WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.219 Hello and welcome to HYBR1D Powered by chinkseyMEDIA. 00:00:04.219 --> 00:00:08.279 Media. This is my pre -match press conference 00:00:08.279 --> 00:00:13.039 analysis of Mikel Arteta for the game between 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:23.440 Athletic Club and Arsenal. Here it goes. So Mikel 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:42.380 Arteta is just about to take to his seat. He's 00:00:42.380 --> 00:01:11.000 took to a seat. that is going to generate something 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.900 special. We're looking forward to that and I'm 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:17.159 very excited again to step by step start to build 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:22.640 some momentum and start to have some wins. Okay, 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:25.780 so we're up against Athletic Bilbao who lost 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:28.819 at the weekend at home, I believe. We've already 00:01:28.819 --> 00:01:33.859 beaten them in pre -season so we know we can 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:36.659 gauge what to expect. They haven't gotten enough 00:01:36.659 --> 00:01:39.140 to the greatest of starts this season. We have 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:42.260 with the exception of a free kick, exceptional 00:01:42.260 --> 00:01:44.579 free kick against Liverpool, current leaders. 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:50.659 But one thing's for sure, I expect Athletic Bilbao's 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:54.120 crowd to be up for it at Saint -Mene. They're 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:56.620 good at home. They finished fourth last season, 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:01.239 had a fantastic season. Probably would find themselves 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:03.879 slightly disappointed not to have at least got 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:06.379 to the Europa League final in their own stadium. 00:02:06.989 --> 00:02:08.990 let alone won it. Because for me, they were my 00:02:08.990 --> 00:02:13.349 tips to win it from the start. Obviously, I knew 00:02:13.349 --> 00:02:17.009 that Manchester United and Tottenham were favourites 00:02:17.009 --> 00:02:20.469 just ahead of Athletic Bilbao. But tomorrow should 00:02:20.469 --> 00:02:23.289 be a good game, but one that I expect us to pick 00:02:23.289 --> 00:02:26.530 up three points in. Can I just ask about a couple 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:30.250 of fitness issues you have in the squad? William 00:02:30.250 --> 00:02:32.449 Saliba trained today, but didn't seem to be Martin 00:02:32.449 --> 00:02:36.020 Odegaard. Is he available? No. So Gabby, Kai, 00:02:36.259 --> 00:03:05.969 Ben and Martin are still out. or doesn't feature 00:03:05.969 --> 00:03:10.310 ahead of a big game on Sunday against his nemesis, 00:03:10.310 --> 00:03:13.530 Erling Haaland. As for Martin Odegaard, he's 00:03:13.530 --> 00:03:16.409 obviously been ruled out by the gaffer, so that 00:03:16.409 --> 00:03:20.229 gives a fantastic opportunity to the likes of 00:03:20.229 --> 00:03:22.930 Evereche Eze, who's likely to come off the left 00:03:22.930 --> 00:03:27.449 flank, and obviously Ethan Waniere, who gives 00:03:27.449 --> 00:03:32.460 these been... waxing lyrical about. So this is 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:34.740 an opportunity that Wanyeri has been craving 00:03:34.740 --> 00:03:38.060 for. He just had to be patient. Now the stage 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:44.199 is there for him to thrive on. And this season 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:45.699 there seems to be a lot of talk about the way 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:47.860 teams are playing, a lot more set pieces, long 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:51.740 throws and maybe a more direct nature in football. 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:54.639 Why do you think that is? the advantage of those 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:57.180 set pieces and throw -ins for a while? Evolution 00:03:57.180 --> 00:03:59.560 of the game. The game is faster, the space is 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:01.919 smaller and everybody's trying to take advantages 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:04.840 from other aspects of the game that are obviously 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:08.939 key actually to win football matches and at the 00:04:08.939 --> 00:04:11.360 end you have to dominate nowadays everything 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:13.699 in football to give yourself the best chance 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:17.259 to win the games. So yeah, like I mentioned on 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:20.560 the weekend, this throw -in stuff, this so -called 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:25.550 Stoke football and... Rare, rare, rare. For me, 00:04:25.569 --> 00:04:28.910 I don't agree with it. I just feel we're multifaceted 00:04:28.910 --> 00:04:33.189 in the way we can attack a game. So we can kill 00:04:33.189 --> 00:04:36.490 you in many ways. 50 ways to die, choose one 00:04:36.490 --> 00:04:40.689 type thing. Throw -ins is part of fine lines, 00:04:40.790 --> 00:04:44.189 fine margins. In a tight game, if you can notch 00:04:44.189 --> 00:04:47.079 yourself ahead, if you can etch your head. from 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:50.899 a corner, from a set -piece, from a throw -in, 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:53.339 from a scruffy goal, you can open the game up 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:55.420 like that and then obviously the opponent... 00:04:55.420 --> 00:05:00.899 Because Arteta and Arsenal, ideally we want to 00:05:00.899 --> 00:05:04.600 play sexy, amazing football and open teams up, 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:08.220 but obviously 95 % of teams we play against will 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:10.879 not allow that to happen. So in that case, we 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:16.360 have to kind of use every ounce... of know -how 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:22.420 and various methods and ways to prize a team 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:26.420 open. So if we're going to notch ahead from a 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:29.199 long throw or from a corner kick and it opens 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:33.689 the game up, then so be it. So be it. Mikel, 00:05:33.689 --> 00:05:35.490 you've spoken a lot in the last week about being 00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:38.370 from the area, how great Bilbao is. You played 00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:41.930 a minute here as a Real Sociedad player. Do you 00:05:41.930 --> 00:05:43.610 still kind of feel that or is there any sense 00:05:43.610 --> 00:05:45.970 of that old rivalry coming into this experience 00:05:45.970 --> 00:05:48.110 for you? Because obviously there's actually quite 00:05:48.110 --> 00:05:50.230 a strong Real Sociedad contingency. Yes, of course. 