Every word of Mikel’s pre-Liverpool presser

Mikel Arteta sat down in front of the media for his pre-Liverpool press conference on Friday.

He was asked for the latest team news, his thoughts on Liverpool and more.

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

on Saka, Calafiori and Timber:
We’re going to do our very best to somehow have them available but it’s very uncertain.

on the extent of Calafiori’s injury:
He needs some more tests. Yesterday he had some, today he’s going to have some more and after that we will know. Last time we thought it was really bad and he ended up playing two or three days after, so let’s see how it is.

on if he will make Sunday’s game:
I said the last time it happened, but this time it might be different.

on if Saka has done any training:
Yes, he has done a bit of training on the grass. How far we can get him to Sunday, that’s a different question. We have another day, which is a good thing, but we’ll see.

on if Timber has trained:
Timber, again, it’s the first session that he could have some involvement. He’s been out for a while, we expected him to be further back than where he is at the moment but, again, we have to wait and see.

on how to replace suspended Saliba:
Well we have different options, players that have already played there before. It’s true that that partnership has been very stable as you said, he’s played every single moment. He’s not available, we have to find a different solution which is something that, as a team, we need to be good at as well.

on whether we’ve done anything different ahead of Sunday:
Yes, obviously after the defeat with 10 men at Bournemouth we had to pick ourselves up. I think we started the game so well. At first it was really good and should have been very different with the scoreline. It wasn’t and in the end that left us feeling that it should’ve been more. They had a day off, two days to prepare again like we always do, and it’s a big match. We’re all excited about it, it’s a big opportunity. We love these kind of matches at the Emirates. We know what our people are going to generate and the team is really looking forward to it.

on what can give us the edge against Liverpool:
That things go our way, you know, and that we play the game that we want to play. That play with dominance. We’ve done it in the past, we’ve done it recently, and playing with that belief, energy and commitment that is necessary in a big match like this.

on what he’s seen from Arne Slot:
Yes, very good. They’re obviously in a really good moment, they’re on a great run and you can see the touch that he’s given to a team that was already very strong, but you can see his fingerprints on that team.

on the most dangerous thing about Liverpool:
It’s a team that, you know, for nine years has been competing on the highest level in every competition, so they know how to compete. They know how to threat you when the ball is really far, when the ball is in the outside unit especially. They have individual quality to damage you, they are good on set-pieces. It’s a team that for nine years consistently has been there. That means that they are really good at everything that they do.

on the strength in depth to deal with Saliba’s absence:
Yeah, well, obviously we had so much going on, especially in the backline. The first few months of the season, we had to adapt to that. That's why we have as well, some versatile players that have been really, really helpful. But, yeah, ideally would have other options as well and more consistency, but that's the situation that we have at the moment.

on if he feels hard done by to have so many injuries:
This is the game, you know, obviously, we didn't want to be in that situation, but we are really lucky as well to have the squad that we have, to have the players that we have, to have the attitude that we have. When it comes down to reacting against a difficult situation and don't feel sorry for ourselves, face it. We are a team that we know how good we are as well and how difficult we can be for the opponent. And having that ruthless mentality in the team is something that I love.

on if this game requires a different mentality:
Yeah, we're always going to be ourselves, you know, in the things, in the identity that we have, in the game that we want to play, in how we're going to approach the game to win it, that's certainly not going to change. Then, obviously, you adapt and you make certain alterations to fit the quality of the players and put the players in the biggest strength, which is what we want to do. 

on if Lewis-Skelly or Nwaneri could start on Sunday:
They are there, you know, they are in contention. They're always giving us the option and the possibility to start the game. Myles came on the other night and he did really well, Ethan the same. So they're first-team players, they're with us and we treat them and we value in the same way as any other player. 

on if young players can play without fear in big games:
Yes, for sure. That's certainly something that they don't feel much, especially those two. And that's something really positive. It brings the crowd together as well. It creates energy in the team, does something really good. It's about, yes, thriving in the best moment, with the right players around you, which is something really important as well. No [Not scared to play them] Well, we did it in a Champions League game the other day, so.

