WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.700 Hello and welcome to HYBR1D Powered by chinkseyMEDIA 00:00:04.700 --> 00:00:08.279 As we take on Brighton and Hove Albion 00:00:08.279 --> 00:00:10.900 in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, and the 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:13.820 head of the contest, Mikel Arteta has been speaking 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:17.160 to the press. After defeating Port Vale 2 -0 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:20.000 in the third round, we host the Seagulls at the 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.859 Emirates Stadium in what will be our 250th encounter 00:00:23.859 --> 00:00:29.219 in a competition's history. On William Saliba's 00:00:29.219 --> 00:00:32.340 fitness, he's out. We are assessing him, but 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:35.640 he won't be involved in this match. Okay, so 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:39.679 that's pretty blunt. William Saliba is out of 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:43.219 the game tomorrow, but that doesn't mean he won't 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:47.340 be involved in some capacity against Burnley 00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:52.179 on Saturday. On Declan Rice, he will be available. 00:00:53.140 --> 00:00:56.310 Well, a four -word answer, very blunt. Not messing 00:00:56.310 --> 00:01:00.310 around. So Declan Rice is available for contention. 00:01:00.390 --> 00:01:02.289 That's not to say he won't start. It's not to 00:01:02.289 --> 00:01:06.150 say he'll be in the squad. It's not to say he 00:01:06.150 --> 00:01:09.790 won't be on the bench. But I'm going to make 00:01:09.790 --> 00:01:11.810 a presumption that he'll be on the bench if not 00:01:11.810 --> 00:01:16.609 start. On Riccardo Calafiori, available as well. 00:01:17.090 --> 00:01:19.930 Yes. Okay, I'm going to make another presumption. 00:01:20.209 --> 00:01:22.430 I think he'll be on the bench. I don't think 00:01:22.430 --> 00:01:26.879 he will start the game. For the sake of Miles 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:28.900 Lewis Skelly, who needs game time and deserves 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:31.959 the game time as well. On Gabriel Martinelli. 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:35.659 Yeah, it looks like he's going to be out. We 00:01:35.659 --> 00:01:38.180 have to do some more tests and see the extent 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:40.780 of the injury. But this game is going to be too 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:45.459 early for him. Okay. Right, Martinelli is ruled 00:01:45.459 --> 00:01:49.379 out for the game tomorrow. On Bakayo Saka. He's 00:01:49.379 --> 00:01:53.420 going to be okay. Okay, Mikel's not messing around 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:57.939 today. A lot of very vague, blunt answers. But 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:01.400 I've tipped Saka to start tomorrow. I'll be surprised 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:04.680 if he doesn't. On Danny Welbeck and Brighton. 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:07.760 Very happy for him. We were teammates and the 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.099 whole history of him, the good and the difficult 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:12.659 moments he has had in his career. I think it's 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.460 remarkable what he's doing. The same with the 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:18.479 team and Fabian Herzler and the coaches, the 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:20.639 continuous work that they've done at that club 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:23.719 is incredible. I think Fabian has added something 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:26.599 slightly different as well and a very well prepared 00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:29.580 team. Very difficult to beat them. You've seen 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:32.259 the results against the big teams as well. So 00:02:32.259 --> 00:02:35.360 we expect a really tough match. Exactly. And 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.819 this is what I was saying over the weekend. I 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:40.039 was saying that fiddle around with the squad 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:43.020 and the team and the starting line -up too much, 00:02:43.099 --> 00:02:45.620 you're going to be eliminated because Brighton 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:48.240 are a very good side, you know, more than capable 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:50.819 of holding their own against the toughest sides 00:02:50.819 --> 00:02:53.240 in the league. And for me, when they do beat 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:55.780 the toughest sides in the league, it's not necessarily 00:02:55.780 --> 00:02:58.949 a scalp. They are capable of doing it. They've 00:02:58.949 --> 00:03:01.069 got good players, a good structure. And like 00:03:01.069 --> 00:03:03.469 Mikel said, they're a very tough team to beat. 00:03:03.610 --> 00:03:07.030 I think for us to give ourselves the best possible 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:11.069 chance of, you know, emerging the victors tomorrow 00:03:11.069 --> 00:03:13.949 and going through, we can only make a maximum 00:03:13.949 --> 00:03:17.400 of three or four changes, if that. So judging 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:20.979 by what Mikel said in that paragraph, I think 00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:22.400 he's going to go strong. It's not going to be 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:26.400 that 11 that the typical fan base will tell you 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.620 to choose. The same fan base that if we do lose, 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:32.120 they'll be crying and saying, why did you make 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:34.620 wholesale changes in that game? Wholesale changes 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:37.659 against Brighton will result in elimination. 