Mikel Arteta faced the media ahead of the game with PSV in the UEFA Champions League. With the strangeness of the game, it was always going to be intriguing where the conversations went.
Team news was discussed, with additional insight into Gabriel Martinelli and Ben White’s return from injuries. However, the predominant questions did revolve around the title race, the gap to Liverpool and the lack of trophies.
Here is every word from the press conference as Arteta faced the media:
Can we just start with team news, please? Is there any injury updates and is there a chance tomorrow for Gabriel Martinelli to get some more minutes as he comes back from injury?
Yeah, everybody finished the game [against] Man Utd with no issues, so I expect the same players to be available and Gabi for sure will be available as well.
And now there's been a couple of days between the game, is there any further reflection on that draw at Man Utd?
The same, the same as before and now full focus on PSV.
It's a unique situation coming into a game with a 7-1 lead, so does it give you a chance to rotate the team tomorrow or how are you going to approach the match?
It is unique but as well understanding how the game was played a week ago and the fact that everything went in the right direction for us from the beginning and we're going to have to end the right tomorrow to go in the same direction, so fully focused on that.
It's probably a little bit strange coming into a game where you have a six-goal lead to be asking about chance creation and finishing, but is there anything you can do to improve on the way the team has been building up and taking chances?
Yes, for sure, there's always improvement and from the other day as well we already talked about a lot of situations that we could have done better because the situations are there, but that's it, it's about execution in football and that's why you can't do X and my job is to give the team as many tools as possible, reassurance and confidence as well that we can deliver again.
Do you focus even more on the Champions League now in the position you're in, considering the position you are in the Premier League, 15 points behind, is this the only realistic chance left of the trophy?
It's a competition that we have a lot of enthusiasm, put in a lot of energy, we're very consistent and winning tomorrow puts us in a very good position.
Hello Mikel [Gary Cotterill]
Surprise me.
I’ll try. I know you won't say and Arne Slot is not saying that the title race is over, but pundits are queuing up to say that the title race is over, do you still believe that until it's mathematically not over you can carry on fighting for it?**
I think we're going to carry on fighting to try to win every game, which is the only thing we can do at the moment because success doesn't depend on us.
That didn't surprise you that question did it?
No, It was very predictable by the way.
Are you a betting man?
No.
If you were would you back yourselves to win the Premier League?
What now? yeah. Good question.
Good job you're not a betting man. How do you convince the players that the fight is still on both fronts?
We're talking about now the tomorrow's game and Champions League that's all.
You said the Champions League, obviously that must be the competition you got the most chance of winning silverware this season. If you had to choose at the start of any season, if you had to choose either the Premier League to win it or the Champions League to win it, which one would you personally choose?
I'm very lucky because I don't have to choose. Nobody put me in that situation. So we have four at the start of the season and we go for the four of them and see what we get.
When you arrived, if someone had said that you'd be second again in the Premier League as we speak, in pretty much the quarter-finals of the Champions League, that would be a dream season, wouldn't it? Given where the club were when you got here.
If somebody said that, I don't know. That's for somebody to understand and to put that. If somebody would say that with the injuries that we had, with five red cards and everything that's gone on, probably. But everybody has different opinions. You have to respect that.
So this is your last chance of winning silverware. Does it put pressure on you? The fact that you've now got only one competition to go for?
These are the demands that we put in every competition that we play. Not adding pressure is the reality of where we are and what we want to deliver. And we are very, very, very much conscious that the demands of this football club is to reach the highest level and win those competitions. That's it.
You've just said the demands are to win competition, win silverware. Would it be, I won't say failure, I think that's too hard a word, would it be a major disappointment to you if you finished the season again without silverware, despite the fact that you've progressed again maybe in your own mind from last season?
We are not there yet, and I think the way I describe failure will be very different maybe to yours or somebody else's.
How would you describe it?
That's for me.
Ok, fair enough. In terms of this game tomorrow night, normally a manager would say you've got to respect the opposition, which you have to, but you must admit you're already through pretty much to the quarter-finals. I mean no team has ever had a six-goal lead and lost a tie. So how do you convince the players that this is a game where they've got to keep their concentration 100% and be professional?
Very easy, just understanding what happened in the first game and the direction that it could have taken in the first ten minutes. After all the control that we have, if we give the goal away or if the referee would have given the second yellow card to Myles, it's very simple. So this is football, you have to earn it and we're going to have to do a great job tomorrow again to win the game.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Obviously there's still a game to be played tomorrow night, but you're in a really commanding position, as has already been said. Now, have you already been looking at the two potential opponents and trying to figure out maybe ways of potentially overcoming them?
