Mikel Arteta has been speaking with the press ahead of our short trip across north London to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, February 22.
During his press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, Mikel previewed the clash, gave an injury update and much more.
Read every word below, with a video of the full press conference to follow:
on if there are any fresh injury concerns:
No, nothing new.
on the availability of Havertz and Odegaard:
We have to wait until tomorrow but there is a big possibility that they are available for the game.
on Saka’s new contract:
I think they are all very important. We are very happy that the players are feeling in such a strong way about the club and what we are doing and the way they feel treated and the fact that they can continue to improve and win what we want to win together. Bukayo’s news, obviously, is great, he’s one of our own, we got him here since he was very, very little. For him to make that decision and the club to be so aligned with him, I think it’s a really positive thing.
on how our players have reacted to the Wolves draw:
What I’ve seen is a tremendous reaction again and I’m not surprised at all. When you lose points in the last kick of the game again, in a very unpredictable manner, I would say, because to predict somebody with a 0.2 expected goals probability and one shot, to concede an equaliser in the manner that we did it, nobody can really understand that. But this is football and that’s the beauty of it, and that was a chapter.
We have a long season. Chapter 27 says, okay, we draw against Wolves in this manner. What I’m very interested in is the next one, it’s what we are made of. Ok, what do we do about this and how we write our own destiny from here and going forward, and that’s it. You have to react to that because life moves on, the result has to stay, unfortunate as it was. There is nothing that we can do, what we can do is a lot, it’s what’s going to happen next.
on the message to our supporters:
The immediate reaction is tough. You put so much in, you look at the first half and actually what happened in the game, I was post-match [talking] about the standards that we showed, it was much better than expected but it’s still not enough to the standards that we required. It's very difficult to understand, so it is a shock in the system, but they’ve been incredibly good with that. We wanted to give them the victory, we couldn’t, and we have to move on.
on if the north London derby is the perfect opportunity to respond:
It’s the one we have after and it’s the one we cannot wait to play. If we could play today, I think we’d all love to play today, to get that feeling that we have in our tummies and use it in the right way and we have to show that on Sunday.
on how big a challenge it is to prepare for a game against a new manager:
I think it's happened seven times already this season. We are getting used to it. We have analysed everything that he's done in his career. In different clubs, different formations, the players that they have available. From there, of course, we will have the capacity to adapt in relation to what the game requires. But the main focus is also on what we have to do to win.
on Vinicius Junior and if we’ve spoken to our players about what should happen in an incident like that:
That's why we have meetings with the Premier League or UEFA before the season starts to make sure that everybody is very aware of the protocols and what we expect from each other. Obviously, there is no room for racism in this sport. I think we need to stick to that, and then the manner of acting, I think you have to go case by case to understand what's the best option.
on the amount of goals we’ve conceded late on in matches:
I think every game has had different situations. We have one against Palace in the Carabao Cup as well. So, yes, there are different situations to analyse. Certainly, it is not the intention to defend any result, that's not the mindset of the players. You have to give credit to the opposition, and sometimes because you are not doing exactly what the game demands in certain aspects with the ball, which is more what happened on that one, by soaking up pressure without conceding a single shot as well. Which is the reality of what happened. The Villa one was, in my opinion, very different, the last seven or eight minutes of the game.
on why Norgaard hasn’t come in more to replace Zubimendi:
We played with Christian, Declan [Rice] has played there as well. We have changed a lot of players in the team. So it's dependent on the kind of game that we expect, who do we believe is in the best condition physically, mentally, technically and tactically to deliver what we require.
on if people are losing perspective on where we are this season:
No, because I think everybody has their own opinion, and their perspective is the right one. I think we all have an individual book. I don't know what your book would say. What you predicted three months ago, five, seven, eight, it would be very interesting to go through yours and understand how you predict it or how you see the season going. We have ourselves a very clear instruction. We have to live in the present. What we did in the past is great, but we have to live in the present, and the present is beautiful. We are exactly what we want to be in every competition, and what is there to play, for we need to earn it, like we've done in the last seven or eight months.
on how important it is to keep calm now:
Yes, keep calm, keep our eyes open, ears open and understand what the players need to give their best. That’s it. One of the things we have to tweak every game is to keep doing what we are doing, which is winning a lot of games and being in the position we want to be.
on if this is the biggest north London derby for a long time:
I don’t know. For us, it’s the most important one because it’s the one we have in a few days’ time. It’s the one that is going to give us the chance to be closer to achieving what we want.
on if we can use the emotion of the derby in a positive way:
That’s what we are trying to do. That’s the instant reaction - first of all, it’s pain [from conceding late in our last game], and then after that, what can we do about it? That’s it. There is not another thing that we have to do - now all we have to do is perform on the pitch. The words are clear. I was a player - love me when I draw or lose. When I win, to love you when I win, it’s very easy. You have to love the players and be next to them when they need it most.
on if he was surprised by how our players dealt with the situation against Wolves:
No, because I know how much they want it and that’s part of it. When you are so keen to achieve what you want to do, and you are putting so much in throughout the season every single day to get closer and closer to your objective, you live with that passion. That’s very normal, and this one is off the pitch.
on a video from Wolves’ TikTok about the game:
No [I haven’t seen it], what I read is the press conference of Rob [Edwards], the manager, before the game and what he said about us and what he texted me. He thinks we are the best team in the league by far - I’m much more interested in that than any other thing that I don’t know who posted, or whatever. Especially because I don’t read it.
on what he wants from us after we score the first goal:
Score the second and the third one. Attack better; be more dominant in the high press, dominate all the rest of the plays; don’t give unnecessary fouls so the goalkeeper can start putting balls in and put two centre-backs up. Dominate all chaotic situations; they are what we want to do, and keep the ball under pressure.
on dropping points from winning positions:
If we address that, we are the best team in the world and unstoppable because we will be 32 points ahead of everybody else.
on wanting to widen the margins in relation to goals for and against:
Against, very unpredictable to predict the kind of goals that we conceded. The Brentford one [came] from us throwing much more. What we can do before that to prevent that happening is still improvable, and in the attacking process, the first half we had very different outcomes. In the second half as well, a very, very open situation. We didn't even finish with a chance. So, a lot of room to improve.
on if he’d like to use Saka and Havertz in a new combination when available:
We can. It depends as well on the availability of the players in terms of the load that he can absorb. Bukayo was okay to start the game but we knew that he could not finish the game so we had to get him out because he was going to start to cramp or take a risk with the previous injury that he had and we didn't want to do that. So, depending on the state of the player, how much we can use him.
on if Trossard is okay for Sunday:
Yes, he's fine, yes.
on if we need to win trophies for players to want to stay long-term:
Well, up to now, that probably hasn't been the driving force behind their decision. So, we'll see from here forward.
on if it’s becoming mentally tougher to be in a title race:
I think it's becoming more and more exciting because that means that you are closer. The more repeatedly you are in these kinds of positions, you're going to win it. The same in the Champions League. You don't get to the quarter-finals for, how long was it? 20 years? Or semi-final. It's impossible. You have no chance. You can dream whatever but you have no chance. So, first of all, you have to be there, and then in April or May, it will be decided who is the best, who can get over the line.
on conceding low xG goals, if it’s a coincidence or something we’re doing wrong:
Probably a bit of both. I think we'll have to go goal by goal. But somebody from a really low-scoring position can put the ball in the top bins. What are the odds for that to happen? Or someone putting the ball in the top corner and costing you points? I don't know. It depends on the players in this league. They have a lot of quality as well. That's a credit to them