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:41.699 I'll tell you that now. on if he will make changes 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:44.699 to his side. We're going to try and manage the 00:03:44.699 --> 00:03:47.500 minutes and the loads as best as we can because 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:50.159 as you say, we have a lot of games coming up 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:53.780 with a very short recovery time, which is a bit 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:56.740 unusual. but we're going to remain very competitive. 00:03:57.060 --> 00:03:59.520 Okay, so he's effectively admitting there will 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:03.659 be changes, but the key three words in that paragraph 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:07.360 are remain very competitive, which means the 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:09.439 only way you can do that is put out a very strong 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:13.780 side. Albeit how good Max Dalman is, I think 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:15.900 if you start him in a game like that against 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:19.300 such... renowned and bestowed opponents that 00:04:19.300 --> 00:04:22.620 is taking liberties like i already said albeit 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:25.000 how good the player is however if he's on the 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:26.879 bench and gets minutes towards the end of the 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:28.860 game i'm happy with that if you start him in 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:30.620 a game like that that's probably taking liberties 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:35.459 i think um but yeah Obviously, managing the minutes 00:04:35.459 --> 00:04:38.879 of certain players, giving people a rest, but 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.939 also maybe kind of the usual starting line -up 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:47.439 can be on the bench. People like Timba, people 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:52.360 like Calafiore, people like Declan Rice, Subhamendi 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:55.160 can be there, can get some game time and share 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:58.040 it with the player that takes his position in 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:02.259 this game. on if he listens to the noise about 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:05.860 our title credentials. That's what we want. I 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:08.740 think when our people are excited and when we 00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:11.000 see that the team is competing at that level 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:14.560 consistently, they are the right reasons to believe. 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:17.199 And that's the main thing. You want to win big 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:19.759 trophies. You certainly have to install that 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:22.439 feeling amongst the team, the club and around 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:24.620 it. And we're in a really good position at the 00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:27.540 moment. We know how early it is and how difficult 00:05:27.540 --> 00:05:30.959 every game is. OK, I'm surprised that Arteta's 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.839 inviting the talk around the title and the positivity 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:36.899 that's bestowed around the club, surrounding 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:40.000 the club right now. So obviously he's inviting 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.459 it, he's inviting the pressure. He's kind of 00:05:42.459 --> 00:05:45.730 not scared to say yeah. We don't mind. You guys 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:48.829 can talk about us in a good light. But at the 00:05:48.829 --> 00:05:50.490 end of the day, it's what we do on the pitch. 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:53.430 We've obviously had a similar experience where 00:05:53.430 --> 00:05:57.389 we led the table in 22 -23 and it didn't end 00:05:57.389 --> 00:05:59.610 well. However, the way we've kind of conducted 00:05:59.610 --> 00:06:03.449 our business, all the reasons why we didn't win 00:06:03.449 --> 00:06:07.689 the league in previous years, we've kind of catered 00:06:07.689 --> 00:06:09.689 for in a sense that we've got a strong squad 00:06:09.689 --> 00:06:13.250 now. Whereas in 22 -23, we ran out of steam. 