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Back again for every word from Mikel Arteta's
pre -Everton press conference. I feel like I
haven't done one of these in ages. I mean, the
last two or three of them I've been live, to
be fair. But yeah, we're back. Back in the video
tabs. Mikel Arteta's pre -Everton press conference.
Arteta was back in front of the media for his
pre -Everton press conference at the Sober Royalty
Training Centre. Earlier on today. He was asked
to share the latest team news. As well as his
thoughts on our first trip. To the Hill Dickinson
Stadium. And more. Here's everything he had to
say in the following subjects. On Ben White's
hamstring issue. Yeah he's out. He's evolving
well. It's not a major injury. But it will keep
him out for a few games I think. I don't think
it's going to be a major injury. And Ben is a
really fast healer as well. So there's hope.
That we're going to have him in the next few
games. Ooh, that's very subjective, isn't it?
Shrouded in mystery. He's going to be out for
a bit. Next few games. For a few weeks. A few
days. What does that even mean? That's subjective.
It could mean... I'm going to assume it means
the rest of the year. He's missing the next three
or four games for sure. Quote me on that. Actually,
quote me on that. But, yeah, Ben White is unfortunate
because he was kind of getting into... getting
into his rhythm, getting his match fitness. Obviously,
because of his form, the manager shifted Julian
Timber around, you know, be centre -back, left
-back, making way for Ben White to play right
-back to re -enact his partnership with Bukayo
Saka. And, yeah, he's been playing well, so I'm
fortunate, but it's one of those things in football
when you think you're on top of the world, well,
it's a bit like life, isn't it? When you think
you're on top of the world, boom. A little calm
down. But I'm sure he'll come back stronger anyway.
What if Gabriel is targeting the Aston Villa
match as his return? He's pushing hard. Jesus!
As he always does every time he's out. And he's
evolving really well. He's doing pitch sessions,
so he's not too far. We have to see in the next
stages of that rehab how he progresses. But we
are quite positive about it. Yeah, I mean, Gabriel,
I'm sure I'm just getting a vibe that he will
be back. This year, towards the latter end of
the year, the latter few games, so that obviously
would leave us between the Aston Villa game,
the Brighton game, in a couple of weeks' time.
Or you can call it days if you want. Or you never
know, he might even appear in Crystal Palace
squad. That would not surprise me at all. I don't
think he'll start that, but he might squeeze
his way onto the bench. Well, we'll find out
next Wednesday. On Martin Zubimendi not appearing
in open training recently, there was a lot of
management for a few players who played a lot
of minutes later. So that's probably the reason
why. Is it the reason why or is it probably the
reason why? Because if you remove the word probably,
then there's no probability about it. It's certainty.
On six years as our manager. It's gone fast.
A lot happened, but it's been an incredible journey
and I've enjoyed every minute of it. Well, let's
hope at the end of the season we've got something
tangible to show for it. On our first visit to
the Hill Dickinson Stadium, it's strange but
very exciting as well. I think obviously one
of the most iconic stadiums in the Premier League
is no longer... part of our schedule. But we're
going to have the opportunity to win as well.
The opportunity to win at an incredible stadium
that they have built. And Saturday night, you
know what you expect. Well, Saturday night, we're
going to be in second position. Saturday night,
Manchester City would have overtaken and usurped
us into top spot. Saturday night, we have an
opportunity to regain top spot after dropping
to second for the first time in a few months.
We're going to go into that game under severe
pressure with Man City probably racking in a
few goals at the same time as winning. It will
be a tough game for us. We know what to expect
when we encounter Everton. Every time it's going
to be a tough physical game. It's going to be
a real gruelling encounter and it's going to
test our wits and show how much we really want
this. We didn't beat them last season, two consecutive
draws, 0 -0, 1 -1 respectively. And if we're
not careful, we may even lose the game if we're
not on point. But I'm expecting us to improve
on recent performances, especially the performance
we put out against Wolves last Saturday. Unacceptable.
But we know that we can't replicate that performance
if we expect to get three points. On challenges
we faced at Goodison Park, all the away games
are always like this. It was a really tough place
to go. We all know that. And we're going to have
to be our best to win on Saturday. Well, I personally
feel even if we're not at our best, we can still
win. But if we are at our best, we will win.
That's the way I see it. On wanting to make their
new stadium a place we can go and win. Yeah,
and we had in the last few years very good records
away from home. And those are the places that
you have to go and win the game. In order to
achieve that, we're going to have to be really
good. Well, we're going to have to be good. We're
going to have to be better than we was last Saturday,
like I already said, against Wolves. We didn't
really play well against Aston Villa. Didn't
really play well against Chelsea. Didn't really
play well against Wolves. And most of those games
were away from home, but the Wolves one was really,
really, really shocking. We got away with one
there. I'll give the players a blithe for that
one because it was a one -off, but hopefully
they can put on a show for us tomorrow and win
the game. On what he enjoys the most about the
festive season in the Premier League. That is
different. It hits you with big demands and a
lot of games and a lot of things happen in not
only your professional life, but in your personal
life as well, because there are special days
for all of us. But I see it as an opportunity.
