Following Thursday night's win against FC Zurich, Mikel Arteta tackled some questions from the media about the upcoming game against Chelsea on Sunday lunchtime.
The boss was asked about his defenders, the quick turnaround between games as well as English coaches, ahead of his meeting with Graham Potter.
Here is everything he had to say:
on how Gabriel and Saliba’s partnership at centre-back is progressing:
I think really good, really natural and there is a connection, a personal connection. You can feel it - there is a chemistry. I think they make each other better, the qualities that they have and I think they’ve been really consistent in terms of their performances as well.
on what language they communicate in:
It’s a mix between French, English and Brazilian! Sometimes I don’t get it, but they understand each other so it’s fine.
on Ben White being comfortable at right-back:
I think he’s really happy there and enjoying it. I think he finds there he has a bit of freedom and you can see when he has spaces that he likes to attack, so I think he’s happy there.
on if he’s been surprised by how good he is in attack:
He’s got that capacity. Physically he’s a really special player, he’s very intelligent and very gifted, and he has a lot of courage to play this game. If you tell him to play midfield, he will and give his best.
on whether All or Nothing helped fans understand the Aubameyang situation last season better:
I don’t know because I haven’t watched it.
on whether we underrate English coaches in the UK:
I don’t, so I don't know, but I hope they don’t because I think we have some exceptional young English coaches, and we have a lot of coaches that have done so much for this league, and are in the history of this league for the way the game has to be played and keep certain special things that this league needs. The English managers have prevented the changes being too dramatic and quick, and the essence of English football still remains here.
on Aubameyang’s suggestion that Arteta struggles to manage big personalities:
No comment.
on if it is about time that we won the Premier League:
It is about time because it has been so long, so I completely agree, and we have to end that time. I think we’ve done that so far but there is still a long, long season ahead of us.
on if the quick turnaround between the Zurich and Chelsea games is fair:
There are worse things in life, that’s for sure. We have a game we knew about and we have prepared for that, so there are no excuses. We have to be ready on Sunday very early to be able to compete against a very good team.
Get all the pre-match information you need ahead of the game against the Blues in our in-depth preview
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