00:06:14.269 --> 00:06:16.350 Tomiyasu and Saliba went down. We didn't have 00:06:16.350 --> 00:06:18.410 the depth to come in and replace them. However, 00:06:18.589 --> 00:06:21.350 that's different now. Also, we've got more experience 00:06:21.350 --> 00:06:23.509 from the last three years of finishing second. 00:06:23.850 --> 00:06:26.089 You know, you could argue they're probably negative 00:06:26.089 --> 00:06:28.649 experiences because we could have had one or 00:06:28.649 --> 00:06:31.189 two league titles to our name, but those experiences 00:06:31.189 --> 00:06:34.589 will spur us on. And obviously last season where 00:06:34.589 --> 00:06:38.839 we had a lot of red cards and injuries. the strong 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:41.839 squad defeats the purpose of injuries, where 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.779 we had to have four youth players on the bench 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:47.500 in the Champions League semi -final. That won't 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:49.139 be happening this season, I think it's fair to 00:06:49.139 --> 00:06:51.819 say. We probably have four players in the stands. 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:55.300 That's how strong our squad is right now. So 00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:58.560 it's good that Mikel is obviously inviting the 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.279 pressure on the team and squad. But at the end 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:03.519 of the day, it's all noise and it's what the 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:05.279 players do on the pitch that matters. Everything 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:10.149 else is secondary. on if he feels like a trendsetter 00:07:10.149 --> 00:07:13.730 with our set -piece prowess. I don't know, but 00:07:13.730 --> 00:07:16.069 a lot of things that we do in many other aspects, 00:07:16.290 --> 00:07:19.089 I'm sure teams will pick them up. We do the same 00:07:19.089 --> 00:07:21.550 with other teams. The best teams in Europe are 00:07:21.550 --> 00:07:24.069 doing certain things. If we can gather information 00:07:24.069 --> 00:07:27.689 and then adapt it to your own team, if you find 00:07:27.689 --> 00:07:30.290 that this could help and be a way to win more 00:07:30.290 --> 00:07:32.949 football matches, more than welcome. That's the 00:07:32.949 --> 00:07:36.430 history of humanity. So essentially he's saying... 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.379 It's just all a circle, really. We learn from 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:41.160 others, others learn from us, and that's the 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:44.860 way of life. And that's what I do myself. You 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:47.899 know, even in terms of YouTube, I subscribe to 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:49.899 certain channels that you might not expect me 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:53.779 to, but if I can pick up 0 .1 % of what I feel 00:07:53.779 --> 00:07:56.060 they're doing that's helping them, I'll take 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:57.959 that on board because I know that I can add it 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:02.740 to my arsenal. Pun intended. Okay. The connection 00:08:02.740 --> 00:08:06.399 with our fans. We always want more, but I think 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:09.139 I said it after the match against Palace that 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:12.600 I really liked the atmosphere. It's always tricky 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:15.279 after a big match in midweek against Atletico 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:18.139 to reproduce that, but it certainly was a great 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:20.740 atmosphere to play football. The more we do that, 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.180 the more we increase it, the more we maintain 00:08:23.180 --> 00:08:25.620 it throughout the game, and the more the team 00:08:25.620 --> 00:08:28.000 feels it, the better and stronger we're going 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.639 to become and much more difficult for the opponent 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.200 to play. Yeah, I mean, we're building up a head 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.159 of steam. Obviously, Arteta is not going to criticise 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:41.440 the fans. Sunday wasn't as atmospheric as Wednesday, 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:44.659 but it was almost impossible to replicate that 00:08:44.659 --> 00:08:47.740 atmosphere just for so many reasons, in the sense 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:50.440 that Wednesday was such a big game. It's a Champions 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:53.700 League game against a top side. It had the light 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:57.639 scenes at the start of the game as well. However, 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:01.250 Sunday was more kind of... You could say flat, 00:09:01.330 --> 00:09:03.450 that might be a strong word, drab probably a 00:09:03.450 --> 00:09:05.950 too stronger word, but it's a