on if Liverpool are on par with Man City as title challengers:
Yeah, for me they are one of the best teams in the last decade. And certainly the history of this Premier League. Because they competed against a team that was creating record after record. And they were consistently, that shows a lot of relentless and winning mentality. To consistently believe in you at some point you feel that you could not reach it. So that's a big credit to them. And the way they've done it with a very clear identity. So that's something remarkable, in my opinion.

on if this game is his biggest test:
I need to go on the hard drive, but I think we have very, very difficult moments or challenging moments. I don't think this is one of them. Yeah, we are so energised, you know we play Liverpool at home. We really want to play. We have a magnificent squad. The atmosphere is going to be tremendous and I’m really looking forward to the game. 

on preparing to win the game, not lose it:
I never think about what if we lose it? Everything that we do is to win it. So in my preparation, I don't spend one second if we lose it. It's about if we win it, how convinced we are that we are going to win it. And then how we're going to feel afterwards.

on if he thinks about the title race at all:
I don’t. When we won against Aston Villa, everyone was saying the same – if you lose this game, the second game of the season, what’s next? And then you have to go to City and you have this and that – we cannot think like this in October.

on the importance of keeping team news from leaking:
Especially for team news, yeah? That’s something I understand – a lot of kids as well want to do their own teams and be managers in their positions. It is our job to protect that as much as possible because you don’t want to give anything away. It’s normal.

on if he’s had to work on that:
It’s a big part of our job – we have a lot of information, a lot of sensitive information, a lot of information that people want to have and share, and it’s our obligation and duty to maintain and protect the club and the team in the best possible way.

on why the injuries have happened:
In a lot of cases, it’s been very bad luck. We have certain difficult knee injuries, certain traumatic injuries, three injuries with the national teams which is difficult to control but luck, I don’t know why they call it luck! What happened with Riccardo the other day, what happened before with Tomiyasu, it can happen but it’s about how we react to that, we’re never going to change it.

on if he’s surprised by how Slot has started at Liverpool:
No, because obviously the team that they have, the infrastructure they already have and the individuals that they have and because he’s a really a good manager. He has inherited a team that is already very successful and he’s giving it his touch to maintain that and to evolve that probably he believes it’s the right way to do it. Obviously, from the beginning, when you look at that squad, you think they’re going to be right in the mix.

on if he knows the lineup today:
Team on Sunday? No.

on what the next 48 hours look like:
A lot of drawing, a lot of possibilities, a lot of ifs because the team we’re probably going to start is not going to be the team that we finish the game. It happens every week; you have to prepare for the scenarios, what context the game throws at you and how prepared we are after to make the changes that we need to do; who is available to play 90 minutes, who is not, that’s always the case.

on if we were prepared for a number of injuries:
Not directly in the season and not in the manner that they have happened with a few players. Having rest in the best physical and mental conditions, it’s something that we put a lot of work into because it’s key. Then, be the team and prepare because when that happens you lose your captain, that’s a big thing, then you lose your central defender, you lose your fullback, you lose your other fullback, you lose your striker, a winger; but the team has to have the resources, first of all mentally to adapt to that and then maintain the same belief that even like this, we’re a great team.

on what he’s learned about the team’s character:
I love watching people, watching individuals, watching teams react to that, and is it ‘look at that and I hate it.’ I haven’t seen the team once, the staff, I haven’t seen upstairs, I haven’t seen the people talking about it. Get on with it, show your teeth, show how much you want it, the amazing opportunity for other people, the amazing opportunity for us as a team to rebel against certain situations, we need the crowd more. On Sunday, we need them even more, I’m sure they’re going to do that and let’s keep going.

on how to stop himself from focusing on the negatives:
Because it gives me zero for the next moment, for the next day, the next preparation. It just takes things out of me and if it takes things out of me, it’s going to take things out of the staff because they are close to me, and then the players, and then belief. Throw it away, that’s it.