00:05:50.290 --> 00:05:52.389 We land in Bilbao. That's normally where I land 00:05:52.389 --> 00:05:54.250 when I go back home to San Sebastian. It's an 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:56.550 hour drive from there. All my family is from 00:05:56.550 --> 00:05:59.430 there. Yeah, yeah. So there's a few. There's 00:05:59.430 --> 00:06:04.129 obviously Odegaard. played for Sociedad. Obviously, 00:06:04.209 --> 00:06:06.490 you know, San Sebastian is in that kind of Basque 00:06:06.490 --> 00:06:10.269 region kind of thing. But then you have Marino, 00:06:10.470 --> 00:06:14.629 you have Mikel, sorry, Martin Zubimendi, and 00:06:14.629 --> 00:06:16.389 then you obviously got Mikel Arteta, who are 00:06:16.389 --> 00:06:21.069 from that kind of radius in Spain. But I'm not 00:06:21.069 --> 00:06:23.009 sure how that influences the game, but we have 00:06:23.009 --> 00:06:26.910 a number of Spanish, stroke Spanish, beacon players. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:32.000 So it'll be interesting to see if Crispian Mosquera 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.379 keeps his place tomorrow afternoon even. And 00:06:36.379 --> 00:06:39.439 for me, I'd like to see him keep his place. I'd 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.399 like to see Saliba come on, get some minutes, 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:45.819 get some match fitness in ready for Sunday. And 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:50.920 you just sense the passion, the rivalry, the 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:53.579 football atmosphere. And great to be here. And 00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:56.040 I've been in this stadium before, so good experience. 00:06:57.310 --> 00:06:59.790 Jordan? Hi, Mikel. Can I just check, has Martin 00:06:59.790 --> 00:07:02.009 flown out with the team? Or is he back home? 00:07:02.050 --> 00:07:05.769 He's back home. Just how important, I know you've 00:07:05.769 --> 00:07:08.129 spoken about it before this season, but rotation, 00:07:08.209 --> 00:07:10.110 especially this year in the Champions League, 00:07:10.310 --> 00:07:12.329 is it a case of we're not going to see the same 00:07:12.329 --> 00:07:14.790 starting XI in every game in the Champions League 00:07:14.790 --> 00:07:17.329 because there's a chance to rotate and give other 00:07:17.329 --> 00:07:20.370 players a rest and other players a chance? Yes, 00:07:20.370 --> 00:07:22.350 well, it would depend on the availability of 00:07:22.350 --> 00:07:25.420 the squad, the form of the players now. Unfortunately, 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:27.680 we have a few players already out, so that is 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:31.220 already limited in certain positions. But hopefully 00:07:31.220 --> 00:07:33.699 we come to the point that the competition and 00:07:33.699 --> 00:07:36.000 the level of performance of the players is that 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.540 high that we are able to do that very efficiently 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:41.139 to win more football matches. That's the objective. 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:45.600 Yeah, so people like Myles Lewis -Skelly need 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.199 a start. Ben White might need a run out. I think, 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:52.439 yeah, those two for me can come in. I'm happy 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:56.199 with Gabriel playing. I'd like to see Piero Hincapié 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:59.819 come on and get some minutes, maybe as a substitute. 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:02.680 And then obviously in the midfield, Declan Rice 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:06.100 will come in. So I felt, obviously I know I titled 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:08.279 one of my videos, he was dropped. Declan Rice 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:10.800 cannot be dropped. He was rested ahead of two 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:14.040 big games in midweek and at the end of the week 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.279 against Athletic Club and Man City respectively. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:20.019 So he'll come in and I'm sure he'll start both 00:08:20.019 --> 00:08:23.899 of those. And then obviously Martin Zubermendi 00:08:23.899 --> 00:08:26.439 might get a little rest or he'll probably play. 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:29.240 And then you've got Mourinho who's on form. So 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:34.360 up front really picks itself. Madueke would like 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:38.740 to kind of build on his momentum that he is in. 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:41.259 The good form he's started to show is getting 00:08:41.259 --> 00:08:43.879 a run of games on the right wing. And then obviously 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:47.279 Victor Gnoccherez would like to add to his tally 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:50.720 of three goals in four games. On the left, I'd 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:54.799 like to see Ebreche Eze start again to make his 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:57.580 Champions League debut. So I think the team almost 00:08:57.580 --> 00:09:00.500 picks itself. I think pretty much same again, 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:04.580 but I'll change the two full -backs. And with 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:07.159 Kai and Gabi out, Victor's on his own up there, 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:08.899 are you going to have a chance to be able to 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:11.259 rest him at all and bring other players into 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:13.019 that role? Or do you think he's going to have 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:15.860 to leave the line now for a while without a real 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:19.470 rest? Well, let's see it against the Forest at 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:23.129 the end. Mikel played 2009. We have Leo can play 00:09:23.129 --> 00:09:25.029 there. We have other options and other formations 00:09:25.029 --> 00:09:27.450 that we can adjust to that. At the moment, Victor 00:09:27.450 --> 00:09:29.850 is doing really well, so I'm really happy with 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:33.029 that. Oh, yeah, I forgot about Leandro Trossard. 