Mikel Arteta was back in front of the media for the first time after the March international break on Monday.
He sat down at Sobha Realty Training Centre to talk team news (including the latest update on Bukayo Saka's fitness), the arrival of sporting director Andrea Berta, Fulham and more.
Here's everything our manager had to say on the following subjects.
on being back after the international break:
It's great. We had a good time to reflect and to reset and put ourselves in a really good position to go for the most exciting part of the season.
on if Bukayo Saka is available:
Bukayo is ready to go.
on how carefully we have to manage his minutes:
Well, all the careful things he's already done. So now it's about putting him in the grass in the right moments. But he's pushing because he really wants it. We have respected the timeframe, we have done everything and we have had to hold him back even. So he's ready to go.
on if he could start:
Yes.
on how much of an impact he can have:
It's another massive weapon that we have with him. We know the impact that he's had on the team and how important his role and his contribution are to our success. So it's great to have him back.
on Calafiori and Timber:
Riccardo, unfortunately, picked up an injury again with the national team. It was really unfortunate the way it happened, but it could have been much worse so hopefully it's going to be a matter of weeks. But we'll have to see how that injury evolves. Jurrien was ill for a long period, quite badly. He's felt much better in the last few days, so he's available.
on the appointment of Andrea Berta as sporting director:
I think it's a big addition to the club, a big addition to the team. A team that is already formed with a lot of great people. Richard [Garlick] leading it, but as well with James [King], with Jason [Ayto], with a lot of people at the club that have been doing such good work. So it's about building out that chemistry. And I believe Josh [Kroenke] has been fully involved in the process as well, so we are all very excited to have him.
on how he can help us in the transfer window:
Straight away the words that come out are always winning, improving and demanding, and he's a person, very honest, very straightforward with a very clear vision of what he wants to do. He was so willing to join us, which is a very positive thing as well because he had many other possibilities, and he chose to come to us. Now it's about us giving him the support and the understanding of the situation and context straight away, and for him to start to do what he's already done for many, many years at the highest level, which has been very impressive.
on what’s possible for the rest of the season:
It's possible to win tomorrow, and the preparation is to be better than Fulham and beat them tomorrow. If we do that, we're going to start to generate a good momentum that's going to help for both competitions.
on Calafiori’s injuries:
They're two injuries that were picked up with the national team. One, it was a kick, and the other one is a really bad turn, twist when he slips with the surface. And the other one, it was muscle. But the main two injuries that he had, the was very little he could do, so very unfortunate.
on if Fulham are dangerous to play after their FA Cup defeat:
I don't know. It's always a really tough opposition, a team that is very well coached. They've been together for many years, they have great organisation, a lot of individual quality and a very clear identity of how they play, how they want to approach the games, especially against us. So we're going to have to be really good tomorrow to beat them.
on how good Emile Smith Rowe can be:
Exceptional. He's got all the attributes to become a top, top footballer, and that consistency, especially with us, he was unable [to maintain], especially in the periods that he had injuries. But he has tremendous quality.
on what we took from our 1-1 draw with Fulham in December:
That we have a lot of dominance and quite a lot of chances, both in open play and set-pieces-wise. But they were very clinical in what they do, and the first chance, especially when we were very on top of the game, they managed to score the goal. Then they sit back and reduce the spaces and it's a team that is well-organised.
on Myles Lewis-Skelly scoring for England:
A great moment, we are all so happy for him. It was so unusual to see something like this on your debut, especially a full-back scoring the goal in the manner that he did for his country, so it was a very special week for him.
on if Bukayo will start tomorrow:
We'll see that tomorrow.
on if Andrea Berta can unlock potential for us going forward:
We certainly believe that he is someone who is going to impact the club. He's got that experience, he's got this personality as well, this charisma, and he strives to and will to win. That is going to be very contagious. It's very much instilled in the football club, especially from the top, because this is what we want to achieve, but to have people as well with different expertise, experiences, and that they've already done it, is very, very helpful.
on what he likes about his attributes:
What I like the most immediately is how much he wanted to come to the club. He was really attracted and really excited about that possibility, and then the way he believes that he can help us to achieve what we want.
on someone coming in who has their own ideas:
That's what I mentioned, that the good thing is the strong team that we already have in place, and all the work that the recruitment, that Jason, James, and all the boys have been doing, and everything is prepared. Then that planning has to be tweaked, because what you plan and you execute most of the time ends up being a bit different but the direction, the vision, and what we want to do is clear. He will jump on board with that, and hopefully he will twist it and make it better. That's why he's here.
on resting international players and his relationship with Thomas Tuchel:
The more communication there is, and understanding when a player plays, it means do you want to play or you have to play. It's very different. If you have other alternatives, you still have to play. It's one decision. If you have to play because there are other alternatives because of the situation you have in the squad, that's something. The best thing is always to communicate ahead what the intentions are, what the processes are, and what the thought process was behind certain decisions, because to compare two similar actions with different contexts, it doesn't make any sense.
on Bukayo’s mindset:
It's more the energy that he transmits, that he's missed the thing that he loves the most in his life, which is to be around the team, to play, to train, and to compete at the highest level. The fact that he's able to come in the most important part of the season obviously is a massive boost for him and for the team as well.
on if he can hit the ground running:
Especially to get [rustiness] out of your head. You haven't played for three months, but you've played for the last 48 months, so three in 48 is a very small percentage. I haven't done the housekeeping duties for a week, but I've done it for 10 years, so I know what to do, I know how to sustain it, and I'm clever enough to maintain that. The habit is certainly there, so don't think about that.
on what Odegaard brings to the team:
I need a lot of time to do that! He's great. He's the captain, he's one of the most important players. His consistency levels are incredible, and it's a player that defines our way of playing. That's how I would put it.
on why he has been the captain for two years:
Because we believe he's the right role model for the club and for the team.
on Myles scoring for England and if there has been a change in his personality:
I hope not, because scoring a goal for the national team shouldn't change him. His spirit, his level of confidence, I think it's high, and I think that's very good for any footballer, and I think he's starting to gather very beautiful experiences over a very short period of time, and I think he's assimilating it very well. It's not a change, it's an evolution, because in the end, this is a state of mind, but then every ball, every action you do in a game, that state of mind changes. Above all, you have to know that this is part of a process, and it's a path that he's starting to walk, that at the moment everything is going very well, and that you have to do things to make it that way.
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