Mikel Arteta held his second pre-Crystal Palace press conference of the week at Sobha Realty Training Centre on Friday.
The date December 20 also marked his five-year anniversary as our manager, which he was asked plenty of questions about.
See everything he had to say on the below subjects.
on Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori:
They are both available to be in the squad.
on if there are any other updates:
Zinchenko could probably be available as well. Tomiyasu won't be.
on Gabriel Jesus having a good week:
Well he was very happy. Everybody in the team was really happy especially because he helped the team to win the game and get through to the semi-finals, which is what we wanted. You can see that immediate reaction of him, a big smile on his face, big energy around him, and that’s what we need to have everybody in the highest level of performance. Gabby certainly had a big one on Wednesday.
on if he can go on a good run:
Yes, he’s been looking really good since he came back from pre-season after he had a setback and he started to play. He had some good performances without scoring. Obviously what he did the other day is exactly what we need from our nines.
on Kieran Tierney:
At the moment he’s here with us. I wouldn’t play a player that is thinking about leaving or is not committed to us, so he’s fully committed, he’s enjoying after a long period again with a really tough injury, so live the moment. He’s a big part of the squad now, he deserves to be in the squad and played really well after such a long time, so that’s the only thing I can say.
on if he wants to move in January:
He hasn’t come to me and said ‘I want to move.’ In the past if we have any doubts he came to me and said ‘I think it’s my time to move’ and this hasn’t been the case yet.
on his five-year anniversary as our manager:
That I’ve really enjoyed it, that it’s gone really fast and I’m really grateful to be in the position that I’m in right now, and that I have a lot to learn, a lot to improve and the best is yet to come.
on aiming for major silverware:
This is what we want, to bring the big trophies and without losing the rest of the things that we have built, that’s very important as well.
on having to play the same team twice in one week:
It [the preparation] is different. Obviously, we played recently and analysed them, so we don’t have to do that too much, I’m sure that both teams will adjust a few things and probably change some personnel as well. Apart from that, the difficulty of the game remains the same - we know what it’s like to go to Selhurst Park and we have prepared for that.
on if Jesus and Kai Havertz can play together up top:
Yeah, that’s possible. With the players that we have and the connection that we can generate, I think it’s very do-able to have that kind of situation. And as I said before, I’m really pleased for Gabby’s performance, for the team’s performance and most importantly for the fact that we are in the semi-finals.
on what’s changed at the club during his five years in charge:
I don’t know, from my point of view, the unity, the connection and the fact that we are competing on big fronts right now. We haven’t managed to do that in the past few years, that’s positive but there’s still a lot to do.
on the Carabao Cup semi-final draw against Newcastle:
Let’s play them! It will be two very difficult games. We know that the four teams that are involved in the semi-finals are at the highest level, so we knew that whoever we got in the draw the difficulty was going to be there.
on how a London derby is different to other games:
Well, travel is easier! The range of teams you can play is very, very different and it’s unique in such a city that we have that many Premier League clubs, but so far it’s been good so hopefully tomorrow we can win it and put ourselves in a great position again.
on if it’s harder to play in more derby games:
I don’t see it that way. When you look at the calendar for the Premier League, straight away you realise that every opponent is difficult and every time you travel it’s difficult and that’s it. It’s special and what I think is nice for our supporters is that it’s very convenient I believe, so that’s a positive.
on uniting the club with the supporters:
Well, that’s obviously a big part of it and I think the other thing is the fact that I really enjoy working with the people that I work with every single day. We’ve built something together and so many people have contributed in a big way to achieve that and the fact that everybody is hungry and ambitious, but now we have to go to another level.
on how he still looks as young as he did five years ago:
I think I have changed. Things are different. It’s gone so fast and looking back it’s gone so, so fast. I enjoyed every minute of it when there were bumps in the road and when we had good moments and that’s about it. I’m here because I’m so passionate about what I do and I love this football club and I want the best of that, so I just try to give my best version every single day and think what is the best possible manager for Arsenal Football Club and its players and try to become that manager.
on how much his connection with the club has grown:
Obviously those things take time. Obviously there was a connection there because I was a player here, I was a captain here and I knew a lot of people at the club. That was very helpful. I think going through different situations together has galvanised that relationship, that respect, that admiration and appreciation from my side of what they have brought to the club and towards me as well. I think it’s a common feeling.
on if he could imagine ever managing another Premier League club:
At the moment, impossible. I have very limited energy because I put all of it to this football club, to the players and the staff, to give my very best. That’s my only ambition, to make this club more successful.
on if there was one decision to make in the last five years that was most important:
Good question! First of all I don’t make decisions by myself. A lot of time we share it with the club, whether that’s with people in the past or the people right now. And as well with the coaches, when we have to make decisions like that. So it’s very difficult to point to one of those. What I would say is that I haven’t regretted decisions. We have made them with a lot of analysis and with a very thoughtful process with a lot of people. Some right, and many wrong unfortunately!
on Marcus Rashford's situation:
You know I'm not going to talk about players from other clubs.
on if he can imagine himself being here another five years:
No, I think you have to live the present in this job, you know, and obviously you have to plan for what is coming in the mid and long term. The energy has to be in the moment and I'm paying attention to every detail, understanding how things are working, putting more processing in place to make better decisions. Always have that aim to keep everybody on his feet to get the best out of them and make sure they feel part of what we do.
on areas he’d like to be better in as a coach:
In all of them. Probably when I arrived, I was very, very obsessed with the tactical aspect of the game. And then straight away, two or three months after I took the job, I realised that there were no tactics to do. We were at home sitting with COVID, so we had to look after the club and the players in a different way. And the emotion, the physical part, was a very important one. Just that evolution, putting priorities in other aspects as well, focusing and spending time on other things and that's what I think I try to do. I think the team has always certain requirements, but they can change and they can shift in relation to moments, individual plays or collective momentum that we have at the team. And the coach has to be able to adapt and prioritise those things to help them as much as possible.
on Jurrien Timber adapting to different roles:
He's doing that because first of all it's in his nature. He's capable of doing it. He feels very comfortable doing it and we try to coach him to play to his strengths and mould the qualities around him with other players as well. I'm very pleased because I think he's been performing really well.
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