Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta Previews their Premier League match against Aston Villa and discusses possible transfers
17/01/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
17/01/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00How are you?
00:01I'm good, thank you.
00:02Huge breaking news this morning with Erling Haaland committing to a new nine-and-a-half
00:05year contract at Manchester City, good news for them, not so good news for the rest of
00:09the Premier League?
00:10Well, that's their news, if they are willing to commit with a player for that long, it's
00:15because they are really happy, so good news for them.
00:17For a fitness point of view, for you this weekend, for Tyler Pellegrini, is he close
00:22to being in contention to feature tomorrow?
00:23Yes, I had a few decisions to make this afternoon with the medical staff to understand whether
00:27they are in the best condition to this game or the next one, so we'll decide that.
00:32You're dealing with a number of long-term issues, all those players on track when it
00:37comes to their rehabilitation, anybody close to making a return?
00:40Not so far, no.
00:41It was such a significant win for you on Wednesday against Tottenham, what impact are you hoping
00:46and what impact have you seen already on the squad and the club itself?
00:49Yes, I love the attitude that the team played with, we had some big performances, it was
00:54obviously a beautiful night for us to celebrate in front of our people.
00:59Moving to the next one, because it's a big one again against Villa.
01:01In terms of Aston Villa, the defeat at home to them last season proved really costly in
01:06terms of your title.
01:07Was that the last league match you actually lost at home against Aston Villa back in April?
01:12Do you feel like you need to be almost perfect between now and the end of the season to win
01:16the title this year?
01:17We're going to try to be as good as we possibly can tomorrow night, that's the objective.
01:22They are a really good side, that's why they beat us last season and we proved as well
01:28when we played them at Villa Park that they are a really difficult opponent, so we're
01:31preparing the best way to win.
01:33You admitted on Wednesday that you're actively looking to try to sign a forward in this transfer
01:38window.
01:39Do you think that you can still challenge for the title this year without any reinforcements?
01:45At the moment we don't have them, we are trying as I said actively to find the best possible
01:50solution but we will have to wait and see what we can do.
01:54How challenging is it to find the right player?
01:56What profile are you looking for in the forward that you want to bring in?
02:00Obviously it's not something that I'm going to discuss here.
02:02Obviously we have lost two massive players for us in the front line and we need some
02:07support there.
02:09We understand that Martin Zubremendi could be joining the club in the summer.
02:12I won't ask you about that directly but with contracts running out for the likes of Thomas
02:16Partey and Jorginho, is midfield an area you're looking to strengthen in?
02:21We have certain situations where contracts expire and we can renew like we have done
02:25in the past those contracts.
02:27Again, we are actively always evolving the squad and understanding what the players want
02:32to do when they finish our contracts together and we have to be prepared.
02:38Alex from the Premier League.
02:39Hi.
02:40You call your team sensational in the win over the Spurs.
02:43How will you go about ensuring that your players retain that level of performance
02:47throughout this second half of the season, particularly when you look ahead to pictures
02:50that say aren't quite as emotive as an Auckland derby?
02:55When we play every three days, obviously that's the type of performance that we want.
02:59The performance has been there.
03:01After it's about the results and a few things didn't go our way in the first few minutes
03:06of the match, especially because the dominance that we showed going one and down was tough
03:10but mentally I think the team showed incredible resilience, patience, composure to overcome
03:15the situation and win the game.
03:18You said this week that the players want more, that they want to be tested, they want to
03:22be questioned.
03:23Could that suggest that they're actively thriving on the pressure of trying to chase
03:27things down right now?
03:28I think so.
03:29I think if you want to be fighting for the top trophies with the top teams for 11 months
03:34like we've been doing the last two and a half years now, you have to enjoy that kind
03:39of moment, that kind of circumstances, those challenges, the pressure that comes with it
03:44because it's the beauty of it.
03:47We are playing to win and that's exactly what we want to be.
03:51You used the word pressure and we often hear it used in a negative context, particularly
03:54in football.
03:55Is that something you want your players to be feeling now?
03:59I think the pressure comes from within.
04:01I think nobody can put pressure on you.
04:04I think it's the wrong way and if that's the case it's because probably you're not doing
04:08or preparing the right way.
04:09I think you have to strive to be the best that you possibly can and there is no more
04:14pressure in my opinion than that when you daily have this commitment with yourself to
04:19achieve that.
04:21You're going to have next tomorrow and we all know what happened when they came to the
04:24Emirates last season of course, but you did beat them a bit apart in August.
04:28How wary are you of the threat they pose tomorrow and how much does that resolve against them
04:32back in April?
04:33Well, because we know the difficulty of the team that they are, that's why they're performing
04:38so well.
04:39They have an excellent coach, very good players, really good organisation and we are so used
04:45to in the Premier League it's not very different every three days.
04:48So tomorrow we're going to have to be really good again to win the game.
04:53A couple of weeks back you said that you feel Arsenal have been the best team in the league
04:57in the last year without winning a major trophy.