I think we are blessed to have the opportunity
to play when people are on holiday and can enjoy
it. A lot of families. I think the atmosphere
that is created in stadium is unique and that's
what we have to enjoy. In the festive season,
there's a lot of games. Games come thick and
fast. Obviously, Man City played a couple of
days ago. We play next week against Crystal Palace
while they have time to rest and recover. However,
we've used our time to rest and recover. Hopefully,
we can get two or three players back ready for
this gruelling period where a lot of points will
be won and lost. The table will start to take
shape. We will know whether we've reached the
semi -finals of the Carabao Cup or not, with
Chelsea awaiting us. So, I mean, it's all to
play for, really. This is why you play football.
This is why you go into top -level competition,
is to be competing for top honours, to be competing
with the likes of Manchester City, with the likes
of Chelsea, Aston Villa, you know, Liverpool.
At the end of the day, the boys just need to
regain probably a second wind. I think we've
had a little opportunity to kind of reflect on
what we've done up to this point, to understand
that we're going to go into this game in second
position, but not to panic because there'll be
a lot of twists and turns between now and the
end of the season. I would say in a couple of
games' time, we would have reached the halfway
point. So what we want to do is just maintain
consistency and crank it up a level now as we
go into... On managing Zubin Mendy's workload
in his first season without a winter break. In
the small windows that we have, we make sure
that we look after him and he understands that
every possibility and every chance you have to
look after yourself, you have to take it in this
league because the demands are going to be really,
really high. But I think he's coping really,
really well with the league, with all the colleagues
that the league brings you. A new club, a new
country, and I think he's been exceptional. Yeah,
he's been fantastic. I mean, I was actually surprised
that he didn't get rested for the game in Champions
League against Club Ruga. I'm surprised he didn't
get a rest in that one. However, he played. That's
fine. But I think the manager now needs to rotate,
give players a rest here and there. I think he
needs to make use of Wanyeri more. That's the
one criticism I do have of him this season. Otherwise,
other than that, on the whole, I'm... not too
displeased with what he's done, but I just think
squad rotation now is going to be key. We're
famed for having a top squad, so let's make use
of it. On Everton having to maintain the connection
with their fans in a new stadium, I imagine that's
what they've been trying to achieve. It's never
going to be the same because every stadium has
its own history, energy and moments, and then
you have to translate that. We have experienced
it here at Arsenal as well, so yeah, it takes
time. Yeah, I mean, Goodison Park was a historic
ground, close to the pitch. You know, the fans
were really on top of you. We've had some good
moments there, some indifferent moments there,
and some less so good moments there. But on the
whole, I think we have the best record against
Everton of all the English sides. And long may
that continue tomorrow evening. I don't know
if changing the culture at the club is one of
Mikel's biggest achievements in the last six
years. It was one of them. It was the first foundation
that we had to see and I think it was done pretty
rapidly. Maintaining it is something that is
very, very difficult and you need a lot of good
people and very aligned people to achieve that.
I think we have that in a really strong and solid
way. But all the things socially, the transformation
has been around the club in terms of the size,
in terms of revenues, in terms of the squad that
we built, the value of it, the sporting success
that we had. Even though we haven't won any major
trophies yet, I think it's very, very consistent.
So we're in the right place. I mean, when Mikel
came in, the club was in a mire, dire situation.
He's changed that, but I'm sure... Like myself,
like Mikel, like the squad, we were frustrated
and we are frustrated that we haven't won any
major trophies. However, this season, we've stood
ourselves in good stead to be in a position to
change that come the end of the season. But as
we've seen, things can change really quickly.
Things can change dramatically, rapidly. We've
dropped a few points in recent weeks. In recent
games, we haven't really performed at our optimum.
And we've kind of allowed Manchester City to
kind of gain on us almost. But obviously, there's
a long way to go. You know, Manchester City are
in the midst of a run. One of their famed runs
where they just rack up wins after wins after
wins. And you just feel like, oh, where are they
going to drop points? I've got confidence in
the boys that they can. get back to winning ways,
go back on a run, start performing like we did
in the first few months of the season. And if
we can do that, then I think no team in this
league can stop us, really. That's what I personally
believe. But it's easier said than done, isn't
it? On who our success has been down to... One
man cannot really change anything, especially
when you talk about the size and the history
of this football club. You need a lot of good
people, very committed people around you with
the same vision, the same work ethic, the same
passion. And I'm very lucky because I had some
of that. Then at the end, you need a lot of support,
starting from upstairs with everybody that makes
decisions alongside you. But the most important
ones are the players. I think the players have
to buy into what you say. and what you do, and
I feel very lucky because those players, they
give you 100 % in the direction that you want
every single day. I mean, I think the main stakeholders
in the success of a football club is definitely
if you're going to kind of rank players, manager,
and board, or ownership, and fans. For me, I
think I'll place the players top, I'll place
management, stroke manager second. I'll put...