different context, 00:09:06.090 --> 00:09:08.169 different type of game it was. But the main thing 00:09:08.169 --> 00:09:10.710 is we won both games in different contexts, as 00:09:10.710 --> 00:09:14.830 the manager would like to say. On our forward 00:09:14.830 --> 00:09:17.990 options, in the front lines especially, that's 00:09:17.990 --> 00:09:20.190 where we have more difficulties as well with 00:09:20.190 --> 00:09:23.950 Noni Maduweke, with Kai Havertz out, with Gabby 00:09:23.950 --> 00:09:26.649 Jesus out, with Gabby Martinelli out as well. 00:09:26.769 --> 00:09:29.629 So that's the area that we have to be more careful 00:09:29.629 --> 00:09:32.330 as well, more conscious because we don't have 00:09:32.330 --> 00:09:34.730 that many options. So as I said, we're going 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:37.049 to try to manage the load as good as possible 00:09:37.049 --> 00:09:39.830 to make sure that the players are fresh, they 00:09:39.830 --> 00:09:42.269 can compete really well and the team can maintain 00:09:42.269 --> 00:09:46.889 the level that showing well almost you could 00:09:46.889 --> 00:09:49.549 almost say that the players we have out right 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:55.350 now mean that it's kind of easier may not necessarily 00:09:55.350 --> 00:09:58.570 be easy to predict but easier to predict the 00:09:58.570 --> 00:10:01.950 players that you would expect Arteta to put out 00:10:01.950 --> 00:10:05.230 for instance on the left we now know it's either 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:08.070 going to be Eze or Trossard unless I'm deeply 00:10:08.070 --> 00:10:11.330 mistaken On the right, Bakayo Saka might have 00:10:11.330 --> 00:10:13.490 to play, but I think personally he would have 00:10:13.490 --> 00:10:16.970 played anyway. And then up front, that's probably 00:10:16.970 --> 00:10:21.210 where you could say it might be Jokeres again 00:10:21.210 --> 00:10:24.769 or Mourinho, but I personally opted for Jokeres 00:10:24.769 --> 00:10:27.429 just for the context of the fact that he's up 00:10:27.429 --> 00:10:30.610 against his former side, he needs a goal. And 00:10:30.610 --> 00:10:33.350 yeah, I think they're the two main reasons. I 00:10:33.350 --> 00:10:35.289 think Mikel Mourinho will be in midfield though. 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:39.879 On the importance of the Carabao Cup. Today, 00:10:40.059 --> 00:10:42.240 the most important one, because it's the game 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.679 that we have. It's a competition that we haven't 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:49.899 won in many, many years. Yep, 32 years to be 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:53.379 precise. And it has to start tomorrow. We have 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:56.200 to play a great game in order to be able to beat 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:59.720 a very good Brighton side. We know that. We are 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:01.759 prepared for that and we have to show it on the 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:05.440 pitch. Yeah, Brighton have been a really sticky 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:07.820 side for us. They've called us issues over the 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:10.179 years. I mean, generally, they'll get one or 00:11:10.179 --> 00:11:13.279 two results against us or any other big side 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:16.220 throughout a season. I'm pretty sure they beat 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:19.399 Man City a couple of times last season. So, yeah, 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:23.100 they're a very sticky, awkward opponent. And 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:24.980 they're the epitome of what you would call a 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:30.379 bogey side or a dark horse. On Ben White's fitness, 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:33.080 yeah, he had a setback and that hasn't helped. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.340 But I think in preseason, he was probably our 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:38.320 best player. I think he played every game and 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.279 he was in great form and we need him because 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:43.080 when Ben is at the level that he can show, he's 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:45.379 a top player for us. A player that drives the 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:47.500 team in a different way, gives us a different 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:49.740 threat on that flank as well. And we need him 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:52.940 at his best. Okay, that's interesting. So he 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:57.519 deflected. So Arteta said he had a setback. giving 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:59.720 the impression that he may not play, casting 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:02.759 doubt on his appearance tomorrow. However, if 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:06.259 he plays, it shows that it's more mind games 00:12:06.259 --> 00:12:09.120 for Marteta's part. But the fact that he had 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:11.799 to go back almost six months into pre -season 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:13.960 to tell you about when he's last performed well 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:17.100 is a worry. And with Ben White, it's an interesting 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:19.820 one because I said over the weekend that Ben 00:12:19.820 --> 00:12:22.980 White, we keep hearing he's rusty and not fit. 