We're back in Premier League action with a trip to Wolves on Saturday, and the day before Mikel Arteta was back in front of the cameras at the Sobha Realty Training Centre to face the media.
As usual, he was asked about injuries and transfers, but he also gave his thoughts on what Wolves have done since Vitor Pereira's appointment, squad sizes and much more.
Here is everything he had to say:
on players potentially returning from injury:
With Myles there is nothing serious on the scan, so it’ll be a matter of having a meeting with the medical staff today. We have a training session, so we'll see whether it’s too early or not and with Willo it’s something similar as well. I think he’ll be in for next week but this week, let’s see how it goes.
on Ben White:
He’s still not available.
on whether it’s essential we sign a forward in the window:
My opinion is clear - we lost two very important players in Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, so we lack goals, people and options in the front line, it’s clear. If we can get the right player, that’s what we are actively looking at, but any player - no, we need someone that makes us better and makes an impact on the team, it’s clear that for the period that we have lost them ideally, we need some help because we were short already and we’re even shorter. The team has still coped with that but we have to do what is right for the club.
on if the window will close without us bringing in a striker:
That’s an option, it doesn’t depend on us. It doesn’t depend on just Arsenal or Mikel or our will. It depends on the market and many other factors.
on if there’s work going on to identify targets:
Yes.
on if we’re considering ending one of our domestic loans:
We are not thinking about that.
on how we’ve changed since our opening-day game against Wolves:
I think we are a much better side than since the start of the season, in every sense because we have evolved a lot as a team. We’ve had some very important experiences and the way we have competed throughout the last six or seven months with everything that has happened, it’s outstanding I think.
on facing a new Wolves manager:
He’s been in for a few weeks already, so we already know [what he’s like]. I know Vitor very well from previous clubs as well and what his ideas are, and it’s very clear how he sets up his team. He has had a really good impact on the team, and it will be a really tough match tomorrow. They are a really well-coached team, and especially there, they are difficult to beat.
on how they differ under Pereira:
The structure and the organisation are different, there are certain very clear principles of what he wants to achieve with and without the ball, as well as certain players in different moments. Now they are in a different moment as well, so everything is important.
on their style:
They have done it differently throughout matches, regardless of the opposition and regardless of results. So that tells you a lot about their intentions, so we will have to understand very quickly what kind of game they want to propose and what is good for us.
on the threat Matheus Cunha poses:
I prefer not to talk about individuals, I talk about the collective qualities they have and they do have a lot.
on playing well without getting results:
That’s a fact, but the thing is we can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we have to raise our hands. There are certain elements, certain things, certain moments that we have to elevate our standards so those small margins become huge and they are a reflection of what happens on the pitch.
on if there are any plans about a winter break:
No further plans.
on our long-term plans for new players:
Everything [is a factor]. You have certain resources, the ability to recruit certain players, to develop certain players, to bring certain players through the academy. Everything, in a positive note as well. We have to have our own players who people probably expected to have no participation this year, but they had a lot, and a very important one so far, so that’s a big bonus as well.
on how difficult it is to sign a player to replace an injured player:
Well we don’t know for how long and how many games he can play. The context has changed a lot, the amount of games we have, the intensity and demands we put on our players, it’s just impossible to think that a player can sustain that.
on if managers should have bigger squads:
Yes, but I think we cannot resolve that situation. I think that situation as well with both the Premier League and UEFA rules have to be adapted because the schedule has adapted in a really demanding way, but the constraints that the clubs have are more limited. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to continue in the direction that we want which is to watch the best football games that we want, to have players available so that players can extend their careers and maximise their potential, and for the show to continue.
on expecting goals against Wolves due to our history in the fixture:
Yes, thank you for the stat but for tomorrow’s game, that doesn’t help us unfortunately!
on if we can sell players to have a better chance of signing players:
It’s all about balance as well and then depending which player it is, if that player is a player that obviously gives us space or limits us again in a certain position, it depends. The rules are quite tricky as well, it’s not just what you bring and what you sell, it’s actually the resources we have available after that.
on White’s rehab:
He hasn’t trained with the team yet, but I think he’s very close to doing that. He still needs to tick a few boxes in the next two or three days, and if that’s going well and smoothly, I think he’ll be with us pretty soon.
on if he wishes he could rotate himself to have a rest:
Me? No, I’m okay! I don’t have to run. The psychological demands are very different and everything that we want to achieve. Obviously we put the bar really high, but it’s what I love doing! I’m fine.
on how he has to look after himself:
Diet, I’m doing good. With sleep, I can sleep a little bit more, so I will find the right time to do so.
on rumours about Ayden Heaven’s future:
You know I cannot talk about anything that is individual and this is not my duty.
on if we can catch Liverpool:
The margins are really, really small. You can see how things could’ve gone last weekend - the turning points are minimal and the gap certainly looks very different. We have to be at it, we have to do what is in our hands and there’s still a long, long way to go.
on if they’ll have a difficult spell:
They normally do, so we have to be there. That’s for sure.
on if the squad can absorb players of an older age profile:
Yes it can because I think you need to find the right chemistry and the right balance in the squad. That goes with age, personalities, characters, that goes with different skillsets to adapt to very different demands that the game can throw at us, so I think the squad is in a good place.
on how Trossard and Martinelli have done in recent weeks:
I'm very happy, because I think they’ve made another step forward. They are impacting the game in a more powerful way, in a consistent way as well. Both of them are playing off the left, playing off the right, in the centre. It’s a great asset to have because they’re really important and the fact that both of them now are in a good moment I think gives the team a very good threat.
on if players say they need a new signing in the team:
Not like that, but I think we’ve all been there. They look at each other and we have very, very short numbers for many, many weeks. They recognise the situation, we all do, that’s why we’re trying to do what’s right for the club, for the team, for the players. That’s our intention.
on if players are consulted on signings:
Sometimes yes, especially if they know them because that’s getting away from the computer, what the data is saying, and is real. ‘I’ve seen it, I sense it, that player can score a lot of goals.’ Great. So how has this player acted when he hasn’t scored for six or seven games? This is what I’m interested in. Watch an interview with a player who hasn’t scored for six games. Then, what kinds of goals has he scored against which teams in what contexts? Is it the first half, the second half? Is it only right foot, is it headers? Always only in open spaces? Does he like the physical contact of this league? There are a lot of things so, when you have a player that has spent a lot of days with him, that’s really valuable information to have. I always do it.
on the January market in general:
That’s a question for Jason honestly. That’s not for me, I’m with the team and the one that is managing the situation is Jason at the moment.
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