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:35.690 He definitely needs a game. And then you've got 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:38.370 people like Martinelli who are off form. But 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:40.909 for me, with Martinelli, I think that if you 00:09:40.909 --> 00:09:43.230 bring him in in this type of fixture, that's 00:09:43.230 --> 00:09:44.909 taking liberties. I mean, we've got to have show. 00:09:45.769 --> 00:09:49.409 athletic club respect, you know, so we don't 00:09:49.409 --> 00:09:51.429 want to make too many changes. I feel like three 00:09:51.429 --> 00:09:54.590 or four changes will suffice if we want to pick 00:09:54.590 --> 00:09:57.710 up three points, which I fully expect us to do. 00:09:59.990 --> 00:10:02.309 Hi, Mikel. Do you have any updates on Mikael 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:05.950 Saka, where he is with his injury? No, I think 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:07.970 there's still quite a lot of things to go through. 00:10:08.360 --> 00:10:11.600 um very early to to understand when which week 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:14.159 he's gonna be available but he will certainly 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:17.379 be pushing to be available as quick as possible 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:20.399 as quick as possible i bet everyone was hoping 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:24.100 they'll say for mancy now for me from what i'm 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:27.340 kind of feeling engaging i don't think saka will 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:32.899 be fit this week although you might see him on 00:10:32.899 --> 00:10:34.740 a bench but i don't think he starts against mancy 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:39.110 um but if he does that will that would be the 00:10:39.110 --> 00:10:42.590 best kept secret you know for a long time but 00:10:42.590 --> 00:10:48.190 not for me I feel like Saka might be games or 00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:52.269 weeks away I'll be surprised and I'm bemused 00:10:52.269 --> 00:10:55.870 if he features in any of our fixtures this week 00:10:55.870 --> 00:10:58.549 Your team of course reached the semi -finals 00:10:58.549 --> 00:11:00.950 last season in this competition this time round 00:11:00.950 --> 00:11:02.629 with the squad that you've got now you've spent 00:11:02.629 --> 00:11:05.690 £50m and the reinforcements you've got in all 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:08.389 positions do you now see this as a moment where 00:11:08.389 --> 00:11:11.029 you can go one step further and possibly get 00:11:11.029 --> 00:11:12.809 the final win the competition maybe yeah like 00:11:12.809 --> 00:11:14.730 the rest of the teams that they have done the 00:11:14.730 --> 00:11:16.950 same and they continue to that and they've won 00:11:16.950 --> 00:11:19.710 it in many occasions that's the aim in the beginning 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:22.389 but we all know that it's going to be a really 00:11:22.389 --> 00:11:25.389 long journey um the margins in this competition 00:11:25.389 --> 00:11:28.269 are super small and and you have to be at your 00:11:28.269 --> 00:11:30.450 very best when they want to give yourself the 00:11:30.450 --> 00:11:35.379 best possible chance and yeah um So, yeah, in 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:37.480 terms of the Champions League, we're definitely 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:41.620 in that little batch of front runners. For me, 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:46.340 the way I've kind of segmented it is you've got 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:50.179 your Liverpools and Barcelonas and PSGs. And 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:52.820 then just slightly under that, I'll put us in 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:58.360 the batch with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.360 City. And then just under that, you've got a 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:03.700 couple of underdogs. I think Chelsea, for me, 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:08.860 are the dark horses for this competition. I feel 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:12.980 so in that case, it's about seven or eight teams 00:12:12.980 --> 00:12:16.580 can win it realistically with, for me, four or 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:19.879 five outstanding candidates. So to reiterate, 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:23.220 Liverpool, Barcelona, PSG, Arsenal, Real Madrid, 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:27.600 Manchester City and Chelsea and Bayern Munich. 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:30.200 for me, are the only teams that can win this 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.360 competition. What in particular did you learn 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:34.860 from the competition last season which you're 00:12:34.860 --> 00:12:37.360 going to take into the competition this time 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:39.179 around? That we are good enough, that we can 00:12:39.179 --> 00:12:42.600 compete against any opposition on the day and 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:44.820 on top of that, that two things have to go your 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:46.679 way. You need to have a full squad available 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:49.500 when it comes to the most critical moments in 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:51.980 the season and then as well when the ball has 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:54.419 to go in the right moment or with the right decision. 00:12:55.289 --> 00:12:57.190 it has to be as well because the margins are 00:12:57.190 --> 00:13:01.850 so small. Hi, Mikel. Yeah, so that obviously 00:13:01.850 --> 00:13:05.870 explains why we went so ham. We went crazy in 00:13:05.870 --> 00:13:08.309 the summer window with eight signings of top 00:13:08.309 --> 00:13:12.409 quality, immense quality, which for me is the 00:13:12.409 --> 00:13:15.649 best window as a whole that I've ever seen as 00:13:15.649 --> 00:13:17.970 an Arsenal fan and that spans a few decades. 00:13:18.490 --> 00:13:23.330 But, yeah, so obviously Pep Guardiola is renowned 00:13:23.330 --> 00:13:28.539 for kind of starting slow, making changes in 00:13:28.539 --> 00:13:30.440 the first part of the season. And when it comes 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:32.679 to February, May, the business, sorry, February, 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:35.559 March, the business end of the season, they start 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:38.600 to click into gear. He starts to make the changes. 