04:59How realistic do you feel your prospects are of putting that right this time around?
05:04In that case I refer to the stats and when you look at all the stats that are relevant
05:07to that, that's what the stats said.
05:10But the reality is that we weren't because somebody else won the title.
05:15So that's something, there is a margin there that we still need to improve and be better.
05:21Rene Sleggers appointed this morning on a permanent basis.
05:26She's had a fantastic run during her time in interim charge.
05:29I just wanted to get your reaction to her permanent appointment and ask how much you
05:33look forward to working with her.
05:35Very happy obviously and she's done a phenomenal job since she joined the role and I'm very
05:42happy for her.
05:43I'm very happy for the club as well because promoting someone that was already with us
05:48I think is a very strong signal and a very good decision I must say.
05:53So I'm very happy for her.
05:58The win over Tottenham was a relief and a good result after a tricky week for you after
06:05two defeats at home.
06:07What's the reaction been like at the training ground from the players and the staff?
06:12Have you noticed a difference?
06:14It's very good.
06:15Really happy in the dressing room.
06:16Really happy the next day and then start with Vila.
06:19That's it.
06:20I mean the enjoyment or the bad mood that we can be when you don't win, it has to disappear
06:28immediately because the focus has to be on the next match and how we prepare in the best
06:32possible way.
06:34You've spoken before about the good run that you've been on and how important it is to
06:38keep up the good results back-to-back.
06:40So how important is it to not let that fall and take the chance to build a good run with
06:46the game against Vila?
06:48Yeah, well we didn't be in the position that we are in because we've been very stable when
06:51you look at the run in the Premier League in the last 11, 13 matches.
06:55I think the speaker himself not only the result but the performances.
06:58But he's doing it again and again and again every three days, different competitions and
07:03that's what we want to achieve.
07:05Ian Talksport.
07:06Hi Mikel, how are you?
07:07Good, thank you.
07:08This week was the first time in a while Liverpool slipped up and you actually won to gain points
07:14on them.
07:15Do you feel this has been a massive week in the type of way?
07:19Well it's always important when you're able to win and capitalise on other teams dropping
07:23points, it's always a great week.
07:26First of all because you win and secondly because obviously for the rest it's not been
07:30what they wanted.
07:32We need many more of those at the moment because of where we are and we need to stay very,
07:36very, very, very focused to understand that if we do what we have to do, there will be
07:41a chance in some moment.
07:43Earning Holland today at Man City nine and a half years, I think Cole Palmer signed a
07:48similar deal to Chelsea earlier in the season.
07:51Is that the way we're going forward now with Football Club signing players for almost the
07:55entirety of their careers?
07:58I don't know.
07:59It looks like obviously there's been a few examples of that.
08:03I don't know.
08:04I don't know if every club is going to take that route, the reasons for it.
08:08I think it will be very particular cases.
08:11Maybe we start with managers as well doing ten-year contracts and then with the physios
08:15and the journalists.
08:17I don't know.
08:18Would you like a ten-year contract?
08:20At the moment I have enough.
08:21I'm very happy with what I have.
08:23One thing you have got is a set-piece coach who is clearly quite good at his job because
08:27you've scored a lot of goals through set-pieces.
08:29I just wonder if you can give us a little bit of an insight into how much work, how
08:37the ideas must come through your set-piece coach or all of your coaching staff because
08:44you must have to update them game by game.
08:47You can't use the same ones every game otherwise people know what they are.
08:51In football where everything is such a fine line, this is now becoming a really vital
08:57tool, isn't it?
08:59Well, yes.
09:00We conceded a goal from a set-piece the other day and we could have conceded another one.
09:05No, but it's not a positive.
09:06It's a balance.
09:07If you score and you concede, at the end the balance is zero.
09:10So that's how it is.
09:12Nico is responsible for that and many other things that he does.
09:16It's just a small part of his job that he does really well and the players follow it
09:20and we have some good momentum.
09:22Now it's about maintaining it, the attacking and the defensive part because it's so related.
09:26But does he just come up with ideas or do you go to him and say, I've got an idea?
09:31Everything that we do is shared and it's not an idea that comes from today.
09:34It's some work that we started many years ago and it's constant development because
09:38what we're doing now, I'm sure that in three months, in six months, in nine months,
09:42it's not going to work.
09:43So you constantly have to evolve it.
09:46Hi.
09:47You've had the last about one in the Pogba-Sandra half for a significant period.
09:51What type of challenges do you set players when they're not on the field
09:54and what do they have to do to kind of pop it to the group themselves?
09:59Well, first of all, obviously the main part is the psychological part
10:02of how they're feeling emotionally because being a long time without doing what you love
10:07is not easy.
10:09Your routine changes completely.
10:10You are much more isolated because you're not going to a group.
10:12And that takes a little while to handle and to settle.
10:16So first of all, give that support to the players.
10:18Then the physical condition that they can maintain or improve
10:23in relation to the injury that they have is really important.
