Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave his press conference today ahead of the Liverpool game at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.
The Gunners take on the Reds in a big game in the Premier League, with Arteta’s side looking to maintain or perhaps even extend their six-point lead at the top of the table.
It’s always a big game when Arsenal take on Liverpool, with plenty of talking points, with Arteta’s full press conference transcript below…
Mikel Arteta press conference in full
On the mood ahead of the game
Obviously excited, it’s a massive game against the champions of the last Premier League and we have a point to prove. We’re going to have our crowd, our supporters, very early. Before eight o’clock, everybody will be there, creating an amazing atmosphere and looking forward to it.
On the supporters and the atmosphere
They’ve been unbelievable again this season, and it makes such a difference; we become a different team. The level of energy, commitment, confidence and desire we show in every action is transmitted to them, and we need them tomorrow and in every game.
On Calafiori and Mosquera fitness
No, they are out again.
On when they could be back
I think pretty soon, they have to go to the last stage of the rehab, and if everything goes well, hopefully very soon they will be available for selection.
On Ruben Amorim sack
I can only talk about what I have experienced and it’s always sad to see a colleague losing his job. We know where we are and I think you need support from honesty, support from your staff, from players. At the end of the day, you need to win a lot of football matches to stay in the job, and that’s the reality and the nature of our job.
On having a point to prove against Liverpool
We are top of the table, we’ll play at home against a really, really good opponent and we want to maintain our position. In order to do that, we’re going to have to be excellent throughout the game to win it, and that’s the point we have to prove.
On if this is the best Arsenal team he’s had
I don’t know, I don’t really like comparing. I think every week the team is different because of the players available, so the position is different. So to maintain a lot of the great things the team and individuals are doing, consistency is going to be the key to that. We know the difficulty of every game, and we are approaching that with a lot of excitement, understanding where we are and with the huge desire that we have to achieve what we want to do in May.
On his thoughts on Liverpool
The margins I think for all of us are really small, we always talk about that. They have a great manager, they have a sensational structure and understanding of what they have to do in relation to the players that they select tomorrow in the line-up. They can play in different ways because, at the end, those will make them a little bit different and more specific to what we can expect tomorrow and we have to be conscious of that and focus on what we have to do.
On Havertz’s fitness
We are obviously monitoring his load; he has been out for a long time for two different reasons, and he is very close. He trained this morning again, and hopefully we are going to have him available in the best version of Kai Havertz.
On the chance to show progress
At the end, we want to win every game and the most important one is obviously tomorrow’s. We know what we have to do to beat them and now we have to prove it on the pitch.
On Trossard being player of the month
I think his level of understanding and consistency, he’s got ability. But the level of consistency he’s showing this season in particular, I think, has been exceptional. I think he’s really clicking with the team in every aspect of the game and he’s a player that provides something different to what we have.
On having a huge crowd behind you
There’s nothing like it. You become a different player; your emotional state is better, your energy level is better, your confidence is better. They drive you to take action with a lot of aggression, with a lot of determination, and that lifts the whole team. So that’s what we have to provide tomorrow.
On Liverpool being Arsenal’s main title rivals
That’s on paper, but I still think that they are a superb team and what they’ve done as well. You have to understand as well the context that they have with certain injuries and the difficulty of the league for all of us, but my opinion hasn’t changed about that.
On proving doubters wrong
I don’t know. We always prepare the games to beat them in the best possible way, in the way we believe will give us the best chance to do that.
On Arsenal’s point to prove
That we can go again and again – every week we have a point to prove. We had it a few days ago against Bournemouth after a great win against Villa and it’s going to continue like that until May. We know that because once we are in the position that we are in, we want to maintain and extend the lead that we have. In order to do that, our level of determination and desire has to be with that mindset. We all want it that much, that’s what is driving everybody. That’s the superb quality that we have within the club, staff and players especially, because we know what it’s going to take to achieve what we want.
On Zubimendi, Rice and Odegaard’s connections
They started to connect since they were born? Let me investigate that, and I can come back to you in a few weeks! It’s a great point, so maybe it’s something that we have to think about. It’s very clear and obvious that they click, they understand each other very well, they complement each other exceptionally well. That’s something that we believe that we could achieve before we brought them together and now they are doing it.
On going from head coach to manager
It was different at the time when they proposed to change the role, and what they thought the areas that I could help probably more than they expected at the beginning. But again it’s about the relationships and the people because we have formed great teams with very different qualities and some that have been more on certain things. When there is somebody who is much better than me on that, I let them do it. So for me, the title doesn’t really reflect the way we operate daily. I think the people are more important and then the morale within those people to really understand that ‘okay, let’s give each other the things that they can master and make us much better.’ The rest, we just support that idea.
On the boost from that extra responsibility
Yes because I didn’t demand it, we didn’t ask for it, and they [the owners] believed it was the right thing to do. But again, since then, because we have to work with different people with the changes that we had in recent years, I think when you have a leader, which is ownership, in this case it’s Stan and Josh, and Josh is very close with very clear alignment to all of us, what he wants to do, how he wants to achieve it, that creates that space for everybody. I think it’s very easy to work like this.
On the defeat at Anfield
No, I mean people are entitled to their opinions, mine was different, but that’s the beauty of football.
On Gabriel’s scoring record as a defender
His desire to score and then the amount of work that he puts in, the attention to detail to get himself in the best possible positions to do that, and to execute what the game, especially certain actions, are going to demand of him.
On Piero Hincapie’s adaptation to the Premier League
I’m very impressed because obviously he came in very, very late in the market, without pre-season, after surgery as well. He’s been immense for everything that we ask him to do; he’s fulfilled that in various roles as well. I think it’s been a big boost for the team and another step in terms of what he can bring to the team.
On if this team is as good as the Invincibles
No, because the Invincibles won a lot and they won consistently. They created that history and legacy and we have to do that.
On if the players ever talk about it
No, obviously there are a lot of stats, but in the last two or three years we’ve had stats and more points and more goals in the history of this and that. At the end, we have to translate that to major trophies and what we want to do. Probably then, what we are doing would have been enough, but now it’s not enough. We have to make the margins even bigger, and that’s what we have to aim for.
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