Here is every word Mikel Arteta said during his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League clash with Kairat Almaty
14:47, 27 Jan 2026
Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta spoke to the media ahead of clash with Kairat Almaty
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta spoke to the media ahead of clash with Kairat Almaty(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta spoke to the media ahead of Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League clash with Kairat Almaty. The Gunners boss was grilled in the wake of the defeat to Manchester United on the weekend.
He will be without Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, who are suspended for the midweek meetings, while Jurrien Timber and William Saliba were both not included in pre-match training. Arsenal could lose this game and still finish in top spot but anything other than defeat will guarantee the club finishes in first place.
This is a serious benefit because it will mean that the Gunners will guarantee a second leg at the Emirates in every knockout round they play in. That being said, the home atmosphere has been a little frosty of late.
Here is every word Mikel Arteta said during his pre-match press conference:
First home defeat of the season on Sunday, just wondering what the reaction has been like around the training ground and among the players since then?
The reaction has been excellent. We took a moment to bring the temperature down, to pause and to reflect and ask two questions. One is, how do we feel, and how do I feel myself?
And then, how are we going to live the next four months? And it was so encouraging and beautiful because what came out of that is very simple. We have earned the right to be in a great position in four competitions, and in the next four months, we're going to live and play with enjoyment, with a lot of courage and with the conviction that we're going to win it.
And this is going to be the mindset and where we're going to put the energy. And I'm just hoping that everybody that is related to this club, especially our supporters, jump on that boat because this is the way that we're going to live the next four months because we deserve to live like this.
How did you do that reflection? Was that something you did on your own or was it a presentation?
No, together with the players. It was just a conversation about that. First of all, because I told them first of all how good they are and how grateful we are to share every single day with them and their position to realise where we are and just make sure that we enjoy with a lot of conviction that it's going to happen because it's our moment and we really want it.
You mentioned there you want to bring the supporters with you and I hope they join you on the journey. There were some anxious moments from the supporters in the ground on Sunday. What can you do about that and does that reaction...
That's why I encouraged them to jump in this boat because it's going to be fun. Because the excitement, that conviction, that energy, that will is the way you have to live when you want to achieve a dream. When you want to achieve something that you play for 10 months.
Because out of that a lot of incredible things are going to emerge. Some of the things that we cannot even imagine. For me that's the only way to live it because we're going to give absolutely everything.
We're going to prepare in the best possible way and the best chance to deliver what we want is putting all the energy and channelling the energy into that direction.
There was no William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino out on the pitch training. Are they, I know Merino is suspended, but are the other two available and is there anyone else who's not available tomorrow?
No, those aren't.
You mentioned bringing the temperature down. Was that because you were potentially feeling it from outside?
No, it was because of the hectic schedule. So we played four away games in four different competitions and it was a moment to pause and see who we are. What are we doing?
And I said, okay, four months, how we want to actually live that. And it's just beautiful what is ahead. So we're going to live it with a lot of enjoyment.
I'm very convinced because this team and this player have given us every reason to believe that the outcome is going to be really good. Was that always kind of planned after this game to have a meeting like that? Yes, we do it every three, four weeks, international breaks.
It's really important to understand the reality versus the perspective. Sometimes you have to look with a microscope and then you have to put a telescope in and you have to be able to see everything with clarity because at the end it's an energy that is very important that we need to use in the right way.
Talking about perspective, I guess there's been a lot of talk in the last couple of days, since the Man United defeat, around Arsenal's goals from open play and also the forwards, some of their stats at the moment. You have scored the second most goals in the Premier League, but is it harder to do when you don't have that outstanding goalscorer, someone who's producing higher numbers than the rest of the team?
I don't know, but I saw a lot of incredible talks about the team and the individuals when we won in Milan three days before. This is the beautiful thing about this game. Same players, same team.
In terms of your attacking players, at the moment in the league the numbers aren't quite as high as some of the other players in the league. What do you put that down to? Does the team need to help more to get more out of your attacking players right now?
We want those numbers to be higher, but as well I think we are three goals away from the best team. So we are not that far, so the margins are still very small. Maybe they are contributing to another player as well, to score a lot of goals, so to do other stuff.
We want to be the best in every stat, but it's very important that we can read the stats in the manner that are useful for us, and especially for our players.
Do you feel that in any successful season, there comes a point where instead of just next game, next game, next game, you start to look more towards the finish line? Like you say, you start to look more at the prize that's in front of you, where it becomes about, we are going to do this now.
We're going to take this step together. What kind of turning point? Do you think that's this moment in the season?