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:26.960 But if he's rusty and not fit, then how is he 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:30.100 going to make himself fit if he's rusty and not 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:33.379 fit? So my point is, there's going to come a 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:35.240 time where you just have to put him in from the 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:38.419 start and hope he plays his way into the game. 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:40.500 But is tomorrow that game? That's the question. 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:43.879 What came first, the chicken or the egg? How 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:47.279 does he regain match fitness if he isn't match 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:50.259 fit to start? Now that's the conundrum. On if 00:12:50.259 --> 00:12:53.679 he can make the England World Cup squad. There 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:55.740 are still a lot of months to go, and in football, 00:12:55.860 --> 00:12:58.639 everything can change one way or the other. And 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.340 if Ben wants to do that, if Thomas Tuchel believes 00:13:01.340 --> 00:13:04.120 he's the right player to do that, I'm so happy 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.480 for him. He will have here, I'm sure, a lot of 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:10.480 minutes, a lot of opportunities, and obviously 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:15.440 his background. Okay, interesting. So you've 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:17.639 played yourself there, Mikel, because you've 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:20.700 said he'll have a lot of minutes. Let me put 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:24.830 it this way. is bona fide starting right back 00:13:24.830 --> 00:13:28.470 for us, which means in the league and invariably 00:13:28.470 --> 00:13:30.289 in Champions League, he will be starting for 00:13:30.289 --> 00:13:34.889 us. So for Ben White to have, I quote from Marteta, 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:39.110 a lot of minutes, a lot of opportunities, you're 00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:41.070 essentially saying he's going to be playing in 00:13:41.070 --> 00:13:45.730 the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. Right. Now that 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:48.509 begs the question, what does a lot mean? Does 00:13:48.509 --> 00:13:53.370 it mean 10 games, 20 games, 15? So now, if you 00:13:53.370 --> 00:13:55.490 know that Timber is going to start probably 99 00:13:55.490 --> 00:13:58.590 % of the big games and Premier League games, 00:13:58.789 --> 00:14:01.730 you're essentially saying Ben White has to hope 00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:04.769 that Arsenal get as far as possible in both the 00:14:04.769 --> 00:14:08.190 aforementioned cup competitions, in the FA Cup 00:14:08.190 --> 00:14:13.470 and the Carabao Cup. So... Are you saying he's 00:14:13.470 --> 00:14:15.190 starting tomorrow? Because if he doesn't start 00:14:15.190 --> 00:14:17.269 tomorrow, then where does he play? Because let 00:14:17.269 --> 00:14:19.610 me give you a scenario. We go out of the FA Cup 00:14:19.610 --> 00:14:22.289 early in the third round again, as we seem to 00:14:22.289 --> 00:14:24.909 have been doing so in recent years. where's the 00:14:24.909 --> 00:14:26.809 game time then? So the only way you guarantee 00:14:26.809 --> 00:14:30.590 him to play is if you say, okay, we'll play you 00:14:30.590 --> 00:14:32.970 in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and hope we get 00:14:32.970 --> 00:14:35.389 as far as possible, like to the semis and finals. 00:14:35.970 --> 00:14:39.129 That's probably 10, 15 games or so. And then 00:14:39.129 --> 00:14:40.730 obviously you play some games here and there. 00:14:41.009 --> 00:14:43.389 You're coming on as a sub, et cetera, et cetera. 00:14:43.549 --> 00:14:45.710 So that's the only way your statement works, 00:14:45.970 --> 00:14:49.350 unless you need to define what you mean by a 00:14:49.350 --> 00:14:55.870 lot of minutes. That's the question. on a defensive 00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:59.870 evolution in his time in charge? Well, yes, because 00:14:59.870 --> 00:15:02.110 I think we discussed the other day about the 00:15:02.110 --> 00:15:04.769 very close relationship between keeping clean 00:15:04.769 --> 00:15:07.490 sheets and not conceding goals and winning major 00:15:07.490 --> 00:15:10.009 trophies. And that's the foundation that we are 00:15:10.009 --> 00:15:12.830 building over the last three years. And we need 00:15:12.830 --> 00:15:15.990 to continue to do that. Tomorrow, again, in competitions 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:19.070 that you are either in or out, you know how crucial 00:15:19.070 --> 00:15:23.340 that is. Which is why I said earlier that you 00:15:23.340 --> 00:15:25.460 don't want to be making too many changes when 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:28.419 