Hello and welcome to HYBR1D Powered by chinkseyMEDIA.
Media. Yasim Yasser. Yeah, man. We're back once
again for every word from Arteta's pre -Olympiakos
presser. Following our victory over Newcastle
United two days ago, Mikel Arteta is back in
front of the press ahead of our Champions League
clash against Olympiakos. We started off our
Champions League campaign with a win over Athletic
Club in Bilbao and now host the Greek champions
at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow, October 1st.
On William Saliba signing a new contract. Yes,
big news. Very happy. Congratulations to William.
Fully deserves his new contract. His contribution
to the club, to the team has been phenomenal.
the last few years and very happy to keep the
spine of the team with us. Yeah, I mean, the
news broke last week. It's not come as much of
a surprise, but obviously, like I mentioned in
one of the press conferences last week, I think
it was the Port Vale pre -match. Once Arsenal
announce it, then it's announced. But until that's
done, then it's all speculation, I guess. But
no, William Saliba has committed his next five
years to Arsenal Football Club. So he will be
playing for the club until at least 2030. And
yeah, good luck to him and hopefully he can be
a major part in us lifting honours starting from
this season. On our players believing they can
win trophies here and committing futures to us.
Oh, I just alluded to that. Yes, first of all,
that they feel that they belong to this club.
They feel very attached to it and they share
the same ambition with the club and obviously
they feel valued. They feel loved here and they
want to continue their careers here, which is
great. Yeah, I mean, like Arteta alluded to earlier,
the spine of the team have pretty much all renewed
their contracts. I think the next one due is
obviously Bakayo Sakaan and probably from next
year, probably looking at Declan Rice renewing
terms. Because we've got the likes of Odegaard,
Gabriel, Saliba, Myles Lewis -Skelly, Wanyeri,
all tied to long. term contracts and yes looking
good all our key players have i've obviously
seen the potential in the side and believe that
they can achieve their goals with arsenal football
club on the impact of our late win over newcastle
well great energy obviously the moment you go
in the dressing room everybody is celebrating
especially because the manner and the way it
happened. You have to move on immediately and
you know that we have a very tough match tomorrow
against Olympiakos and I'm ready for it. Yeah,
as I mentioned in the previous press match conference
analysis, Olympiakos are the top side in Greece,
so the Arsenal of Greece. They are used to winning
matches. They are used to playing front foot
football. I saw that first time myself when I
watched them on Saturday. They won their game
3 -2. So it will be a kind of culture shock to
them when they come to the Emirates where we're
playing the front foot, we're dominating the
game. They're going to be kind of defending and
trying to hit us on the break. So for that reason,
I think we're more likely to win because they're
not used to kind of changing their style and
having to play pragmatic and tight away from
home. They're used to being in the front foot.
And that would have been the case even in Piraeus
in Athens. If we were to play them there, we
would be on the front foot once again, just like
we were. Newcastle on Sunday. So yeah, Olympiacos
should prove a tough test. They're half decent
side. They won the Europa Conference League.
But no, I fully expect Arsenal to emerge victorious
and by a couple of goals as well. On if everyone
is fit and available for Olympiacos. Yes, no
surprises. Hinkapie and Lonnie are still out,
so no news. The rest are all good. Okay, so we've
got a relatively fully fit squad. Well, saying
that, we've got Havertz out, we've got Jesus
out, the Forgotten Man and Kapia Noni. So there's
a couple of players out. But other than that,
there's a fully fit squad, fully fledged squad
and a lot of competition for places. I'd like
to see people like Myles Lewis, Skelly and Ben
White perhaps come in ahead of our game against
West Ham, which then punctuates the season because
there's going to be... an international break
so Arteta might think all right let me go my
strongest squad these next two games and then
obviously we've got the break so I think that
would could or would play a major factor in the
team selection so he might tinker with it a bit
but then again knowing Arteta he's not taking
any chances especially in the Champions League
I think he'll pick a team that will be more than
likely to win the game so he'll probably go with
a very similar team to the one we saw take the
field Sunday on if Odegaard is fit to start he
was very good he came on and immediately you
could see the desire and the responsibility to
get in the game to try to change it his decision
making the way he approached every ball and he
made a difference to help us win the game okay
that's a remarkable amount of talking about answering
the question as a political answer but yeah obviously
as if Mikel was going to tell you whether Odegaard
will play but I fully expect him to feature whether
we start that's an interesting question but yeah
I think Odegaard will play and if I was to make
a prediction to start I'll say yes on if there's
greater pressure on us in the Champions League
this year well we have the same ambition which
is to go game by game and try to be better than
our opponent which is very difficult in this
competition and win as many games as we can Tomorrow
we're going to have a really difficult one. We
know how important the home form is going to
be to reach in this phase where we want to arrive.
