WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.519 Hello and welcome to HYBR1D Powered by chinkseyMEDIA. 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:09.800 Ya zimmi a’SEH! Yeah, yeah. Every word from 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:13.880 Mikel Arteta's post -Slavia Prague presser. We 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.019 had another victory to celebrate on Tuesday, 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:20.059 seeing off Slavia Prague 3 -0 to maintain our 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:24.350 100 %... to the Champions League campaign. Mikel 00:00:24.350 --> 00:00:27.230 Arteta faced the media after the game and was 00:00:27.230 --> 00:00:30.230 asked about the team's performance, our defensive 00:00:30.230 --> 00:00:34.570 record, record -breaking Max Dahlman, Mikel Moreno's 00:00:34.570 --> 00:00:38.310 goal -scoring exploits and Jurian Timber's influence. 00:00:40.090 --> 00:00:44.210 Mikel Arteta on tonight's performance. I'm really 00:00:44.210 --> 00:00:47.289 happy with the win. Four in a row without conceding 00:00:47.289 --> 00:00:50.250 a goal. A really tough place to come. I told 00:00:50.250 --> 00:00:53.770 the boys the game that we had to expect. A team 00:00:53.770 --> 00:00:57.270 that is super intense, very direct, man -to -man, 00:00:57.329 --> 00:01:00.490 short sequences of play, a lot of fouls, a lot 00:01:00.490 --> 00:01:03.390 of restarts, very difficult to get any fluency 00:01:03.390 --> 00:01:06.230 in the match. But if we were patient and emotionally 00:01:06.230 --> 00:01:08.670 controlled, we were going to have our chances 00:01:08.670 --> 00:01:12.430 and the way they set up, and we did that. I think 00:01:12.430 --> 00:01:14.939 the margin at the end looked comfortable. but 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:17.180 I don't think it was a comfortable match at all. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.280 Not only the win, but also the fact that we had 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:22.760 some players that haven't played much playing 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:25.760 and performing really well. Mikel Moreno stepped 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:28.939 up as a nine and scored two goals. Max Dahmer 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:32.620 made his debut, probably the youngest ever. Andre 00:01:32.620 --> 00:01:35.120 Harriman -Anous as well, so a lot of positives 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.299 tonight. Whoa, I mean, ever since I've been doing 00:01:38.299 --> 00:01:41.319 this podcast, that's the longest paragraph that... 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.459 I've read that Mikel said, which is interesting. 00:01:45.939 --> 00:01:49.560 Very interesting. Well, he's obviously being 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:52.640 very modest to say that it was, you know, the 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:54.439 scoreline flattered us because I don't think 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:57.760 it did. I think we could have racked up a cricket 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.200 scoreline if we really went for it. But like 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.840 I usually say in the podcast, we're just doing 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.280 enough to coast through games and then just tick 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.319 it off and then... keep ourselves fit for the 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:10.340 next game. And obviously now we've kicked the 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:12.340 can down the road. Now it's a Sunderland game, 00:02:12.500 --> 00:02:14.939 obviously, that we need to look forward to on 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:20.319 Saturday afternoon. I would say my perspective 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:23.719 of the match was the first 10 minutes being the 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:26.039 home side. Slavia Prague had a lot of energy. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:31.080 They fed off of the crowd's enthusiasm, hunger, 00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:37.319 endeavour. They gave it all they had. what Manchester 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:40.680 United and Fulham did to us as well this season. 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:44.500 But I mean, as the game went on, we slowly grabbed 00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:48.539 control of the game, especially towards 15, 20 00:02:48.539 --> 00:02:50.860 minutes. I felt we started to grab control of 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:53.099 the game and it became inevitable that we was 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:56.099 going to score because there was no way that 00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:59.719 Slavia Prague would be able to... continue at 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:02.159 that intensity they looked cream -crackered after 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:05.340 about half an hour so as a result of that we 00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:07.520 had a lot of space people like Saka had a lot 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.219 of space to work within and obviously he's a 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:14.020 decisive player when given space so once that 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:16.580 penalty was given and we went 1 -0 up it was 00:03:16.580 --> 00:03:19.319 a foregone conclusion to be honest with you but 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:22.400 yeah it was a good performance we had to dig 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:25.300 in probably the first 10 -15 minutes but after 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:28.949 that I think it was a comfortable Good, well 00:03:28.949 --> 00:03:34.110 -oiled machine that we are now. And it was a 00:03:34.110 --> 00:03:39.030 professional performance. On Mikel Moreno. It's 00:03:39.030 --> 00:03:41.870 a joy to have him. I always say the same thing. 