No, I think it's still very early. I mean, the amount of games that we have in so many different competitions, that's going to be in the last five or six games, I would say. When you're talking about different competitions, I'm talking about the Premier League. If it's the Champions League, the moment you are in those semi-finals, then you are very, very close to being in the semi-finals, and we have one game to play against Chelsea.
That's a different story. But actually then, as I said, it's putting the energy in the things that are going to make us better.
And you spoke about four away games, the schedule, how difficult it's been. Obviously, on Sunday you were playing against an opponent who had a free week before. Do you think that's going to be one of the challenges for you in the second half of this season?
You hope you stay in all the cup competitions for the Champions League, but obviously, it's going to mean a really tight schedule.
It's been like this for the first seven months of the competition, whether it was with the competition league, domestic league and Champions League, or with international players playing for their countries as well. So, there is nothing new. The good news is that we have some players back as well now that are going to be helping us and we are so used to it, so that's never going to be an excuse.
Can I just check with Saliba and Timber, is that them being rested or is that injury issues?
No, they have some niggles and it's a good opportunity now that we make a different kind of work with them to get them in the best possible conditions that we can offer them.
And you emphasised the need for it to be fun over the next four months. How difficult is that with all the expectation and the pressure from fans and wanting to finally end the title?
It's part of the enjoyment to be at the table in these conversations, in this incredible competition and that's what we want to be. Even though we have to go and do something else. I mean, if we don't enjoy where we are as a club, we prefer what we were six years ago or ten years ago, let's enjoy the moment and let's embrace it and let's make sure that we get the most out of that. And the only way to do it is daily.
Do you think the margin for error this season could be a bit bigger in the Premier League in terms of drop points? It feels like even the top teams may be dropping more points than they did in previous seasons.
Yeah, or smaller. It means that any team can beat you and you see the difficulty of winning every game in the competition. So, it depends how you look at it.
You used the word fun a lot in that opening monologue there. You've got the biggest squad now that you've ever had. As a manager, is it fun to have that many players?
Or like when we spoke to Christian a second ago, does that challenge and difficulty and the emotion of leaving players out sometimes ever become too much?
No, it's very enjoyable. And they make it enjoyable for the type of characters that we have, but as well the way they live their profession and how much they want to win with us. And that's the only way.
It's not about the numbers, it's about the quality of the numbers and the players that we have. The same with the staff. So, it's not about the numbers.
But when it comes to the idea of the stats behind your forwards, in the last 10 Premier League appearances that your seven forwards have had, in those 70 games, they've returned just 10 goals.
Can I just ask, why do you think that's happening? And what is it that needs to change so that those numbers do go up?
Well, it's clearly every situation, every player is different. Obviously, the level of efficiency that we showed in certain actions, it hasn't helped to raise those numbers higher. Some others, because we need to produce probably more for them as well.
So, it's a combination of different factors, but it's a positive way to look at it. Even though without this, look where we are. So, we're going to try to undo that and improve in that area, and then the margin will be bigger.
Can you tell us about the coming game with Kairat? Did you analyse this team, what strengths maybe, sides it has, or weak sides? And can you tell about the main star who will appear at the pitch?
Yeah, well, obviously, it's Champions League, so every opponent is very tough because they are very used to winning. That's first of all. Obviously, the conditions that they are coming, it's especially because of where they are in the domestic league as well.
Looking back at the games that they played against Real Madrid or Inter, for example, I watched both of them. Yeah, they make it very, very difficult for them. So, tomorrow we expect a game very similar.
We have to be at our best, but we want to win the game again, and we'll go for it.
I know you've already spoken about the supporters and that anxiety in the stadium, but do you think the reason that is is because they're perhaps carrying the scars of finishing runners-up in three seasons, and that's why everything is over-exaggerated?
It's a possibility, but we cannot control that. What happened in the past has to be very powerful to learn for the future, and that's the only way you can take it. In life, there are many examples about that, and you have to keep trying and giving your very best to try to achieve what you want, and not the very best that you are able to achieve because maybe somebody else is better, and you have to accept this is a sport as well.
And that's it, but we all channel the energy and live the moment and the next four months in that manner. It's going to be much more enjoyable, beautiful, and the outcome will be very, very good.
Christian Norgaard was speaking before you about Martin and his captaincy and saying how good a captain he is, but he's obviously not getting as many minutes this season as perhaps he might have done. He came off in the second half. Martin, is there a world in which he can no longer be the club captain for someone else, or has he got your full support in that?
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No, nothing. I mean, the minutes as well are relative because obviously he had two shoulder injuries and he was out for six with a knee injury as well. And then, yeah, we have the possibility to change games, and the game maybe requires something different, and every play is very important to be able to achieve that.