And tomorrow we have the opportunity to start
well. So yeah, we got off to a win at Bilbao.
We have a few games at home where we're going
to be heavy favourites to win. But then there's
also one or two games where you're thinking,
ooh, games like Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid.
and into Milan, where we've got to be at our
best. However, the fixtures that we have against
Kairat Almaty, who are playing Real Madrid today,
and Olympiacos, we've got to be picking up all
three points in those games. So, yeah, there's
no relenting. We have to win tomorrow. We've
just got to have our mentality right, take to
the field with a good spirit, a good resilience,
you know, move the ball fast, play like anything
we did on Sunday. we should win comfortably for
me. On being on top of contracts for players,
well, I don't know. What I know certainly is
that at the end, there are two or three parties
that have come together to an agreement and with
the three of them having the same intention and
the same will. It's easier to get it done. In
these cases, it's been extremely positive. Andrea
Berta, the team and the support that we have
from Stan and Josh, especially. make this possible
and available. And we are extremely happy to
continue this journey with them. Yeah, I think
it's been a far cry from what Arsenal used to
be, where we would let players' contract run
low, run really low to the last two years, last
year, leave for free. People like Van Persie,
Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Thierry Henry, to
name but a few. But however, we're more proactive
these days, you know. Our key players are seeing
the project. this project buzzword. They're seeing
the project and they're seeing that we are really
close. And if you win a trophy with Arsenal,
especially given our trophy draw, which will
be stretched into now 22 years, as the earliest
we can win a league title will be in 2026. So
that'll be 22 years. They will go down as legends.
We're now actually favourites for the Premier
League. Slight favourites, but favourites nevertheless.
given our fixtures that we've got coming up against
Fulham, Crystal Palace, West Ham, 8 -0. And then
Liverpool have to endure a gruelling match against
Galatasaray today, tonight, should I say. And
then they've got games against Chelsea and Man
United coming up. So it will be like, oh, OK,
can Arsenal now put their foot on the gas and
really, really, really move the dial? move the
needle and take it to Liverpool and say, right,
this season, we mean business. On Mikel speaking
to RAF pilots, you're a bit late. That was two
years ago. So the plane's already gone. I like
that metaphor. Yeah, I actually see that today
as well. So, okay. So I guess this old news.
Okay. Less said about that, the better. On if
there was any fear that Saliba wouldn't sign
the contract. Probably more than the length of
the contract, it's the will of the player. You
can understand that some players have a dream.
Some of them is to play in the Premier League.
Some of them is to play in the Premier League
for Arsenal. Another one can be to play in a
different country for a different club. Real
Madrid or Barcelona. So you have to respect that.
I think we've been really, really lucky. But
it shows the power of this football club. And
how much people love it and want to come here.
None of that is happening. Even if they had the
possibility to go somewhere else, they wanted
to remain here. Okay. That's not the first time
he's kind of intimated that other clubs were
linked with him and were kind of hovering around
him like vultures. So obviously Real Madrid's
business plan is to notify a player of their
interest, even if they've got two, three years
of their contract remaining. Let that be known
through the press. as they've done for Trent
and Mbappe and players like that over the years.