00:03:41.990 --> 00:03:44.689 It's his versatility on the pitch, the things 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:47.990 that he can do. It's his mindset. It's his leadership. 00:03:48.069 --> 00:03:50.810 It's the way he is as a person. Today we are 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:52.710 missing a lot of attacking players and we have 00:03:52.710 --> 00:03:55.150 to find different solutions. He comes in the 00:03:55.150 --> 00:03:57.710 Champions League and scores two goals. And you 00:03:57.710 --> 00:03:59.590 know what? I think he secured himself a starting 00:03:59.590 --> 00:04:02.349 berth at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. He 00:04:02.349 --> 00:04:05.389 was fantastic today. Got himself two goals. And 00:04:05.389 --> 00:04:08.120 I think he's now become... a bona fide centre 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:11.500 forward. Obviously not as his primary position, 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:14.659 but if you play football manager, you'll see 00:04:14.659 --> 00:04:18.699 like someone's primary position will be in green 00:04:18.699 --> 00:04:22.040 and then someone's secondary position will be 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:25.019 like in a lighter green or in a darker green, 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:29.079 should I say. And I definitely can say now that 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:31.740 Mikel Moreno's primary position will probably 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:36.029 be a box -to -box. but secondary position is 00:04:36.029 --> 00:04:39.050 a centre -forward because he scored too many 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:41.470 goals while playing there for it to be a fish 00:04:41.470 --> 00:04:43.689 out of water. It's definitely something that 00:04:43.689 --> 00:04:47.149 suits him as a player. And I'm now confident 00:04:47.149 --> 00:04:52.129 with him to start there on Saturday. On Max Dahlman's 00:04:52.129 --> 00:04:54.620 Champions League debut... What he's done on the 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:57.319 pitch is that he comes in, the first ball he 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:00.220 takes, he takes people on, he starts to dribble 00:05:00.220 --> 00:05:03.459 and gets a foul. That's personality. That's courage. 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:06.279 And you cannot teach that. You either have it 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:08.680 or you don't. And it doesn't matter what his 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.620 passport says. You throw him in this context. 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:14.160 There he is with that word context again. I haven't 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:16.379 heard it in a while. And he's ready to adapt 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:19.439 and have a good performance. So I'm really happy 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:23.060 with that. Yeah, I mean, it was inevitable. that 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:26.560 Max Dalman was going to make his debut this season. 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:28.819 To be honest, I thought it was going to be against 00:05:28.819 --> 00:05:33.259 Kyra Almaty. who we have at home, but obviously 00:05:33.259 --> 00:05:35.879 this game, the context of how the game went, 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:37.819 where we were 3 -0 up with about half an hour 00:05:37.819 --> 00:05:40.879 to go, it was begging for someone like him to 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:44.439 come on to win fouls, to probe and press their 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.560 full -backs, obviously to attack the spaces that 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:50.180 they'll inevitably leave. To be honest, I was 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:54.439 a bit nervous when they were really giving it 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:57.139 to him. I was really clamping him. I was really 00:05:57.139 --> 00:05:59.720 going in hard and I was a bit... But now he, 00:05:59.819 --> 00:06:02.959 in fairness, he dusted himself down and got up 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:06.339 and got on with it. I'm sure he's used to getting 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:11.220 clattered and clamped and bruised and, you know, 00:06:11.300 --> 00:06:13.259 he must be used to it. But this is men's football, 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:16.459 so this is where you kind of got to balance his 00:06:16.459 --> 00:06:19.420 well -being and welfare with his ability because, 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:23.639 yes, he's got the ability to go toe -to -toe 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:26.670 with men, but at the same time... He hasn't grown 00:06:26.670 --> 00:06:29.009 into his adult body yet. So we've got to kind 00:06:29.009 --> 00:06:30.829 of get that balance right. It's going to be tricky. 