On October 26, Arsenal will host Crystal Palace at the Emirates, as the Gunners aim to maintain their position at the top of the table. Mikel Arteta will be pleased with his team’s form since their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at the end of August. Ahead of the fixture against Palace, Arteta appeared at the pre-match presser, sharing the latest injury updates and his thoughts ahead of the weekend.
Ahead of the fixture against Palace, Arteta appeared at the pre-match presser, sharing the latest injury updates and his thoughts ahead of the weekend.
Mikel Arteta Pre-Match Presser: Arsenal Injury Updates
Mikel Arteta Discusses Defensive Strength and Mateta
When asked about the club’s injuries, Arteta revealed the latest on Gabriel Magalhaes:
“Not much, Big Gabi had to leave the pitch with an issue and he hasn’t been able to train yet, so let’s see how he evolves in the next 24 hours to see whether he’s available or not for the weekend.”
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Discussing the more long-term absentees (Madueke, Odegaard, Havertz and Jesus): “They are progressing really well. They are starting to do certain activities. They are all super willing to be available as quickly as possible, but at the moment, none of them are in contention in the next week or so.”
Mikel Arteta Discusses Palace Dangerman and Arsenal Chasing Records
Chelsea holds the record for conceding the fewest goals in Premier League history, with 15 in 2004/05. Arteta was asked about potentially breaking that record:
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“We want these kinds of records; we have been getting a lot of them. At the end, we want it to bring the silverware and the trophies. But obviously, the more we can produce, I think the closer we are going to be to achieving what we want to do, and that defensive record is very good, but we need to be consistent; it’s only just the start of the season. The aim is to continue improving things, which we can still do a lot of, to do even better.”
Arteta Discusses Palace Dangerman and Chasing Records
Jean-Philippe Mateta has impressed so far this season, scoring five goals in eight Premier League games so far this season. When asked how to contain him, Arteta broke it down:
“First of all, it’s what they do as a team, their level of organisation. They have very clear intentions of how they want to attack and which moment they use to attack and to hurt opponents. So stopping the source is probably the best way. When you get into certain situations with him, one-v-one, you know that he’s very prolific and he’s been very, very successful, especially recently. So trying to avoid that.”
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