And then obviously, as they wind down their contracts,
they pick them up on a free, giving them a hefty
signing on fee, which would effectively replace
what would be a hefty transfer fee, but even
less. And that's what they've been doing over
the years. So it's a remarkable feat that we've
actually managed to get William Saliba to sign
this long -term contract to stay at the club
for the bulk of his career, the nucleus of his
career. alongside his compadre, Gabriel Magales,
who got the winner on Sunday. So maybe the fact
that Dean Huyssen signed for Real Madrid, a young,
budding defender from Bournemouth, influenced
Saliba's decision. However, you could argue that
he could play alongside Huyssen. But anyway,
that signing of the contract has quelled any
speculation, for now at least, that... william
saliba will join us morangas on if he was always
convinced he would become the player he is now
well i think it's a great example to get where
you want there's not a single pathway it can
happen in various ways in various manners because
when you talk about this pathway you talk about
loans well i think it's a great example to get
where you want there's not a single pathway it
can happen in various ways in various manners
because When you talk about this pathway, talk
about loans. So there's a lot that has happened,
a lot that William had to get through and the
club and myself with him as well to get to the
point where he is at today. And that's the beauty
of it, that sometimes things don't start the
way you expect it, but sometimes it's the best
thing that can happen to you to get where you
want. Yeah, William Saliba has actually been
through a lot, especially in the early genesis
of his career. Firstly, he had that scandal with
Randall Colomwani. Not going to go too much into
that, if you know, you know. It's involving a
dressing room and a mobile phone. And also, he
sadly lost his mother a few years back as well.
Not to mention the various loans that he was
sent on back to France, where he had to go and
loan to teams at Marseille. So he's had to kind
of overcome a lot, really. And to get to where
he is today. It's testament to his character
and you can see that he's someone that's hungry
to thrive and to realise his potential going
forward. And if he's aware of the noise around
the club in terms of having no excuses, I'm aware
the moment I step in this chair that I want with
this club is to win major trophies. Nobody else
has to put that line into us. That's the ambition
from the first day and the excuses. They've never
been part of my life. You know, today I had a
thought. I had a thought come through my mind
that if Mikel Arteta, let's say, wins us the
Premier League or wins us the Champions League,
because both would be remarkable feats. I mean,
I've already alluded to the fact that we haven't
won the Premier League in 22 years. You know,
a lot of the fan base haven't seen us win the
Prem or too young to have seen us win the Prem.
And then the Champions League, no fan have seen
us win the Champions League. So if you win one
of them, you go down. in history i was thinking
that if arteta was to win one of those that would
be a mic drop moment could he leave could he
leave on his first european tie as our manager
against olympiacos i knew there would be some
kind of question on our previous match against
them no but that's the beauty of football as
well i perfectly remember when we scored the
goal when we conceded the equalizer the last
chance that we had in the last second of the
game as well to go through what happened after
that as well when covid and everything hit so
part of the journey as well is to get where you
are it's a good example like Saliba to get where
you want to get sometimes you have to go through
moments that you probably didn't expect to go
through okay shots fired at Pierre -Emerick Aubameyang
who had An unbelievable effort to win the game,
but didn't score it. On how that first year in
the job helped him develop. It was a lot to swallow.
Jesus. Coming into a massive club in the middle
of the season when you've never coached a team.
I think that's already a big challenge. On top
of that, everything that was happening at the
football club, COVID hits. You're not able to
be in contact with your players or the club.
And that drags on for almost two years. It's
a lot. But it was an experience that I learned
a lot from and I think it made us all better.
Yeah, I mean, that season was a tough season.
We finished eighth. That was bad times. That
period, that was a hard, hard time to be an Arsenal
fan. We was dubbed the banter club. The clubs
or the fans of the clubs that were dubbing us
the banter club have all had worse seasons in
recent years. I'll leave it there. On the tunnel
being removed at the Emirates Stadium to improve
the atmosphere. As a club, we have always had
the ambition to generate the best atmosphere
in the world at the Emirates Stadium. We have
the best supporters in the world and now we have
to facilitate everything. The team has to give
the right feelings to our supporters every time
we play in front of them. We need to facilitate
the stadium in the manner that we want and we
need to ignite the will that we have to play
every single goal with us because it makes such
a difference. We want to play and win the things
that we want to win. That's a non -negotiable.
You need to have a stadium that is able to create
those moments for sure. I haven't seen Arteta
mention non -negotiable and contexts for a while.
But yeah, to remove the tunnel was a remarkable
decision because what it means is... You're not
kind of hidden away. You're not blocked from
the raucous atmosphere that the Emirates can
generate. It hits you straight away. There's
no hiding. Just like when we saw Eze, the fans
could see him for longer. Whereas with the tunnel
removed, the opponents are going to just be hit
with a cauldron. You know, the cauldron is just
going to hit them like a ton of bricks. And Olympiacos,
yeah, their stadium is also kind of intimidating.