we've built up a head of steam with the team 00:15:28.419 --> 00:15:30.519 that has generally played, you know, eight, nine 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:32.720 players that have played pretty much all the 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:36.120 games, started all the games. Yeah, Raya's probably 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:38.240 going to have a breather. Yeah, Norgard's probably 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:40.159 going to come in. Yeah, Mosquera's going to probably 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:43.000 come in. Ethan Waniere, almost certainly. However, 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.480 if you fiddle around the team too much... It 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:48.820 only takes a draw and it's a penalty shootout. 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:51.379 And if a penalty shootout, you're out, potentially. 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:53.860 And don't forget, Brighton have knocked us out 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:59.500 in the Carabao Cup, I believe in the 22 -23 season, 00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:01.919 when we were having an exceptional start to the 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:05.480 season. So I was there firsthand to see it, that 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:07.580 if you fiddle around with a team against Brighton, 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:10.779 they'll deal with you. Make no mistakes about 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:15.850 that. On the noise made around us, Well, probably 00:16:15.850 --> 00:16:18.649 it is true because it is such a big club that 00:16:18.649 --> 00:16:21.250 obviously we make a lot of noise, whether it's 00:16:21.250 --> 00:16:24.190 good or bad. But that means that people are paying 00:16:24.190 --> 00:16:27.129 attention to that. We know our history and that's 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:29.710 very normal. Hopefully we make noise for the 00:16:29.710 --> 00:16:32.370 good things. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of scrutiny 00:16:32.370 --> 00:16:35.009 with us, you know, a lot of jealousy, a lot of 00:16:35.009 --> 00:16:37.929 rivals that are looking towards us now. Now that 00:16:37.929 --> 00:16:42.210 we look like we've got a kind of... We've got 00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:44.370 clear daylight between us and our rivals such 00:16:44.370 --> 00:16:47.210 as Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and so on and 00:16:47.210 --> 00:16:50.110 so forth. However, we just need to stay focused, 00:16:50.169 --> 00:16:53.029 stay humble, don't get complacent, keep doing 00:16:53.029 --> 00:16:54.870 the things that we've done to get ourselves in 00:16:54.870 --> 00:16:56.929 this position and everything else will take care 00:16:56.929 --> 00:17:03.779 of itself. On Piero Hincapia's versatility. He's 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:06.119 a warrior. He's going to bring such intensity, 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:09.220 physicality and emotion to the team as well. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:11.920 He's quality on the ball. He's a player who is 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.160 super keen. He can play inside. He can play in 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:17.839 wide positions. He's done it, as you said, in 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.920 different ways. And now we need to get him up 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.059 to speed because the moment that physicality 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:26.579 is back and he's at his best, he's going to raise 00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:30.119 the level. OK, you're talking. like you're going 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:32.839 to start him. But then that kind of contradicts 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:35.519 the notion that too many changes isn't good. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:38.920 For me personally, I would have Hincapie on the 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.759 bench ready to come on, but I want Myles Lewis 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:44.339 -Skelly starting at left back. So if Hincapie 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:46.819 is to start and Myles is to start, the only other 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:48.759 position he can play really is centre -half. 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.019 But we already know Mosquera is going to start 00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:53.799 centre -half. And I think we need Gabriel in 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:57.180 the team. So unless you put Mosquera right back, 00:17:57.529 --> 00:17:59.450 Nah, it's not going to work because Hinkapie 00:17:59.450 --> 00:18:03.009 and Gabriel are both left centre -backs. So in 00:18:03.009 --> 00:18:07.049 essence, for me, I think it's going to be Kepa, 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:12.970 either Ben White or Timber, Mosquera, and then 00:18:12.970 --> 00:18:15.869 it's either Hinkapie or Gabriel because Lewis 00:18:15.869 --> 00:18:18.349 Skelly will start. So it'll be interesting. There's 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:22.700 some big decisions to make. On Ethan Wanyeri's 00:18:22.700 --> 00:18:25.380 positional change this season, a bit of everything. 