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:43.740 The better players are fresh. So with our stacked 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:46.840 squad, you should expect our key players to get 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:50.100 enough rest because previously people like Saka, 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:54.299 Rice, Gabriel, Saliba, Odegaard, We couldn't 00:13:54.299 --> 00:13:57.100 afford to rest him, but now people like Declan 00:13:57.100 --> 00:14:00.519 Rice, who's a £100 million player, put his feet 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:02.220 up on the bench and then had a little run out 00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:05.519 at the end of the game on Saturday against a 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:08.399 very good Nottingham Forest side who made it 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:11.539 look very ordinary. So, yeah, it's good that 00:14:11.539 --> 00:14:17.100 we have certainly one of the best squads in Europe 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:19.879 at this moment in time, if not the best. We've 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.639 got a very... strong case for having the strongest 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:27.179 squad in terms of if one player is out, the other 00:14:27.179 --> 00:14:30.700 player comes in and there's little or no drop 00:14:30.700 --> 00:14:34.440 off. So having a good squad stands us in good 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:38.200 stead for the latter end of the season where 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:41.940 it matters. Was part of the strengthening in 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:44.080 a lot of numbers this summer down to that feeling 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:46.100 when you're in the semi -final and your numbers 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:47.899 are short and you think I don't want to be here 00:14:47.899 --> 00:14:50.360 next year where you're struggling to put out 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.559 your best team when it counts? Well, when we 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:55.000 were training we had eight or nine fifth players 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:58.000 and we were going to games with 13 players and 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.039 at that level it's extremely difficult but I 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:03.940 think even without condition we did really, really 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:05.820 well. We gave ourselves an unbelievable chance 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:08.659 and we were very unlucky in the semi -final not 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:13.259 to get through. Yeah, I mean, Mikel was right 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:16.179 -ish because obviously last season in the Champions 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:19.379 League semi -final was playing with Mikel Moreno 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:21.980 as a striker against PSG, the eventual winners, 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:27.919 who I felt we outplayed in the second leg, especially 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:30.779 in the first part of that game where we kind 00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:33.480 of took the game to them, really pushed them 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:36.490 back. Not many teams have done that in... the 00:15:36.490 --> 00:15:38.490 part of the prompts. We really pushed them back. 00:15:38.509 --> 00:15:42.210 We just couldn't score, take our chances. Donnarumma 00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:46.309 was in fantastic form and then they scored against 00:15:46.309 --> 00:15:49.190 a run of play. So yeah, I felt like we were the 00:15:49.190 --> 00:15:51.909 better team in that second leg in spite of our 00:15:51.909 --> 00:15:56.169 impediments, missing Thomas Partey, Marino up 00:15:56.169 --> 00:15:57.970 front and then we had four youngsters on the 00:15:57.970 --> 00:16:00.929 bench. We had several left backs so I could go 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:05.059 on and on. There's no room for sentiment in football, 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.840 there's no room for excuses, just learning. I 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:10.279 feel like we've learnt from last season having 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:13.200 a weak squad, so this season we can take that 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:16.460 learning and implement it in what we want to 00:16:16.460 --> 00:16:19.379 do to look forward and improve and to win this 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:21.519 competition for the first time in our history. 00:16:22.740 --> 00:16:24.860 David Rye was just here and he was talking about 00:16:24.860 --> 00:16:27.299 how much it almost seemed to still hurt when 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:30.080 he thinks about the semi -final and being in 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.940 that position. I hate to take you back to that 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:36.139 moment, but how much does it drive you to have 00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:38.179 that experience as a young manager where you 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:41.200 get so close to the top of the mountain? Well, 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:43.399 it is that. And that moment you get deflated 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:46.039 and you have to understand what you need to do 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:48.720 to put yourself back in the same position and 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:51.419 start actions, actually, that matter to give 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:54.340 yourself the chance to achieve that. And that's 00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:56.360 it. You take a lot of learnings from it. It's 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:58.820 painful because it's not only what we feel, it's 00:16:58.820 --> 00:17:01.870 about the... I think the expectation that we 00:17:01.870 --> 00:17:04.690 created and the real conviction that we had within 00:17:04.690 --> 00:17:07.369 the club, the team, that we could go all the 00:17:07.369 --> 00:17:11.369 way because we showed a very high level of consistency 00:17:11.369 --> 00:17:15.609 and quality throughout the competition and learn 00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:19.549 from it and try to be better. Yeah, so as I said, 00:17:19.569 --> 00:17:22.329 last season is about learning. So obviously the 00:17:22.329 --> 00:17:24.349 mistakes that we made were not having a strong 00:17:24.349 --> 00:17:28.279 squad, not taking our chances. We have obviously 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:32.339 addressed those two issues with signing the striker, 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:36.740 foxing the box in Victor Llocares, more creativity 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:41.359 in the likes of Max Dalman, Eze, Wanyeri, to 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:44.539 name but a few, and then also having a stronger 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:47.819 squad. So if one player is down, injured, another 00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:51.019 can come in and there'll be no drop -off, as 00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:55.240 I alluded to earlier. There's no real excuses 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:58.079 now. It's just for us to go out onto the pitch 00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:01.640 and start winning football matches. OK, a couple 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:02.960 more in English and we'll go to Spanish questions. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:05.880 George from BBC. Mikel, hello. Just the way you 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:08.000 started the season, do you sense from the players 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:10.299 that after the heart of last season they're ready 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:13.500 to win the Champions League? But it's not that 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:16.180 simple. You are so willing to do and you want 00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:21.029 to be better. a very clear intention that they 00:18:21.029 --> 00:18:23.109 want to be better every single day. And that's 00:18:23.109 --> 00:18:25.690 the start and the end. And there is nothing else 00:18:25.690 --> 00:18:28.730 to control. Create the energy, the belief amongst 00:18:28.730 --> 00:18:31.690 the players, the understanding and the feeling 00:18:31.690 --> 00:18:34.329 that we can compete against any opposition. And, 00:18:34.430 --> 00:18:37.210 yeah, certainly they have that. You mentioned 00:18:37.210 --> 00:18:42.049 about flying into Bilbao, sir. Yeah, so I think 00:18:42.049 --> 00:18:46.559 what Arteta's saying is... easy enough to just 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:48.079 say yeah we're trying to win the Champions League 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.539 but as I mentioned earlier there's six or seven 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:55.019 teams that would have the same outlook you know 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:59.140 Liverpool are joint favourites with Barcelona 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:02.920 at this moment in time just under them are the 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:07.039 current holders PSG who beat us twice so it's 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.619 fine lines it's narrow margins for me personally 00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:16.349 Barcelona look the strongest for me. I would 00:19:16.349 --> 00:19:20.609 have them as ever so slight favourites over Liverpool. 00:19:20.890 --> 00:19:22.809 Not because Liverpool are better than us, but 00:19:22.809 --> 00:19:24.750 because of the heritage they have in that competition. 00:19:27.269 --> 00:19:30.410 And then obviously PSG, I would like to play 00:19:30.410 --> 00:19:36.650 them again, considering how I felt last May when 00:19:36.650 --> 00:19:40.839 they ousted us and knocked us out. They no longer 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:44.019 have Donnarumma in their goal to make outrageous, 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:47.839 you know, out of this world saves. He played 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:50.839 out of his skin on that occasion. But yeah, I 00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:52.799 mean, we're definitely in that batch of teams 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:54.180 that could win. And obviously you've got Real 00:19:54.180 --> 00:19:56.500 Madrid, Man City, who have won it in recent years, 00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:59.819 as have Chelsea and Bayern Munich. They've all 00:19:59.819 --> 00:20:02.839 won it in the last five or six years. So yeah, 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.700 it's going to be a hotly contested Champions 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:10.029 League, to say the least. Is all of your family 00:20:10.029 --> 00:20:13.029 coming to this match tomorrow? All of them, no, 00:20:13.069 --> 00:20:17.549 but a big majority will come and I'm really looking 00:20:17.549 --> 00:20:22.210 forward to that. I don't think I need to add 00:20:22.210 --> 00:20:25.690 anything to that. Mikel Arteta's family will 00:20:25.690 --> 00:20:29.890 be joining him in his native Spain. You're getting 00:20:29.890 --> 00:20:31.450 a lot of questions about winning the Champions 00:20:31.450 --> 00:20:33.529 League and understandably the start of the season, 00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:35.509 but Arsenal are probably the biggest club that's 00:20:35.509 --> 00:20:38.009 never won it. Is there a pressure that you feel? 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:40.119 With that, because Liverpool won it multiple 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:42.559 times, Man United, Chelsea, you want to win it 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:44.200 obviously, but how important is it to win that 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:46.279 first one for Arsenal? Well, that tells you with 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:48.279 our long history how difficult it is because 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:51.319 we haven't won it yet. And that's the opportunity, 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:53.500 that's how I see it. The pressure is the opportunity 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:56.220 that thrives. That energy, that willingness to 00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:58.400 be better every single day, to make decisions 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.680 that are in that direction. And every decision, 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:04.720 and if we weren't that much, every decision has 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:07.359 to be with that standard and with those expectations. 00:21:08.940 --> 00:21:11.700 and let's give our best chance to try to do it. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:16.880 Yeah, I mean, this Arsenal not winning the Champions 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:20.279 League or Arsenal supposedly never winning in 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:24.059 Europe, which we have in the 90s, 93, Cup Winners' 00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:27.940 Cup. It was 94, need to check that. But yeah, 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:31.920 to say we're the biggest club never to win it, 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.319 it's more clear now. That is the case because 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:38.579 PSG won it last season, whereas before it was 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:43.039 Arsenal stroke PSG. You know, give or take who's 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:45.680 a bigger club or whatnot. Arsenal or PSG? Well, 00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:48.140 that doesn't matter now because PSG have now 00:21:48.140 --> 00:21:51.920 won it. PSG is also a relatively new club. They're 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:55.859 about 40, 50 years old as a club. So, whereas 00:21:55.859 --> 00:21:58.799 Arsenal is an institution spanning over a century. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:02.089 So, therefore... I think it's pretty clear and 00:22:02.089 --> 00:22:04.430 obvious that Arsenal are the biggest club, never 00:22:04.430 --> 00:22:09.690 to have won it. I remain so. So that should be 00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:12.470 a big enough incentive for us to change that 00:22:12.470 --> 00:22:16.769 this season. Do you feel that going close actually 00:22:16.769 --> 00:22:18.630 helps? I mean, you worked at Guardiola at Man 00:22:18.630 --> 00:22:20.029 City for a few years when they were knocking 00:22:20.029 --> 00:22:21.710 on the door. Does that disappointment ultimately 00:22:21.710 --> 00:22:23.470 help you get over the line? Yeah, and the big 00:22:23.470 --> 00:22:25.750 clubs, I mean, they try seven, eight, nine times, 00:22:25.809 --> 00:22:28.660 they win two. So in this competition, it's going 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:30.839 to be one and you fail much more than you succeed. 00:22:31.099 --> 00:22:32.960 That's the nature of that. That's the history 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.079 of our club. And that's what we want to change. 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:41.640 Yeah, so obviously, since Mikel has kind of brought 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:44.420 us back into contention as being one of the biggest 00:22:44.420 --> 00:22:48.279 clubs in the world, Europe, we've made steady 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:51.519 progress in Europe. So obviously, two seasons 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:55.490 ago, we... crashed out to Bayern Munich in the 00:22:55.490 --> 00:22:59.990 quarter -finals in the narrow in the narrowest 00:22:59.990 --> 00:23:05.250 of ways losing 3 -2 on aggregate last season 00:23:05.250 --> 00:23:10.329 having beaten the likes of Real Madrid PSV convincingly 00:23:10.329 --> 00:23:16.769 we came we came up unstuck against PSG as I mentioned 00:23:16.769 --> 00:23:19.329 in the quarter -finals sorry in the semi -finals 00:23:19.329 --> 00:23:24.950 we were really close so if If the trajectory 00:23:24.950 --> 00:23:31.009 is to continue, then we should be in the final, 00:23:31.150 --> 00:23:36.150 really. And that would be, incidentally, 20 years 00:23:36.150 --> 00:23:39.309 on from our last appearance in the Champions 00:23:39.309 --> 00:23:42.549 League final. And please don't remind me that 00:23:42.549 --> 00:23:45.410 night in Paris still haunts me to this day. But 00:23:45.410 --> 00:23:48.789 I would like us to get back into that Champions 00:23:48.789 --> 00:23:53.930 League final, for sure. But for me, anything 00:23:53.930 --> 00:23:58.690 other than minimum semi -final appearance would 00:23:58.690 --> 00:24:01.789 be, I don't want to say unacceptable, but it 00:24:01.789 --> 00:24:14.539 would be a disappointment. An expert coach like 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.779 Cinguri Valverde, I don't know whether you heard 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.420 him, said categorically that you're one of the 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:21.079 best managers in the world. What do you have 00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:25.660 to say to that? And two, 20 years after leaving 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:28.799 Real Sociedad, you come back to your country, 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:31.279 this one, to compete, I think, for the first 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:33.920 time. What do you feel? Although you already 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:36.890 mentioned it a little bit in English. Well, first 00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:40.170 of all, I'd like to thank him for his words. 00:24:40.390 --> 00:24:43.809 For me, he's always been a reference for several 00:24:43.809 --> 00:24:46.289 reasons. Firstly, because he's been in this profession 00:24:46.289 --> 00:24:49.569 for over 20 years and everywhere he's gone, he's 00:24:49.569 --> 00:24:53.549 left two things. First of all, successes in the 00:24:53.549 --> 00:24:58.529 clubs he worked for and the mark he made in the 00:24:58.529 --> 00:25:01.789 way he behaves, the humanity he shows and now 00:25:01.789 --> 00:25:05.880 how natural he is in his profession. And above 00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:09.000 all, I think that there's a way of doing things 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.180 that puts him apart from many other managers. 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:15.599 So what I need to do is learn from him and improve. 00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:20.460 And the second question, I'm very glad to be 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:23.700 back. It's been 20 years since I was here professionally, 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.180 obviously in a different role. And I very much 00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:32.240 wanted to come and experience the atmosphere 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:35.940 in this stadium. and to face a rival that's going 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:38.519 to be very uh difficult very demanding but i'm 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:45.880 very excited hello yeah um yeah yeah for sure 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:50.500 man um so what was it again so yeah basically 00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:53.940 yeah it's just a love in between the managers 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:56.799 i mean yeah that's just um the modern day style 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:59.500 where both managers say the other one's great 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:01.599 the other team is great the opponent's great 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:03.740 blah blah blah But at the end of the day, when 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:05.799 the game starts, none of that matters. I mean, 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:09.700 Mikel Arteta may also return the favour and say 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:13.500 that Athletic Club's manager is also a great 00:26:13.500 --> 00:26:15.279 manager and blah, blah, blah. But at the end 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:17.700 of the day, it's just about who picks up the 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:21.160 three points in the day. As for Mikel returning 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:25.579 to an Arsenal team to play in Spain, in that 00:26:25.579 --> 00:26:27.559 region he used to play in for Real Sociedad. 