But they're going to... They're going to be hit
with one tomorrow and I can't wait. I'm going
to be there too. On when he was first aware of
the talent Max Dahlman has, the first conversation
was probably with Per Mertesacker. We were talking
about the talent and what he could see and feel
that he could reach the level that we needed
straight away. His name came up and then we started
to look at him and the way he's developed himself
and the steps that he's taken and the speed he's
taken them. It's probably unheard of. He's fully
with us. He's part of us. He trains with us and
he's got the same chances as anybody else. That
last sentence is unbelievable. Max Darman, 15,
has got the same chances as anybody else. And
you know, I'm all for it. If you're good enough,
you're old enough. It's just the only thing is
I'm not worried, but I'm wary of his welfare.
But other than that, yeah, if you feel he's ready,
put him in. Let him play tomorrow. Let him play.
You know? Top player. What I've noticed, though,
is I've noticed, I mentioned it, I alluded to
it in the last edition podcast, that Myles Lewis
Skelly has seemed to have taken him under his
wing. You know, kind of big brother. They talk
a lot. They kind of chill together. Myles and
Ethan and then Declan Rice, big brother kind
of mode. And I like that, you know, kind of assimilating
him into the group, making him feel comfortable,
making him feel confident to kind of... you know,
do what he does best, which is dribble with the
ball, twist people up. I'm all for it, man. Big
up Max Darman. On when that conversation with
Per was, I would say a year and a half, two years
ago. Damn, two years ago. He would have been
about 13 then. On how Victor Jokeres stood up
to the challenge at Newcastle. I loved it. I
absolutely loved how he took it. He went on board,
not a single moment when he was showing frustration.
I told him that you're going to get some decisions.
Some, others not. Stand up. You're going to have
two or three players around you in many moments.
The ball is in the air and a lot is going to
happen. But I loved his reaction. I loved the
way he handled the situation emotionally. And
also because he was involved in a lot of dangerous
moments that he created. He was very much involved
in them. it's a pity that he didn't score a goal
at the end because in my opinion he fully deserved
it yeah i mean in terms of victor joker as his
all -round game he did all right his link -up
play was good his hold -up play was good i felt
like he linked up slightly too much for my liking
there were moments where he could have shot albeit
from tighter angles but that's exactly what i
want from him I wanted to be single -minded,
greedy to an extent where if you feel you can
get a shot off, get one off. But he was kind
of passing when he could have potentially shot.
Usually his single -minded self would have done
so. At Sporting, I'm sure he would definitely
have done so. He would have had licence and,
you know, he would have been instructed to do
so, shoot on sight policy. But all in all, yeah,
he got himself about. He's looking fitter by
the game. I think every game he's playing, he's
looking more and more fit. With obviously, there's
more of an emphasis on him because Kai's out.
So if he was to go down, we'd have to shuffle
things around. But we've got options there. We've
got people like Marino, Trossard and Martinelli
that can play there. But ideally, you want a
victor to score a few more goals. Now, I think
he's currently on three and six, three and eight
overall. But hopefully, if he can get a few more
goals over the coming games, he can get to fours
and fives and sixes. Going into the international
break. On how he's handling the role with Kai
out injured. In a really natural organic way
I would say. He's a really confident boy. His
work ethic is incredible. The demands that he
puts on himself every single day. It's a joy
to work with him. He gives so much to the team.
And the ceiling is very very far. But he can
still give to the team. So I'm very happy with
him. Yeah, so I've already alluded to a lot of
the things with Victor. He's doing well, I think,
in the game against Newcastle. He was in the
wars with Malik Chiao and the likes of Dan Byrne
as well. He got himself about, moved around,
played the others into play. I'd like to see
him link up with Eze. I think that's going to
be a key partnership going forward. Yeah, also
I didn't actually mention that all three of his
goals in the two games he scored them in have
been at the Emirates. So our next two fixtures
in the next four days are at the Emirates. Hopefully
you can add to that, but after the international
break, I would like to see him score away from
home, albeit those games will be in London because
we're playing teams like Fulham, Crystal Palace,
et al. in the month of October, starting tomorrow.
