about our players who are recovering from injuries:
I am, but it’s the final stage, and now is when there’s contact around them, when they have to be pushing to do very unpredictable things that they haven’t done. I think they’re going to be with us soon. I don’t know if Sunday’s going to be too soon.
on if one player can replace Gabriel and his partnership with Saliba:
No, because every player brings specific qualities and Gabi’s is his leadership, his presence and that love that he has to defend, and to transmit as well, his body language to other players. We have to do it and we have to spread that. People will step up, we’ve done it in the past, many, many times unfortunately. We played last year, the biggest and most prominent part of the season without him as well, and the team was able to cope with that.
on how high he rates Zubimendi among the best midfielders in the world:
Well my players are the best. To compare him with other players, I don’t think it’s fair, I think each player has his own qualities. I think the impact of Zubi on the team is unquestionable. I think what he’s doing and doing it so early in his career here, it’s very, very impressive and that’s what we need. Players at that level, playing that consistently and helping the team, he’s going to be very positive for the team and the results of the team.
on if he should be in the Spain team at the World Cup next summer:
That’s for the manager to decide, hopefully he will do so well here that he will have a great chance and a big headache for the manager.
on managing Ben White’s minutes:
We had that period. After now, I think he’s in a much better period. Now we have to pick players in relation to the opponent and the game and the best combination that we think. He needs to continue to train very hard and wait for his opportunity because it’s going to happen.
on if he still has trust in his ability to handle so many games:
Yeah, but now he needs to do it when he plays and prove that like any other player, that’s the test, that’s the level. Jurrien has been incredible as well this season. We know the level of Ben and how incredible he can be for the team, so that’s it. Everybody will have options.