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:35.610 But I still maintain my hopes for him, which 00:06:35.610 --> 00:06:39.709 I said in the earlier podcast, that I would like 00:06:39.709 --> 00:06:43.370 him to rack up 20 appearances throughout the 00:06:43.370 --> 00:06:46.089 season. I mean, it's going to be hard, especially 00:06:46.089 --> 00:06:48.329 when we get all our players fit. But I believe 00:06:48.329 --> 00:06:53.350 he warrants it and deserves it. Probably take 00:06:53.350 --> 00:06:57.050 it down to 13 to 15, I'd say. I think he could 00:06:57.050 --> 00:06:58.910 definitely do that because he's probably got 00:06:58.910 --> 00:07:03.870 about four as we speak. Four or five even. On 00:07:03.870 --> 00:07:06.329 eight clean sheets in a row for the first time 00:07:06.329 --> 00:07:11.170 since 1903. That's a long time ago. So it tells 00:07:11.170 --> 00:07:14.279 you about the difficulty of achieving it. There 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.139 is a lot of work there, obviously, to achieve 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:19.800 that. And the most pleasing thing probably is 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:22.100 not the record, it's the mindset of the players. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:24.980 They are talking about how we can still do better. 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:28.259 We can see one or two situations that we could 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:31.139 have resolved better. So if we do that, we can 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:33.610 keep improving. And that record... will have 00:07:33.610 --> 00:07:37.290 a bigger meaning. Well, I mean, it was up in 00:07:37.290 --> 00:07:40.290 the air, especially in the last five minutes 00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:43.350 where the referee gave a penalty for what was 00:07:43.350 --> 00:07:45.970 a ridiculous decision when Ben White obviously, 00:07:46.129 --> 00:07:48.689 you know, it was six to one, half a dozen to 00:07:48.689 --> 00:07:51.430 the other. Ben White and the attacker both had 00:07:51.430 --> 00:07:55.550 their boots at a similar height. But the referee 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:59.759 decided to give... the penalty which was bizarre 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:02.680 but obviously luckily he he retracted his decision 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:06.120 upon looking at the replay but um yeah no we 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.439 defended really well we're not really giving 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:10.720 teams an opportunity to lay a glove on us and 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.220 i think that's the key thing and that's the same 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:15.800 thing people were blaming a handbrake which i 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:20.160 was always saying that that's part of the reason 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.560 and the main reason why we went two three seasons 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:27.139 without losing to the top six because of that 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:30.439 said handbrake, which is we have control of the 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:35.120 game in midfield. We're well good at neutralising 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:39.159 transitions. And also we usually have much of 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:42.100 the ball. So the margins for error are very low. 00:08:42.779 --> 00:08:45.080 And I think if we can continue that way, we're 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:47.000 not going to lose a lot of games. We'll lose 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:48.980 under five games all season. I'll tell you that 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:52.899 for free. But yeah, step by step. And once again, 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.039 we kick the can down the road towards success. 00:08:57.870 --> 00:09:01.289 On the emotions during the VAR check at the end, 00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:04.970 I wasn't happy at all and I clearly saw that 00:09:04.970 --> 00:09:07.629 there could never have been a penalty, but he 00:09:07.629 --> 00:09:10.090 made the decision so well done because he was 00:09:10.090 --> 00:09:12.990 really honest. I think obviously the images showed 00:09:12.990 --> 00:09:15.409 that it wasn't a penalty and I want to maintain 00:09:15.409 --> 00:09:17.389 that because I think that gives you something 00:09:17.389 --> 00:09:20.830 to defend as well and to merit and it would have 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:23.610 been a bit sloppy to give it away that way. Yeah, 00:09:23.610 --> 00:09:27.000 I mean... It would have been harsh on Ben White 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:31.500 for him to come on as a sub and then give away 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:34.840 a penalty, even though it wasn't one. Obviously, 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:38.539 a lot of people would have probably expected 00:09:38.539 --> 00:09:41.980 Ben White to start that game, but in my team 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:49.200 prediction, I did go for Raya, Ben White, Saliba, 00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:52.809 Gabriel. The only one I got wrong was... going 00:09:52.809 --> 00:09:55.690 for Myles Lewis -Skelly. He went for Hinkapie. 