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:31.279 Yeah, he did. Because I think the... If I'm not 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:34.299 wrong, he's in no particular order. He's played 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:40.000 for Glasgow Rangers, Everton, Arsenal, Real Sociedad, 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:42.119 and then he was in the Barcelona youth team, 00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:46.980 as well as being on loan at PSG. So he was a 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:49.420 well -travelled player, playing in different 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:54.740 countries and whatnot. But yeah, it's not like 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:57.480 he hasn't returned to Spain. I mean, he played 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:06.039 against... I don't know whether the pre -season 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:08.200 match is any use in preparing tomorrow's match 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:11.259 or whether there are two different moments in 00:27:11.259 --> 00:27:17.220 the season. No. It was useful to obtain some 00:27:17.220 --> 00:27:20.500 information. and have a good feeling after the 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:22.180 match. But we know that tomorrow is going to 00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:24.180 be a different world. This is the Champions League. 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:28.259 The level of both teams will rise. The context 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:30.160 will be different, and it's going to be a very 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:34.539 different game. Yeah, for sure, I agree. Obviously, 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:37.000 he would say that, though. But it's similar to 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:41.859 PSG's situation, wherein we played PSG around 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:44.539 September, October last year, and then we played 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:49.930 them again about six months later. in May and 00:27:49.930 --> 00:27:53.130 they were a completely different team obviously 00:27:53.130 --> 00:27:58.089 at the time we beat PSG they didn't have Cavaricellia 00:27:58.089 --> 00:28:01.630 then Belé was not in the form that he was in 00:28:01.630 --> 00:28:03.690 towards the end of the season neither were PSG 00:28:03.690 --> 00:28:07.089 they clicked into the gear and they were effectively 00:28:07.089 --> 00:28:10.549 the best team in Europe last season whereas I 00:28:10.549 --> 00:28:13.869 kind of compare it to this where we've played 00:28:13.869 --> 00:28:17.250 Athletic Club Bilbao in pre -season probably 00:28:17.250 --> 00:28:22.049 about i'd say six weeks ago and um yeah they 00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:24.630 were a week behind us um hadn't started their 00:28:24.630 --> 00:28:28.470 season whereas we was literally days away from 00:28:28.470 --> 00:28:31.230 starting our season so we was ahead of them fitness 00:28:31.230 --> 00:28:34.130 wise and on top of that this is a competitive 00:28:34.130 --> 00:28:36.849 match we're also away from home so all those 00:28:36.849 --> 00:28:40.470 factors encompassed you know it's going to be 00:28:40.470 --> 00:28:42.250 a completely different game so i have to agree 00:28:42.250 --> 00:28:45.440 with mikhail on this one here And I hope we can 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.519 get the result we want. Hello, Mikkel. Good evening. 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:51.640 Rubio from Cadena Coppe. I don't know whether 00:28:51.640 --> 00:28:56.339 you've heard about Lamine injured, Nico injured. 00:28:56.460 --> 00:28:58.319 You've had three players in the Spanish squad. 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:02.039 Is it a big bother every time there's a break 00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:05.700 for the national teams? Well, yes, because we 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:09.369 lost three very important players. But we've 00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:13.430 also lost very important players through injuries. 00:29:13.589 --> 00:29:16.789 And this is part of the normal process. And we 00:29:16.789 --> 00:29:23.009 just have to try to get these players ready. 00:29:23.130 --> 00:29:26.470 It's almost impossible to play 64 matches. And 00:29:26.470 --> 00:29:29.329 that's why all managers and clubs need more players 00:29:29.329 --> 00:29:33.930 and more resources. Okay, so what I took from 00:29:33.930 --> 00:29:38.140 that was Nico Williams. probably injured and 00:29:38.140 --> 00:29:41.299 Nico Williams is Athletic Club's highest paid 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:47.259 player now significantly their highest paid player 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:49.079 but he's their best player let's have it right 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:51.059 we were linked with him for a number of years 00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:54.799 but before he signed his extension at his hometown 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:59.079 city club but yeah Mikel's right we've had injuries 00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:04.400 we've had Kai Havertz out Kai Osaka's out arguably 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:08.089 our best player probably is So it's not like 00:30:08.089 --> 00:30:10.869 we're not missing top players. William Saliba's 00:30:10.869 --> 00:30:13.009 out. It's just having a strong squad. So therefore 00:30:13.009 --> 00:30:16.670 the bigger clubs will have more money, more gravitas 00:30:16.670 --> 00:30:20.210 to pull in the better players. Whereas clubs 00:30:20.210 --> 00:30:23.369 like Athletic Club wouldn't really be an attractive 00:30:23.369 --> 00:30:28.910 proposition for players, squad players, to have 00:30:28.910 --> 00:30:31.130 that quality to accept that they're not going 00:30:31.130 --> 00:30:34.259 to start to go to that type of club. I know that 00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:35.839 was kind of wordy, but I hope you understand 00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:43.380 what I mean by that. Hello, Mikkel. I would like 00:30:43.380 --> 00:30:47.380 to talk a bit about the match. Athletic is going 00:30:47.380 --> 00:30:51.259 to have a lot of faith in their 15 -20 minutes 00:30:51.259 --> 00:30:56.480 push and pressure. And we'll see later on how 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:58.720 they plan the match, whether they play higher 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:00.759 or deeper. But what do you expect from Athletic 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:04.789 tomorrow? that obviously they'll try to do what 00:31:04.789 --> 00:31:08.650 they want. And it's an extremely dangerous team 00:31:08.650 --> 00:31:10.650 when they do that, and at home they have the 00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:15.769 capacity to do that in different ways. And we 00:31:15.769 --> 00:31:18.369 want a very different kind of match to what they 00:31:18.369 --> 00:31:22.109 want, and as usual we'll try to diffuse their 00:31:22.109 --> 00:31:33.150 quality and try to use our... best players and 00:31:33.150 --> 00:31:38.890 play. The key of Athletic is in their high pressure. 