48 hours before we take on Manchester United, Mikel Arteta held his pre-match press conference at Emirates Stadium to discuss the game with the media.
He was asked about the mood in camp following our 7-1 win against PSV, how he’ll manage his young players going forward, and his highlights ahead of his 200 Premier League game as a manager this weekend.
Read his answers to those questions and more below:
on how the mood has lifted post-PSV:
It was a great night for us in an important competition we have a lot of hope in. The manner of the way we did it lifted everybody, but that is in the past unfortunately. It is about what we do today, the preparation for tomorrow and trying to replicate a great performance.
on having to take Myles Lewis-Skelly off early against PSV:
I think it was quite clear that we had a liability there with the yellow card and the next action. It wasn’t the moment to take any risks and we have learnt from that experience of managing the game for so long, especially with how important this competition is. It’s a lesson to learn for him as well, and we’ll support and help him, but the line is really thin in this sport and he needs to understand that.
on if he’ll learn from it quickly:
Yes because he is very intelligent and extremely demanding of himself [Reporters enter the press conference room late]. That is a fine by the way – dinner! But straight away his reaction was good, he is a perfectionist and has a great environment around him as well, and he is here to learn as well.
on if he expects Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly to be on England’s radar:
I have no idea other than what I’ve read and heard the noise around it. Thomas and his coaches will take the decision and we will support it.
on if it would be good for them at this stage in their careers:
Knowing Thomas and his coaching staff and the environment they have created in the England camp, I think it would be an incredible experience for them if that is the case, whenever that is. That’s not my decision; how we manage him here is in our control, but there they will be coached by people that are super experienced, far more experienced than me!
on his 200 Premier League games as our manager and his top three moments:
It’s gone fast! Probably number one would be the day that I was sitting here on the first day, fulfilling that dream of one day becoming the manager of this incredible football club. Then there are many others, but the other night was up there with one of the best because of the way we did it.
on what the next best memory would be:
A trophy, for sure. When we won the first FA Cup after everything we went through as a club and the COVID period which was really difficult as well.
on the next 200 games:
Win [on Sunday], this is the industry of what happens. We try our best, have a lot of energy and I’m still very driven to have more success.
on Martin Odegaard’s contributions:
When you have so much data and are looking at certain aspects of the game, that cannot reflect just the performance of a player, but it’s what you’re talking about in that phase and then still arriving in great positions in great situations to provide assists and score a goal and he’s proven that many times. The other day was a very good example of that.
on wanting to be more unpredictable and fluid:
We need to look at threats from all areas. We lost very important wingers that were providing a lot for us in that final third and we’re looking to explore other options as well. The team has this capacity to adapt, we have a lot of players with great football intelligence to understand when to move and why, especially to do certain things. The other day certainly flowed and we saw actions and combinations that are very difficult to defend.
on United’s being able to gets wins when they are not expected:
There’s a history of that at the football club – the players they have, the club that they have. Watching the game last night against Real Sociedad, it became very clear that they’re very capable of putting a really strong performance in and beat you on the day. We know the difficulty of the match and that’s what we’re preparing for.
on why we suddenly netted seven against PSV:
The way the game could’ve gone, they could’ve scored [first]. We were in total control of the game but in one action, they had a big chance and hit the crossbar. That could’ve changed the game. If Myles got sent off, it would’ve been a different game, so that’s why you have to understand the context of the game. What happened was we were super effective in the box and that’s a massive strength, especially in the Champions League, and that’s why we won the game with that margin.
on taking the freedom from the PSV win into Sunday:Yes it goes through momentum and what the game provides because we’ve been really good in certain games but the result wasn’t coming fast enough. But [against PSV] things were coming at the right moment, in the right time, in the right way and that’s very helpful, but every game is different.
on Chido Obi-Martin leaving in the summer:
I wasn’t too involved in that decision, when a player decides the best outcome for him is to leave, there’s not a lot you can do. It’s very unfortunate because we want to keep our players from the academy and for them to be very successful with the first team, but in that case and with Ayden [Heaven], we weren’t able to do that.
on if the perception that academy players had no pathway here:
I don’t know what the perception is outside, but internally no. The reality is very different because there are those players [Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri] are with us. I guarantee you that if there is a player that can help and impact the first team, they will be with us.
on balancing Lewis-Skelly’s game:
I think it’s about dominating the situation. Control the situation, you need to dominate what space you’re defending. What is the level of exposure that you have? Is the opponent facing you or not facing you? What is the probability to win that ball, and when do you have to commit to certain duels? Then you have to apply defensive principles that are very clear to have, most of the time, the best possibility to win the ball and not get exposed. If you don’t do that, then there will be problems.
on if Riccardo Calafiori’s attacking ability has surprised him:
He certainly has that capacity to flow in areas that, for a defender, is very unusual, that was something that really caught my eye. The other one is that he is very unpredictable, sometimes chaotic, and that can be very difficult as well from the position. That eye for goal, especially from open play, I didn’t have that understanding of the things he could do, but you see it day-to-day in training that he is capable of creating things.
on his wife releasing a new book this week:
I am very proud of her because she’s doing amazing. She has an incredible career in various ways and she’s very much into that right now. I have the person that I love most in this world next to me and giving everything that she gives to me, so I feel very lucky.