00:09:56.210 --> 00:09:59.289 And in midfield, I went for Norgaard. I did think 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:01.669 he would go with Declan Rice, if you heard the 00:10:01.669 --> 00:10:04.450 podcast yesterday, because I just felt like he 00:10:04.450 --> 00:10:07.429 would believe that Declan Rice would show maturity, 00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:12.090 experience, and just professionalism to not do 00:10:12.090 --> 00:10:13.870 anything stupid and give the referee a decision 00:10:13.870 --> 00:10:17.289 to make. I also thought Ethan Wanieri would get 00:10:17.289 --> 00:10:21.120 the start. He was due a start. especially due 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:23.299 to his performance against Brighton last week. 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:25.919 And then I thought he would go for the front 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.240 three, which he did go with, which was Saka, 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:33.840 two -goal hero Mikel Moreno, and Leandro Trossard, 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:37.019 who did the press conference yesterday. So invariably 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:38.980 a player that does the press conference usually 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:42.679 plays. Saka was always going to play, and Mikel 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:48.019 Moreno needed game time. But because Ethan Wanyeri... 00:10:48.250 --> 00:10:49.950 definitely needed game time more than anyone 00:10:49.950 --> 00:10:53.950 in that pitch. I felt he would opt to go for 00:10:53.950 --> 00:10:56.250 Mourinho as a centre -forward and therefore give 00:10:56.250 --> 00:10:59.470 Ebreche Eze a little break. And yeah, I'm happy 00:10:59.470 --> 00:11:03.190 with getting 10 out of 11, right? So the only 00:11:03.190 --> 00:11:05.950 one that threw me off was Piero Hincapié. I thought 00:11:05.950 --> 00:11:09.669 he would do the opposite of what he did and bring 00:11:09.669 --> 00:11:12.610 on Hincapié for Luis Skelly, but instead he brought 00:11:12.610 --> 00:11:15.029 on Luis Skelly for Hincapié, which was interesting. 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:21.919 On Piero Hincapia, whose new song and chant is 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.200 out on the channel right now. On Piero Hincapia's 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.559 display from the start. Very happy he can play 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:30.980 in those two positions as a centre -back or full 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:33.740 -back. Today, the way we had to set up and the 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:36.440 situation that we have to imagine with the ball, 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:39.259 I think he was really good, really strong, really 00:11:39.259 --> 00:11:42.179 efficient and really good. Because now he's got 00:11:42.179 --> 00:11:44.240 some minutes in the last week with two games 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.059 and the last minutes against Burnley. So we're 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:50.019 getting him up to speed. OK, so that makes sense 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:53.500 why he started. So it's kind of just finalise 00:11:53.500 --> 00:11:56.600 his fitness, get him up to speed, match. fitness 00:11:56.600 --> 00:11:59.620 on point going into the international break so 00:11:59.620 --> 00:12:05.360 now we have three left fullbacks that are you 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:08.559 know match fit you could say obviously Lewis 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:11.480 Skelly's had his game time in previous weeks 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:14.700 Calafiori will come back in on Saturday afternoon 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:17.980 and then now Hincapia is kind of getting his 00:12:17.980 --> 00:12:21.139 way you know, easing his way into the team, learning 00:12:21.139 --> 00:12:22.779 to play with the players that we have out there. 00:12:22.860 --> 00:12:25.919 So, yes, good competition for places. On turning 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:28.480 things around from the 5 -0 loss to Manchester 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:32.899 City in 2021, you mean the one where after 27 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:35.419 minutes, Granit Xhaka was sent off against the 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:38.320 best man city with 70 minutes to play. It can 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:41.259 happen, but that's a long time ago. Obviously, 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:43.940 we are in a really different situation right 00:12:43.940 --> 00:12:49.080 now and we still have a lot to improve on. I 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:52.100 like the way he did that. You mean the one where 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:55.919 after 27 minutes, Granit Xhaka was sent off against 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:59.360 the best Man City team with 17 minutes to play? 