00:31:38.950 --> 00:31:44.269 Where do you think the key is? It'll be interesting 00:31:44.269 --> 00:31:48.809 to see how Athletic tackle this game. Personally, 00:31:48.849 --> 00:31:51.329 I feel like they are going to play their football. 00:31:51.410 --> 00:31:53.450 That's the only way they can. They try and play 00:31:53.450 --> 00:31:57.660 the passing, the typical Spanish. And I feel 00:31:57.660 --> 00:32:00.019 like if they do do that, we're going to absolutely 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:03.579 spank them. I just think we're going to kind 00:32:03.579 --> 00:32:06.319 of try to take to the centre of the ring, like 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:09.059 when we have done in places like Sporting Lisbon. 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:10.640 I feel like it's going to be kind of similar 00:32:10.640 --> 00:32:14.960 game to that, where we just kind of puff our 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:18.579 chests out, act like we're the home team, have 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:21.819 no respect in the most respectful way, have no 00:32:21.819 --> 00:32:24.259 respect in the sense that we're coming there 00:32:24.259 --> 00:32:27.230 to win. And we're coming there to win in our 00:32:27.230 --> 00:32:29.609 way and there's nothing you can do to stop us 00:32:29.609 --> 00:32:32.609 doing so. We're going to win during this 90 minutes 00:32:32.609 --> 00:32:35.109 and we're going to go back to London and take 00:32:35.109 --> 00:32:42.599 on Manchester City. Well, when they do that, 00:32:42.599 --> 00:32:45.160 get out of that pressure as effectively as possible 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:48.859 and to try to use the spaces they use. They change 00:32:48.859 --> 00:32:51.579 the way they play a great deal, especially depending 00:32:51.579 --> 00:32:54.720 on the context of the match and who they're playing 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:57.960 against very often. So we have to try to adjust 00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:02.079 things. We're a very aggressive team and I hope 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:06.640 that it will be a very good match. Yeah, OK, 00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:09.420 fair enough. If Athletic Club try and press us... 00:33:09.880 --> 00:33:11.759 then I think we just need to pass it around. 00:33:12.380 --> 00:33:14.819 So I think this is a game where we can kind of 00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:17.440 play the game what we actually want to play, 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:21.339 which is the 22 -23 type of style, or the 23 00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:24.740 -24 type of style, second half of the season, 00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:29.240 where we're just kind of indiscriminately battering 00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:32.759 teams. But yeah, if they try to press us, I think 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:35.400 we just pass it around and tire them out. Bang, 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:38.700 bang, bang, bang. And, yeah, I'm really confident 00:33:38.700 --> 00:33:42.319 ahead of tomorrow. I know that Athletic Club 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:44.900 are a good team, but I'm more confident when 00:33:44.900 --> 00:33:47.359 we play against good teams because I know good 00:33:47.359 --> 00:33:49.660 teams want to play good football, open football. 00:33:49.980 --> 00:33:53.279 And if the vast majority of sides try to do that 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:56.619 with us, then the outcome is usually the same. 00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:03.779 Yes, Mikkel, good afternoon. Javi Beltran, dare 00:34:03.779 --> 00:34:07.680 you ask a couple of things? Is Mikel Merino at 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:11.000 the best point in his career? And two, do you 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:15.199 think that Valverde is going to feel the absence 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:19.900 of Nico Williams very much in the XI? Well, Mikel 00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:22.300 Merino has been at a very high level for a very 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:27.019 long time, but now the transcendence of what 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:31.590 he's doing is enormous. His quality, his character, 00:34:31.769 --> 00:34:34.190 his personality, the variability he gives us 00:34:34.190 --> 00:34:36.929 in his performance. And regarding Nico, well, 00:34:36.949 --> 00:34:40.429 I imagine Ernesto would like to have him, like 00:34:40.429 --> 00:34:43.210 we would like to have other great players that 00:34:43.210 --> 00:34:46.130 can't be there tomorrow. But we'll try to do 00:34:46.130 --> 00:34:48.630 the best we can with the players we have. Javier 00:34:48.630 --> 00:35:01.550 Ortiz de Latcano from it. will be supreme favourites 00:35:01.550 --> 00:35:05.469 for this game for sure. But yeah, Mikel did well 00:35:05.469 --> 00:35:08.690 not to mention Bukayo Saka's name because if 00:35:08.690 --> 00:35:10.210 he mentioned Saka's name, then he would have 00:35:10.210 --> 00:35:14.710 to mention potentially Saliba's name and Kai 00:35:14.710 --> 00:35:17.610 Havertz's name. So yeah, because we do have a 00:35:17.610 --> 00:35:20.650 few injuries of our own, let alone Christian 00:35:20.650 --> 00:35:24.909 Norgard, who has yet to make his debut for Arsenal, 00:35:25.030 --> 00:35:27.250 official debut that is in a competitive match. 00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:36.619 Welcome home. In Nico Williams' turbulent summer, 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:41.260 was there any interest from Arsenal in signing 00:35:41.260 --> 00:35:46.880 Nico? Well, I can only say that Nico is a great 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:49.219 player that you enjoy every week here and in 00:35:49.219 --> 00:35:54.699 the national team. I can't say much more. Let 00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:57.320 me translate that as yes.