Every word of Mikel’s pre-Everton press conference

Mikel Arteta was back in front of the media at Sobha Realty Training Centre for his pre-Everton press conference on Friday afternoon.

Our manager was asked about the latest team news, our final trip to Goodison Park on Saturday, and more.

Here's everything he had to say on the following subjects.

on losing Gabriel to injury:
It was a tough one to digest because we just got Bukayo back and then we lost Gabi. So it was tough, but the team reacted like it has reacted all season. I’m really proud of that and we know that he's going to be out for a while, so we need to find different solutions and keep competing the way we have been all season. 

on having to find more solutions to problems: 
We have to because we've come so far and now we have the most important, beautiful part of the season. We have to react to those things, and that means that other players are going to have opportunities to play and the team has to find other ways. It is a big miss undoubtedly, but we have the resources to cope with that.

on whether Calafiori could be back:
Ricky is not fit, and that means in the last week or so we have lost four players and that's obviously a big task. But let's see how Ben and Jurrien are tomorrow, and that's it - we must keep playing and competing the way we have been.

on if White and Timber could be fit for Everton:
There's a chance, yes.

on whether he would risk them with Real Madrid up next:
The problem is that we have a few of those [calls], so we're going to have to decide this evening or tomorrow very early in the morning which players we can play and for how long especially.

on playing more players out of their usual positions:
There are a few on the table. How far we have to go down that route, hopefully not that deep, but there are always options.

on Saka being back:
It's like always, after coming through a difficult situation, a really nice one can appear. I think all the hard work and all the difficult moments he had in the last four months, they were paid off just by receiving that love, that support and that admiration from all our people. 

on how long Saka could play for against Everton to get ready for Madrid:
The only focus now is on what we have to do. We know how tough [Goodison Park] is and we have experienced it. Every team that goes there struggles and tomorrow we're going to have to be really strong. The best way to prepare for Real Madrid is to win and play really well tomorrow.

on visiting Goodison one last time:
It will be very special. There’s a lot of history as well between the clubs and I have my own personal story which was a beautiful one, with the manager that has just come back now and he's doing extremely well. I'm so happy for the club, and for David because it's never easy to come back there for the second time. In my opinion, he was the person who lifted that club to a different level and now he's on the journey to do it again once they move to a new stadium, so I think it's a really nice story.

on whether he’ll get a warm welcome when he returns:
I think when it comes to competing, they will defend their part, and I will defend my part. But for me it's always very special to go back there.

on an AI report suggesting he’s the best-looking manager in the Premier League:
My mum and dad should be very proud of the job that they did! That's good to know, thank you.

on Saka and Odegaard’s connection:
That chemistry, that bond, that relationship is something very special. Obviously, we missed it – they played so many minutes and games together. That flows, flows naturally, flows in the right way. I think the qualities complement each other really well and Martin has been exceptional again. The other day we had to play Ethan, he made the assists, he contributed in his own way so we have options. Now, hopefully, we're going to have more and more from here to the end of the season.

on the camaraderie and environment around the club:
I can talk about what I've seen there, ad the feeling I have, me personally, every time I wake up in the morning, that I'm desperate to go through those doors and start to share our day with everybody; the staff, players and everybody around the club. That's a privilege that's been built between all of us and hopefully will be sustained for many years.

on imposing our game against Everton:
Exactly, I think that's the word. Because they want to play a very different game from ours. That's the challenge every time in the Premier League, how you take the game where you want and how you make that happen as often as you possibly can. Then it will be decided in the boxes, where you have to be really strong.

on Kevin De Bruyne leaving Manchester City at the end of the season:
I don't know if he's the one, the two or the three, but for me, he's one of the best players in the history of the Premier League, without a question about that. I've never seen, I've never played with a player that can execute that precisely at high speed. He can be running at 33, 34 kilometres an hour and play the ball 30 metres through two people to the perfect spot. I haven't seen anybody else do that at that pace.

on if he would have liked to play with De Bruyne:
I would have loved that. I was lucky that I was part of a team that he was very much involved in. What I think makes him special, apart from obviously that technical ability, is how strong he is here because Kevin, he always wants to take the risk, he's willing to make things happen and when the things don't go for him, he still continues to try that way and I think that separates him from the rest.