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:03.360 Yeah, well, on the subject of Granit Xhaka, we're 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:06.259 going to be face -to -face with him on Saturday. 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:09.759 On the players celebrating keeping clean sheets. 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:12.700 Well, because we were able to nullify that from 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:15.399 the opposition. Obviously, the opposition has 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:18.240 very restricted ways to score a goal. And today 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:21.019 we gave him a few moments, especially in open 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:24.580 spaces, that we could have done better. But overall, 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:27.399 we're very happy. Yeah, that's true. I mean, 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:31.679 you know, usually the main reasons why teams 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:34.019 don't get opportunity to score against us is 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:37.779 because our team shape is very good. We rarely 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:41.100 make mistakes. And when we do, we get back in 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:44.340 a good team shape. People like Saka, Trossard 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:48.139 have been extraordinary in doubling up on our 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:51.419 fullbacks who have been extraordinary. You know, 00:13:51.419 --> 00:13:54.919 Timba has been absolutely outstanding, has a 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:56.940 strong case to have been our player of the season. 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:00.679 I think he just edged out. Ricardo Calafuri right 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:04.379 now, who's been exceptional. And obviously, Gabriel 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:07.960 is definitely operating as the best defender 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:09.860 in the world without a shadow of a doubt right 00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:11.600 now. He's the best centre -back in the world. 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:16.220 Declan Rice, arguably the best midfielder in 00:14:16.220 --> 00:14:18.059 the world, definitely amongst the top two or 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:22.629 three. Saliba, outstanding. Juri and Tim are 00:14:22.629 --> 00:14:24.549 arguably the best right -back in the world. So, 00:14:24.570 --> 00:14:27.169 I mean, we've got players operating at an outstanding 00:14:27.169 --> 00:14:29.950 level and I don't think there's a team out there. 00:14:31.529 --> 00:14:34.669 Well, there is one and they're called Bayern 00:14:34.669 --> 00:14:37.409 Munich and they're our next fixture in the Champions 00:14:37.409 --> 00:14:40.149 League. So I'm not going to finish that sentence. 00:14:41.149 --> 00:14:44.370 But Arsenal, Bayern Munich, we're going to learn 00:14:44.370 --> 00:14:45.970 a lot from that game, that's for sure. Especially 00:14:45.970 --> 00:14:50.740 if both of us can win our... games on the weekend. 00:14:50.779 --> 00:14:53.940 They play Union Berlin away. We play Sunderland 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:57.840 away. If we can both win that and then the games 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:03.019 after the break, then it sets up a mouthwatering 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:05.940 tantalizing encounter between us at the Emirates. 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:10.019 Can't wait for that one. On defending those moments 00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:13.980 in European away games. Well, the energy they 00:15:13.980 --> 00:15:18.000 believe. Well, the energy they believe. We come 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.299 to a place that they create a special atmosphere. 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:22.899 You saw that from the beginning. They haven't 00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:25.259 lost that home here all season, but they hadn't 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:28.980 played Arsenal during that time. So they have 00:15:28.980 --> 00:15:31.320 that winning habit, and that's very difficult 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:33.980 to turn around. And we need to understand that. 00:15:34.059 --> 00:15:36.580 And we knew, especially in the first 15, 20 minutes, 00:15:36.779 --> 00:15:39.559 it was going to be very little play. And we have 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:42.360 to be very conscious of that and accept it and 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:44.159 then start to change it throughout the first 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:46.639 half. And we've done that. And I think the team 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:49.799 showed a lot of maturity again. Yeah, the atmosphere 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.259 was unbelievable. I would love to have been out 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:55.220 there. But yeah, like I said, the game was literally 00:15:55.220 --> 00:15:58.639 almost identical to the Fulham game where... 