10:26And then use that time as well for other things, you know,
10:28because, for example, Bukayo hasn't had any time off in the last two seasons.
10:32So it's a moment that if he can have a break as well and enjoy other parts of his life,
10:37great.
10:38To be closer to the family, great.
10:39To learn about the game.
10:40That's an aspect that he can still improve and develop.
10:43We are doing that.
10:44So that's what we try.
10:46Replacing Ben has been during a lot of what he's been out.
10:49But he's come back from a big injury and played a lot of football.
10:52What's it been like to manage his minutes while still dealing
10:55with the ramifications of such a long injury?
10:57Yeah, it's unbelievable what he's done.
10:58Especially because he's done it on the right.
11:00He's done it as a left full-back as well.
11:02And we put in huge demands.
11:05That's the thing.
11:06That's the thing.
11:07When the squad is short and on top of that you have injuries,
11:10quite a lot of injuries like we had,
11:12you start to load more players, which is not ideal, obviously.
11:18Just on Myles, I know a lot of people probably just see him as a left-back
11:22or a midfielder turned left-back.
11:25But he's been doing that for a couple of years now.
11:27I was wondering, were you maybe involved in the decision
11:30to start that kind of evolution of him?
11:32Because it was something I think he's been doing
11:35since two or three years ago.
11:37Less than that, I think.
11:39Less than that.
11:40Yeah, when I saw him and to give him a chance
11:43and with the product that we had in the academy
11:45the moment that I saw him,
11:46the only way that I could think is to change his position.
11:49You want to have a chance here?
11:51I spoke to him and I said,
11:52this is where you're going to have it.
11:54Because I think it fits a lot his qualities,
11:56it fits the way that we play,
11:58and it fits because we had necessities in the position.
12:01So we started to work on that.
12:03He put it into it straight away
12:05with the personality that he has.
12:07The other thing is very obvious,
12:09and now he's doing it.
12:11I remember in the pre-season game against Leverkusen
12:14you had a chat with him on the pitch
12:16about, I think you said it was defensive duties in that game.
12:21I was just wondering since that conversation
12:23how do you assess him since then?
12:27Well, adapting to the role is not just on the defensive part.
12:30I think physically it's very different demands.
12:33You're facing wingers a lot of times in that position,
12:36you have to be a part of a defensive line,
12:38you have to know when to release,
12:40when to not, when the ball is on your side,
12:42how you have to defend the box,
12:43something that he wasn't used to do that.
12:45And then all the attacking process on top of that.
12:47So it's quite a lot.
12:48He's dealing with that in a great way physically as well.
12:51He's matured a lot in the last year or so,
12:54and they had a great performance without a doubt.
12:57Simon Standard?
12:58When we spoke to you at the start of the week
13:00you described it as what you wanted to add to the squad.
13:04But given the numbers you've got in that forward line
13:06and Kieran was playing left wing the other night,
13:09has it changed to a need for that?
13:11The word you mean?
13:13Well, obviously we have more necessity now
13:16because of what happened in the last few weeks,
13:19that's obvious.
13:20And just how difficult is it to operate in the market
13:23when everyone knows that you want the ball?
13:26Well, I think it's more a question for Jason.
13:30I don't know, but I think we have to do what we think is right
13:34and we can do as well.
13:36And that's it.
13:38It's clear that we would like to improve the squad,
13:42especially with what happened.
13:44Can we do it or not?
13:45There have been a lot of factors.
13:47OK, last couple in the live section.
13:48Firstly, Phil from PA.
13:50Just going back to Miles,
13:51obviously he's been so impressive since he's been inside.
13:54Do you think there's a chance
13:55that he could be on the radar for you in the dungeon?
13:59Let him settle where he is first
14:02and talk about the realities going in front of him
14:05and deal with that.
14:06And I think that's more than enough for now.
14:09And just in terms of the sizing race,
14:11obviously I was talking about you and Liverpool,
14:13do you think that it is just a Super Bowl race now
14:16just between you guys?
14:17I don't think so.
14:18I think when you look at every game in the Premier League
14:21and the margins
14:22and how teams are winning football matches,
14:24it can go either way.
14:25So in two or three weeks
14:26you can be talking about something very different.
14:29We're still in January
14:30and it's going to be a long, long run.
14:32And to Leith from the staff.
14:34Just to put it on the atmosphere,
14:35the atmosphere at Spurs was excellent.
14:37Brilliant.
14:38How important are the fans?
14:39I loved it.
14:40I said it the day before,
14:42that's in our hands.
14:43So we can look and feel sorry
14:45if this happened,
14:46if there's injury,
14:47or this or the referee,
14:48blah, blah.
14:49But what is in our hands,
14:50that we do it.
14:51And I saw a different bite to our crowd,
14:54a different body language.
14:56We were on top of every ball.
14:58We created atmosphere without the ball.
15:01And we had real purpose.
15:04When we were screaming
15:06and we were going into every ball
15:08in a very different way
15:09and I must say that I loved it.