Well, since the day that we had the teams in a group of stages and you are playing with one opposition, you are looking at the others for sure. And then once we knew as well the possible ones, first of all because we know them all because they are so good. So yeah, you start to put in your head ‘What if?’ But that's it. You know that you have to earn every right to be in that position.
And after tomorrow, you play just once more this month. Obviously the season has provided a really hectic schedule and that's contributed to injuries and stuff. Does this period come as a welcomed one or would you prefer to have that rhythm of playing games more regularly?
Well, we knew of the period since the last international November, the amount of games that we had to play. So yeah, a lot of players will go on international duty after the Chelsea game and after that is the final sprint.
Can I just ask you about Zinchenko, he's played the last few games in midfield and he's had that opportunity. Just how you feel he's played there and what he's brought to the team in that position?
He's very good, and with the options that we have we believe that it's a position that he can help in, that suits him. He's played there before. I know him for many years and he can really fit in that position and he's adapted really well in training and had a few opportunities in the last few games as well to show that. So happy that he's been well there.
You've got a lot of things to sort in the summer but is sitting down with him and discussing his future one of the things you want to do because he'll have a year left on his contract?
Yeah, I do that with every player. Before we finalise the season if possible, if we have time to do so, so everybody's clear on expectations from each other, clarity about how we're feeling about each other and how that relationship can continue is the best thing to do and other things to do and discuss and I'm satisfied to have that discussion with all of them.
Obviously you enjoyed a really good first leg, but PSV play a very different style to a lot of the domestic opponents when you come up against low blocks, and maybe the last few games have been struggling to create. Just looking to the summer and how you evolved the team, do you think you need to take the burden off of Odegaard and add some more players with that invention and guile in the small spaces?
Yeah, the spaces can be in different situations in relation to what the team does. It's not only about the space, it has to be created, not just used. To create it you need to threaten behind as well to stretch teams out. You need players that can fit more than one opponent as well. I think it's very important to create spaces. There are various ways, we have different profiles of players. Unfortunately, we're missing some of them but they're constantly adapting and willing to evolve the team.
I just wanted to ask you about Raheem, he obviously never got off the bench at the weekend. Have you spoken to him about that? And how has it been managing him the last six months because you've obviously got a long relationship with him. It must be difficult when you're having to tell him he's not playing.
The same with the rest of the players. At the end we make decisions on the day which player we believe fits better in the manner the game is developing and he's come on in many of the games and didn't do it there. That's it.
Is he likely to start tomorrow?
I will decide that tomorrow with him and with the rest of them.
You mentioned the injuries you've had this season, you've lost quite a few of them for extended periods. One of those players just to come back is Ben White. What is it that you've missed in him not being with the team as much as he has been over the last two seasons?
Well obviously, that connection that we had in the right side with him Bukayo and Martin was something exceptional and a real threat to the team. We missed that. It's true that Jurrien has been equally exceptional as well with his performance and consistency and now we're going to have another option which is great to have.
This week there's been a lot of speculation around the sporting director situation as well. What's important for you in a relationship with that figurehead? What type of qualities do you enjoy in working with that type of position at the club?
The best one for me. Ownership, board, everybody is aligned that this is the right person to take us to the next level. That's the most important.
You’ve had quite a few youngsters in and around the matchday squad of late because of the injuries. Is tomorrow night, given the context, maybe not from the start, a good opportunity to reward people like Nathan for example, who obviously put in a lot of work on the training ground with the squad. Is it a good opportunity to reward maybe some of those if game state allows?
Yeah, we did that once when we could and it's always great because they've been, as you said, extremely helpful, and they've been bringing so much to the team. So whenever you have the opportunity to any player to say thank you or to give minutes, which at the end is the way of telling them we trust you and we appreciate what you do for us, minutes, we will do.
Just on Ben, obviously he hasn't started a game yet since he's come back from the injury. Is he ready to start now as he's sort of working his way back up to…
Yeah, I think we have to manage him very well because he was still having some issues to manage in terms of the load, and we're very cautious of that to make sure that when he comes back, he can now maintain that level, and there's no more setbacks. But I think he's in a good position now to give him a start.
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UEFA Champions League
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