00:15:59.199 --> 00:16:02.039 Obviously, they used the crowd, they played off 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.179 the crowd's energy and they just went for it, 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:06.320 had nothing to lose. But as the game wore on, 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:09.620 we just slowly took control of the game. And 00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:12.559 then after that, it was just a matter of when 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:17.940 and how, not if. On William Saliba stepping into 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:20.480 midfield more often tonight, that was related 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:23.159 about the way they press and the way the nine 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:25.519 makes the press and the way where we could find 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.360 certain advantages and time. Because if not, 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:31.879 everything is absolutely man -to -man. And it's 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.179 a really difficult game to play constantly, especially 00:16:34.179 --> 00:16:37.419 after the direct play. And we could have done 00:16:37.419 --> 00:16:40.480 better. It's something we hadn't had time to 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:43.600 train, really. So to have more solutions and 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.720 to try things, and to especially put players 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:49.120 in their qualities with a bit more time on the 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:52.340 ball, it's something that I wanted to try. Well, 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:55.259 this vertical football that he mentioned yesterday, 00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:58.220 you know, the direct play of the ball in the 00:16:58.220 --> 00:17:02.179 air. You know, the ball being in the air. It 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:04.680 wasn't in the air much in the first half, I would 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:08.829 say. I think they did go more direct long ball 00:17:08.829 --> 00:17:11.450 towards the second half. But in the first half, 00:17:11.549 --> 00:17:13.750 they just kind of used endeavour. They played 00:17:13.750 --> 00:17:17.390 off endeavour and spirit, really. And obviously, 00:17:17.670 --> 00:17:21.130 as we got one, two and three goals ahead, they 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:25.390 became dispirited. But yeah, it was a good game 00:17:25.390 --> 00:17:29.170 of football. But I think we've just, you know, 00:17:29.190 --> 00:17:32.049 in these away games, we're accustomed to dealing 00:17:32.049 --> 00:17:35.930 with it, no matter how... No matter how the fans 00:17:35.930 --> 00:17:37.990 are, no matter how hostile it is, we've gone 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:41.029 to sport in Lisbon, places like that, and dismantled 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:44.369 them. So Slavia Prague was never going to be 00:17:44.369 --> 00:17:46.730 an issue if we had the right mentality, that's 00:17:46.730 --> 00:17:51.089 for sure. On what's changed for Mikel's goal 00:17:51.089 --> 00:17:54.720 -scoring prowess? My view was always that he 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:57.640 had really good timing and the capacity to finish 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:01.279 in the box, especially one touch. And then talking 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:03.720 to him and making sure that he plays closer to 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.240 the box and he identifies the opportunities, 00:18:06.380 --> 00:18:09.720 the timing, the way he needs to attack the spaces 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:12.480 in relation to how they defend the box, which 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:15.380 today was a bit different as well, the way they 00:18:15.380 --> 00:18:18.119 set up. And then it's obviously his quality, 00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:20.759 his willingness to learn and practice every day. 00:18:21.399 --> 00:18:24.079 Yeah, it's just like I said already earlier on 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:27.059 in this podcast that Mikael Mourinho's definitely 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:30.859 a bona fide centre -forward as a secondary position, 00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:33.500 definitely. No doubt about that now. He had an 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:36.200 amazing second goal as a proper centre -forward, 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:38.599 old -school, get your head on it, get a knock, 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:41.059 you know, back header into the back of the net. 00:18:41.140 --> 00:18:43.920 And then he'd done his customary celebration 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.819 where he runs around the corner flag paying homage 00:18:46.819 --> 00:18:50.549 to his father. Yeah, Mikel Moreno, another two 00:18:50.549 --> 00:18:52.410 goals. I believe that's three for the season. 