On what Eze brings to a central position compared
to Odegaard, I think he's got this different
quality that he does things that in the book
they're unexpected. When you think he's going
to turn right, he goes left. When he thinks that
he's going to take another touch, he releases
the ball. In his vision, he's a player that can
create those magic moments and at some point
he can steal the ball in a way that not many
players can do. lucky that we have a few of those
but the more we put him in central positions
in those conditions especially when there's threat
around him we're playing to his strengths it's
okay so that's arteta's admission that abareche
is at his best in the center of the pitch between
the lines you know just behind joker as i think
that's the way forward for us but then obviously
martin odegaard's now there so i like the way
they linked up on sunday i would like to see
more of that Tomorrow, potentially. But it'll
be interesting to see if actually Eze and Odegaard
both start in central positions or he goes Odegaard
and Eze out wide, despite the statement he's
just made. On how he's adapted to life at Arsenal.
Very good. Personally, it's a very special character.
Someone really easy to get on with. Super intelligent.
I've been very impressed by how quickly he picks
things up. The questions he asks and how smart
he is. Just to navigate through a different environment.
The chemistry he's generated with his teammates,
the way he's impacting games for the short period
he's been with us, I think really positive. Yeah,
actually, funnily enough, I didn't mention that
I noticed he and Gabriel have developed a strong
bond already. And obviously he knows people like
Nonny, who he seems to get on really well with.
Bukayo, who he seems to get on really well with.
Declan Rice as well. And then you've got the
young boys in Ethan and Mouse. So, yeah, he's
already known a lot of the players through the
years, through playing against Arsenal. But he's
really just bedded in really nicely. And I think
a lot to do with that is the fact that he's been
here before. This is his habitat. He's back home.
The players adore him. And I think personally,
I think he's one of the leaders in the team.
So I just want him to get more and more games,
more and more experience in European football,
understanding the pace of European football,
the differences in what he's used to. And I'm
sure after a few games, we're going to see the
best of Ebreche Eze for sure. And how to learn
from our previous encounters with Olympiacos?
Yes, because they have a really good side and
they have a really, really good manager, which
I've known since I was 13 because he was my coach
at that period. And I know how he works. I know
how efficient he is in what he does. That's why
I'm saying that tomorrow is going to be really
tough. Yeah, Olympiacos are a good side. They're
used to winning week on week. As I already mentioned,
they won 3 -2 on Saturday. They're used to being
on the front foot, but tomorrow that's not going
to be the case. They're going to have to be pragmatic
and obviously seize their moments on the break.
If they want to have any chance of winning, they're
going to have to hang in there. Their goalkeeper
is going to have to have a 10 out of 10 performance
if they want to get anything out of the game.
But for me... I think it's a case of just being
confident, not complacent and carrying out the
tasks in what Arteta has kind of trained for.
So if Arteta puts out a strong side, which I
fully expect him to do, then there's no reason
why we shouldn't and wouldn't pick up three points.
On what makes our back four so good? Well, one
is chemistry. I think there is something about,
especially when we talk about centre -back units,
that... It has to exist, that it has to be a
will, a feeling to play for each other and basically
to hide each other's weaknesses and promote each
other's strengths. And that's an ability that
they have between them and they have developed.
They like to play with each other. They love
each other. And that's a massive thing when you're
asking your backline to produce what they are
producing at the moment. Well, he's obviously
referring to William Saliba and Gabriel. He's
mentioned hide each other's weaknesses and promote
each other's strengths. Okay, let me try and
extrapolate what he means by that. So, I mean,
put it this way, when I mention the weaknesses,
which I think he's inferring, I'm clutching at
straws, but with Gabriel's probably, you know,
he's technically not the greatest in the world,
but you don't require a centre -back to be technically
efficient. Whereas Saliba is technically very
good, but the aggression... isn't there as much,
but you get the aggression from Gabriel. So it's
like, that's where the compliment lies. Also
with Saliba, you might get one or two lapses
in concentration now and again, but usually he
makes up for them anyway. Or usually Gabriel
will make up for it or Timba will come across.
So that's me clutching that straws because I
don't think there's many weaknesses. And then
when you add in Riccardo Calafiori, who is great
going forward, but I think this season he's improved
immensely defensively. And I think that's the
main reason why he's been in the team because
he's a threat going forward. There was a point
where he actually had the most shots of any player
in the Arsenal squad. So yeah, he had an exceptional
start to the season and I think he probably has
done enough to keep his place in the team. However,
it would surprise me if he kind of gets a breather
with Miles getting an opportunity to come in.
But other than that, I think it will be a largely
unchanged squad for the game tomorrow evening.
Peace.