00:18:25.640 --> 00:18:28.339 At the end, the context of Bakayo's injuries 00:18:28.339 --> 00:18:31.019 and not having a replacement as well opened that 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:33.579 opportunity for him to break in and have a lot 00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:36.319 of minutes at his age. And now that he's more 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.119 settled, he's more stable, more mature, we see 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:43.700 him playing inside. in both positions that's 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:46.359 where his biggest threat is that's where I think 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:48.759 he's most comfortable as well and he can connect 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:51.160 better with his teammates but it doesn't mean 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:54.059 that he cannot play wide he can do it still but 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:56.480 I think now we need to start developing more 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:59.539 in one position yeah because I think he did start 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:02.660 off well on the wing but in certain games like 00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:05.119 against Manchester United where the right back 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:10.339 in Dalot kind of had his number I think if you 00:19:10.339 --> 00:19:12.339 have loads of games like that, you start to etch 00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:14.200 where his confidence. So really you want him 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:16.640 playing in positions where he feels more comfortable, 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:20.539 at his strongest, more at threat to the opposition. 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:23.059 So yeah, central is probably the one where he 00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:26.460 needs to look at playing in. Hopefully he does 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:29.180 get opportunity there tomorrow because he does 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:31.839 need to play. I'll be really gutted if he's not 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:33.869 in that starting line -up tomorrow. And there's 00:19:33.869 --> 00:19:36.670 me saying we need to put a serious team out against 00:19:36.670 --> 00:19:39.049 Brighton. But I think the other players in and 00:19:39.049 --> 00:19:41.430 around him will determine whether the team is 00:19:41.430 --> 00:19:45.410 serious or not. Not Ethan Wanieri per se. And 00:19:45.410 --> 00:19:48.390 if he sets out who is the first choice goalkeeper, 00:19:48.549 --> 00:19:52.089 I never do that. But I don't do that with any 00:19:52.089 --> 00:19:54.450 player. I think in the end, they have to earn 00:19:54.450 --> 00:19:57.289 it. David Raya has been incredibly good for us 00:19:57.289 --> 00:19:59.750 in the last few years and Kepa knew that when 00:19:59.750 --> 00:20:02.730 he came in, but he's ready to compete. If I have 00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:04.609 to highlight behaviours in that dressing room 00:20:04.609 --> 00:20:06.910 and culture, probably I would mention him as 00:20:06.910 --> 00:20:09.809 number one. But again, he's come into a different 00:20:09.809 --> 00:20:12.170 environment after winning everything in football, 00:20:12.329 --> 00:20:15.109 almost. Being in the national team, Chelsea, 00:20:15.309 --> 00:20:17.950 Real Madrid, big, big clubs, and he came here 00:20:17.950 --> 00:20:21.250 and every single day he's behaving like tomorrow's 00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:23.190 training session is the most important one in 00:20:23.190 --> 00:20:26.640 his life. his chances to play he's in a really 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:28.660 good place and if he plays tomorrow I'm sure 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:31.180 he will be really really good Kepa will play 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:33.599 tomorrow let's start there but that's another 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:37.799 one where he said he will have his chances to 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:39.940 play so that's similar that ties into the Ben 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:43.150 White kind of situation where it's He's mentioned 00:20:43.150 --> 00:20:46.210 that for both of them. So essentially, if they're 00:20:46.210 --> 00:20:48.289 going to have their chances to play, and we know 00:20:48.289 --> 00:20:51.150 Timber and David Raya will start all the league 00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:53.369 games and all the big games, then in essence, 00:20:53.789 --> 00:20:57.769 Kepa and Ben White will start all the cup games. 