00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:55.289 Roland Sunderland. And hopefully he can get a 00:18:55.289 --> 00:18:59.049 start in that one as well. On how we can maintain 00:18:59.049 --> 00:19:03.069 confidence in the team. Well, first of all, feeling 00:19:03.069 --> 00:19:06.089 prepared. So now it's about the next game and 00:19:06.089 --> 00:19:08.640 feeling prepared. doing the right things to get 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:11.319 to the game with a lot of clarity and in a really 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:13.880 good emotional state. And I'm sure we will do 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.779 that and then perform at this level to make it 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:19.279 really difficult for the opponent and try to 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:22.839 earn the right to win the game. Yeah, winning 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.279 breeds winning. And I think that's the main reason 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:30.599 why Mikel Arteta kept the bulk of the team together. 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:34.140 So obviously, I would say the spine of the team. 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:41.380 is Raya, Timba, Saliba, Gabriel, Declan Rice, 00:19:41.700 --> 00:19:46.960 and Saka. So that's the spine. Everyone else 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:49.339 is filling in. They're all the fillers, and that 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:51.880 includes people like Zubamendi. It includes people 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:55.240 like Calafiori. They're filling in. But if you 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:58.420 can... you know, play at a high level, you're 00:19:58.420 --> 00:20:01.619 going to remain in the team. But obviously, because 00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:03.980 we're in cup competitions, you can kind of make 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:06.960 changes and give people a rest and bring in other 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.640 players. But I think if we can keep those five 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:12.259 or six players fit throughout the bulk of the 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:13.940 season, then we're going to definitely be lifting 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:19.619 multiple trophies. No doubt about that. On Drury 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:22.400 and Timber, extraordinary. For me, he's been 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:25.039 phenomenal in every department. I think he's 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.359 taken his level and the team's level to a different 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:31.759 dimension against his opponents. The way he penetrates. 00:20:32.420 --> 00:20:37.339 Jesus! The way he wins duels. The way he understands 00:20:37.339 --> 00:20:40.000 the game. The way he wants to make things happy. 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:43.319 The way he wants to make things happen. A big 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:45.799 example for the rest of his teammates. Yeah, 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:49.480 Drury and Timber. I think in about a couple of 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:52.839 months, I'm going to literally come out and say 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:54.819 he is the best right -back in the world. But 00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:58.200 for now, I'm happy saying he's one of the best 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:00.880 right -backs in the world, even though I quietly 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:03.680 believe he is the best. But he's definitely a 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:06.140 world -class footballer, a world -class operator, 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:11.000 almost impossible to get round, too strong, exceptional 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:14.329 on the ball, great dribbler. developing a great 00:21:14.329 --> 00:21:17.349 chemistry with Bukayo Saka as they seem to be 00:21:17.349 --> 00:21:19.549 close friends on and off the pitch, both the 00:21:19.549 --> 00:21:23.549 same age, 24. Both have a good relationship with 00:21:23.549 --> 00:21:28.029 the Lord, God Almighty. But no, all jokes aside, 00:21:28.349 --> 00:21:31.250 Drury and Timber, I think the only thing really 00:21:31.250 --> 00:21:33.509 he hasn't got is pace. But other than that, he 00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:35.809 is the ultimate footballer. There's nothing he 00:21:35.809 --> 00:21:39.619 can't do. I would like to see him... Get a few 00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:42.420 more assists, especially from crosses. But that's 00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:44.799 me picking at clutching the straws there. We're 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:47.700 talking about an outstanding world beater here. 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.000 And I'm just happy to have him at our football 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:50.299 club.