on if Real Madrid is a bigger game than Everton:
No, that's wrong. The biggest game for us is Everton, and the best way to prepare for Real Madrid is to do what we have to do to beat Everton. Because this is football, it's an emotional game and you have to continuously do what you have to do, and you cannot be thinking ahead - the competition, the level, how the teams are prepared, is too big to think that way. You cannot allow yourself to think that way.

on playing Declan Rice as a centre half:
We would for sure. We tried against PSV away last season and he's played in that position and hopefully it won't be needed. But if it is, he's a player who is capable of doing that.

on hamstring injuries around the Premier League:
No, I don't think it's specific to Arsenal, and it's a very difficult one to put a finger on just one motive that has caused that injury because we have had four and the four of them are completely different. One is after two days off and in the session he was stopping a shot. The other one is after three consecutive matches in December, the other one is after playing for Brazil and having a few days off, bringing down two good sessions and then playing the first game. So, we don't really know. We are doing all the research and trying to understand how we can bring that probability down as much as possible but it's still a bit early.

on reducing the load in training:
We can do. The sample is very, very small because last year we were the best team in that aspect, so we'll continue with the same methodology and alter things. It's true that this season where we started with a really short squad with some already injured players in the first two international weeks that really narrowed the team so much. That put more load on players, but that's the context that we are in. 

on hamstring injuries ruling players out for longer periods:
Before it was okay, two, three weeks, you could handle it like this. When you're talking about months and surgery, that's obviously something very different.

on James Tarkowski’s challenge on Wednesday and if that factors into our team selection:
No, because I think it's part of the Premier League. When you see a certain angle, a certain speed of tackle, you can have very different opinions. I think David [Moyes] explained it really well in his post-match interview, it's part of the game. The referee is there to referee it and probably as well the way we are looking at tackles compared to what we used to see before is a bit different as well.

on if players need to take a stance on not having time to train muscles appropriately:
Again, let's see, the sample is still very small. There are worries that we're going to be playing more and more games by the way it looks, especially in the next two seasons, we're going to have to address a lot. I think players have changed their lifestyles a lot, they are much more professional. The demands are there, but the thing is, it is not going to change. The Premier League intensity is going to go higher. It's been much higher in the last two seasons. In terms of the spring, the peak is incredible and it's going to continue to go that way so we're probably catching up a little bit because we didn't expect that to grow that fast. But we have to adapt to it.

on if Gabriel gets the credit he deserves:
Certainly with us, I don't know externally. But I think the best person to ask about Gabriel is William [Saliba] because that's a partnership. When you ask William who does he want to play next to him, I think the answer is clear because he brings qualities and especially I think he makes his qualities much better.

on other players needing to step up to become leaders on the pitch:
That's what we need to do. When we lose a voice, a leader, a presence like him, we need to step up, and one player is not going to be able to do exactly that and you cannot demand that. So between all of us, we have to do it.

on Sander Berge complimenting our team after Tuesday’s game:
In the end, the opposition and the players are the best ones to judge how they feel on the pitch, so it's a really nice compliment for the team. It talks about the effort that the boys put in in that organisation and how much they feel it because without feeling it, you cannot do it at the level that we are able to do it. So it's always good to hear those comments.

on if Saka needs to start tomorrow to get minutes under his belt ahead of Madrid:
That's a possibility. We're going to decide tomorrow what's the best option for that because it's not only him involved. We have a lot of pieces to move and some players know they're not going to be able to finish the game, so it's a lot to decide.

on if he has to think about wrapping him in cotton wool and not playing him:
He needs exposure and he's going to have exposure. He played 30 minutes the other day, he felt really well. He scored a goal and he wants more. He's clear in the last two days. He's demanding more and he wants more, so that's a good sign.

on how he’ll convince Merino to go back to midfield:
I already did that because I played him as an eight the other day when we brought Leo in, so we discussed that. He's a joy to work with and that's one of the reasons why we wanted to bring him to the club because he's so versatile. He's very intelligent and he loves the game and he loves to understand the game and the reason why we have certain players to do what we want them to do. Mikel understood immediately, explaining his qualities, what the team needs in that moment and how he can benefit from being in those positions and demanding that the role he can do as a number nine with his qualities, not comparing to anybody else and judge his performances on that basis, and since then, I think he's been really good.