In the embargoed section of his pre-Aston Villa press conference, Mikel Arteta discussed Riccardo Calafiori’s attacking instincts, Arsenal’s moves for South American youth talent, his guarded approach to team news and whether the title race is already decided.
Here’s what he said…
**On Jose Mourinho once naming his team the day before his side faced Barcelona…**
I will do that, one day. Mourinho has been in the game for how long, 25 years? So, that will happen at some point.
**On naming a team early sending a message to your players…**
Yeah, and knowing Jose very well, the message is very clear and with a very clear purpose as well. So, yeah.
**On being deliberately guarded about his own team selections so as not to give opponents an advantage…**
Yes. And the reality as well sometimes is because I haven’t decided the line-up.
**On teamsheets being announced in advance in rugby…**
Yeah, we can try it. I will encourage the other managers in the league to do that when we play against them! So, the day before, two days before, if possible, that they tell us who plays. That would be great. Ask that question to them and if we get that done, I’ll get you a dinner.
**On Calafiori venturing up field, and whether it’s controlled havoc he brings or just havoc?**
Controlled? That word and Ricky, especially in the attacking phase, it doesn’t match too much. But it’s something that we want, you know, because he has this intuition, his capacity to smell danger, to attack spaces that are very difficult for the opponent to defend. And he does it in a way that for him is natural, which is always good. So, yeah, we encourage him to do that.
**On Calafiori taking the freedom Arteta affords his left-backs to another level, and whether that’s coached or natural…**
No, on the height \[up the pitch\] that he’s doing that, probably he’s never done it before because he used to do it as a centre-back, especially coming to the midfield line. Further than that, normally, he doesn’t do it. But he has the ability to do that and in pre-season, last pre-season, we started to say, if you have the feeling and it flows, and things happen naturally and he’s comfortable there, and he’s more comfortable playing there than the midfield line, and he’s very comfortable every time he’s stepping into the position box, and he gets better there, well, we have to use that as his quality.
**On why and whether teams are pressing less this season, and if it’s related to fatigue or more direct tactics being used…**
It goes to the fact that certain managers and certain teams have a certain place to do it. After last week, we played three games the week before, where it was very man-orientated and a lot of pressing. The Chelsea game was insane in terms of that. The Bayern Munich one as well. Let’s see tomorrow what is the approach that Villa has and we’ll adapt in relation to that.
**On Arsenal signing 16-year-old Ecuadorian twins – Holger and Edwin Quintero – and the thinking behind this…**
Well, this is certainly something that I think is very positive. I mean, we can recruit the best talent that is out there.
Obviously, the rules and the limitation that the league provides in relation to using them before a certain age, it is a challenge. But we saw that as a good opportunity for us and, if we are ahead \[of other teams\], I think that’s something very positive.
**On when the club decided this was a transfer policy worth following, and if it was influenced by other sides…**
I think for many years we have talked about that. The last week they were asking me about the multi-club possibilities as well.
So, it’s something that is emerging there. For many clubs, they’ve been doing it for years, which is, in my opinion, a big advantage if you do it correctly. We need to start somewhere and that’s what we did.
**On the opportunities to sign more young talents from outside the usual UK catchment area…**
For me, the first intention has to be to develop our own players in-house. But that doesn’t mean that you have to close any doors for any talent. That goes for players and it goes as well to staff, I think.
**On whether he expected to rely on the full depth of his squad so early in the season…**
Well, I think we have already used it in a great way. And not only the depth as well, but the versatility of the squad and the players that we have in certain positions to fulfil roles for periods of time. That has been challenging in one specific line. Now it’s another specific line as well. But to navigate in the way that we’ve done, I think it tells a lot about, as well, the character and the quality of the players.
**On Roy Keane saying the title race is over and Arsenal will win it this year, and whether he listens to such talk…**
I don’t know. We know the reality. We know the reality that we played every three days, the quality opposition that we have and how tough it is to win a football match. And we sensed it three days before, the week before. And that’s the reality in the league. So let’s try to be as good as we can every day and go day by day.
**On Villa having one point more than Arsenal over the last 10 games and that proving the level of the Premier League…**
Yeah, exactly that. I think I fully agree with that. There is the level and then there is as well the schedule that each team has had. And which game they have to play at home and away and against certain opposition – there are a lot of factors and we are still very early in the season.