00:20:58.470 --> 00:21:00.529 Well, when I say the cup games, I mean FA Cup 00:21:00.529 --> 00:21:04.910 and Carabao Cup. So I'm going to go, I'm going 00:21:04.910 --> 00:21:07.390 to essentially assume that both of those will 00:21:07.390 --> 00:21:11.349 play tomorrow or start tomorrow. Based on Arteta's 00:21:11.349 --> 00:21:15.279 wording, On if Kepa's mindset has helped improve 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:17.859 David Raya, that connection, I think, and the 00:21:17.859 --> 00:21:25.220 environment that you create between the goalkeepers 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:28.789 and the coaches is unique. They are unique. they 00:21:28.789 --> 00:21:32.130 are a lot of times by themselves. They have a 00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:35.869 lot to do in individual practices. And I think 00:21:35.869 --> 00:21:38.869 Kepa has raised the level. He has created a true 00:21:38.869 --> 00:21:41.109 great environment for everybody to shine. And 00:21:41.109 --> 00:21:43.930 I think it's down to him. Yeah, I think Kepa's 00:21:43.930 --> 00:21:45.910 come in with the knowledge that he's going to 00:21:45.910 --> 00:21:48.809 be a second -choice goalkeeper. Last season, 00:21:48.930 --> 00:21:59.740 we had Neto in goal. And he essentially knew 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:01.599 that he was never going to play. He did play 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:03.680 the Girona game and he had an aberration in that 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:07.380 game. So this one is a bit different to Ramsdale. 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.599 So it's almost like it's in between a Ramsdale 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:16.660 and Neto scenarios where like Ramsdale was kind 00:22:16.660 --> 00:22:19.119 of like a number one, not happy to be a number 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:23.039 two when David Raya come in. Whereas Neto was 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.990 a number two, happy to be a number two. In this 00:22:25.990 --> 00:22:29.329 sense, Kepa is a number one at many other Premier 00:22:29.329 --> 00:22:31.410 League clubs, but he knows that he will be a 00:22:31.410 --> 00:22:33.750 number two. However, if there is an opportunity 00:22:33.750 --> 00:22:36.430 for him to come in, he will take it, and there 00:22:36.430 --> 00:22:39.130 will be opportunities for him to play, starting 00:22:39.130 --> 00:22:42.910 from tomorrow. On if he would still make a goalkeeper 00:22:42.910 --> 00:22:46.009 substitute in a game. Recently, we had quite 00:22:46.009 --> 00:22:48.490 a lot of issues, and a lot of the subs had been 00:22:48.490 --> 00:22:51.309 because players could not finish games. But I 00:22:51.309 --> 00:22:55.140 don't know. Maybe somebody... maybe someday I 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:58.880 will do it. If I feel it, yes. He's never going 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:01.400 to do it. I remember, I think they're alluding 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:04.079 to when Arteta said that a few years ago, but 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:10.359 people say a lot of things in life. Yeah. On 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:13.569 the setback to Ben White after preseason. It 00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:16.130 was an injury that kept him out for a few weeks 00:23:16.130 --> 00:23:18.730 and we have to manage his load and he didn't 00:23:18.730 --> 00:23:21.089 have the rhythm to do that. So the reason why 00:23:21.089 --> 00:23:23.730 he's not been playing is to manage that. He's 00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:25.849 in a good place now. He's been training more 00:23:25.849 --> 00:23:29.450 recently and his feeling has been very good and 00:23:29.450 --> 00:23:34.970 he will have minutes to play. Yeah, so once again, 00:23:35.150 --> 00:23:39.109 Mikel Arteta reiterates that Ben White... We'll 00:23:39.109 --> 00:23:41.569 have minutes to play. So he said that a few times 00:23:41.569 --> 00:23:44.509 and I'm going by his wording. So based on that, 00:23:44.650 --> 00:23:48.329 I'm going to put my neck out and say that Kepa 00:23:48.329 --> 00:23:51.750 and Ben White will start tomorrow. On if he should 00:23:51.750 --> 00:23:54.549 have had surgery sooner, I don't know. That's 00:23:54.549 --> 00:23:57.029 more for the medical staff. But obviously we 00:23:57.029 --> 00:23:59.430 want to protect our players. We're never going 00:23:59.430 --> 00:24:01.890 to expose players if we know that they're going 00:24:01.890 --> 00:24:06.910 to damage. We're never going to expose players 00:24:06.910 --> 00:24:09.029 if we know that we're going to damage them for 00:24:09.029 --> 00:24:12.029 the future. Ben, I mean, he will play with anything. 00:24:12.390 --> 00:24:14.829 You really have to scratch and ask him, are you 00:24:14.829 --> 00:24:18.410 okay? Are you okay? Annie, are you okay? Are 00:24:18.410 --> 00:24:21.630 you okay? Ben, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie? 00:24:21.849 --> 00:24:25.349 Anyway, because if not, he won't tell you because 00:24:25.349 --> 00:24:27.789 he wants to play every game, which is great. 00:24:27.910 --> 00:24:30.990 But with that injury... It didn't allow him to 00:24:30.990 --> 00:24:34.029 have that consistency. And hopefully now he's 00:24:34.029 --> 00:24:36.009 going to get that rhythm because the team needs 00:24:36.009 --> 00:24:39.329 him. So yeah, a lot of this press conference 00:24:39.329 --> 00:24:43.170 interview is alluding to Ben White and kind of 00:24:43.170 --> 00:24:47.369 team sheet, Kepa, things like that. So Arteta 00:24:47.369 --> 00:24:50.549 has mentioned that he will have minutes to play. 00:24:50.609 --> 00:24:53.109 He will have opportunities. What better opportunity 00:24:53.109 --> 00:24:55.369 than against his former side, Brighton Hove Albion? 00:24:55.490 --> 00:24:57.710 Ben White starts tomorrow and so does Kepa.