The fans first and the board fourth. The reason
why I've done that is because the players are
the ones that enforce what the manager has set
out and they score the goals, they keep the clean
sheets. They're the ones implementing what the
plan is. I think the fans create the kind of
setting for the players to best perform at their
optimum level, for them to have the best chance
to perform at their optimum level. They support,
they urge the players, they push them on. especially
when they're struggling. And also the board come
in because they obviously fund the manager. They
provide the funds for the players to be at the
club. So I think those four are the most important
stakeholders in the success of a football club.
But the players definitely are top of that list.
On his admiration for David Moyes. I think that's
the word I'd use, gratitude and admiration. I
think he taught me the love that he's got for
the game and then the integrity that the game
requires at any cost. I think he's a remarkable
man. I think the way he manages the club, the
people, his players, he's outstanding. And I'm
very grateful for everything that he did for
me, for Everton as well, but I think in general
for English football as well, because he's been
an example of how to behave in good moments and
in difficult ones. It doesn't matter when you
see how people are. And I think David's done
that. It's something extraordinary. Yeah, so
another loving for Mikel Arteta, obviously playing
against his former manager, Everton. You know,
the club that he kind of made his name, in my
view. Obviously, Arsenal signed him from Everton
back in 2011, if I'm not wrong. He actually started
off playing as a winger for Everton, who they
signed him from Rangers. And then he moved centrally.
He moved kind of in centre midfield where he'd
play alongside people like Tim Cahill, Leon Osman,
Steven Piena in what was a hard -working, very
resolute Everton side. None different to what
we had expected to come up against tomorrow.
But yeah, David Moyes has done a good job and
he's back at Everton doing what you'd expect
with them. Getting them in and around mid -table,
solidifying their Premier League status and...
Just no frills football, but effective, efficient
football. And what he'd like to get for Christmas.
Win, win, win, win, win. That's it. After the
rest will come naturally. My mood, my energy
is going to be much better. So that's what I
want. That's a lot of dogs. And if he thought
he'd still be here right now when he took over
six years ago, how much would I bet you mean?
I don't know. If I would say, okay. I never coached
at the highest level. I come to the club that
is in a difficult stage of history. And the recent
past of the previous managers, I don't know.
But you have to take this job day by day. I do
the same on day one. Do your best. Do what you
feel. Make sure the people are on board with
you and what you do. And that's it. And then
at the end, in my job, it's about winning football
matches. That's it. Interesting. So he didn't
really answer it. I don't know. I can only guess
that you wouldn't really expect to be in a job,
especially a tough job that he was given like
that with the circumstances. But then again,
you can flip it and say he had a plan with the
phases. So obviously, if he had the plan of the
phases, he knew that it would take three, four
years to kind of get the club in a state where
he can start competing. He's probably thinking
we could have won by now. But I mean, now is
the time to win. So I think he'll be judged come
the end of this season. No excuses whatsoever.
On if Mikel Moreno is still an option to start
up front. He's certainly an option. I think he's
given us every reason to consider him in a really
serious way. You look at the goals that he scored
and the importance of those goals. I think he
needs to be right up there. It's an interesting
question, actually. It's a conundrum. I think
it's the one conundrum that we have tomorrow
who starts up top with Victor Jokeres struggling,
toiling in recent weeks. Do you continue and
persevere with Jokeres just to keep his confidence
up? Or do you put Marino in today, or should
I say tomorrow, and you bring Jokeres in for
the Carabao Cup semi -final? However, Gabriel
Jesus is now reeling and wearing to go, having
came on as a substitute. You know, I thought
he scored the header, but it turned out to be
an own goal. Still looks like he headed the ball.
But I think Jesus would be ready for a start
on Wednesday. Not sure about tomorrow. So it'll
be an interesting three -way battle between who
starts up front. Me personally, like I said,
I think I would like to go with Mourinho. I wouldn't
be surprised if the manager does maintain his
trust in Djokovic just to keep his confidence
there. So it will be interesting. That's the
one position I'll be looking at once the team
news comes out tomorrow. On if Marino is more
of a natural fit than Victor Jocaras. I don't
know if this is the word, but he's a player who
is on a job with his qualities and in the games
where we demanded his qualities. Victor brings
many other different ones, and it's great that
we can have those. And now Gabi Jesus as well,
who came in the last two games and made an impact
in the game. Obviously, Mikel's not going to
get tricked into backing one over the other in
terms of... saying Marino is a better fit than
Jokeres. He's not that stupid to answer it how
the press officer wanted him to. So, you know,
he's got two players, three players vying for
one position. So let's see who he opts for tomorrow.
On how close Kai Havertz is to coming back, he's
progressing really well and quite fast in the
last few weeks. So, yeah, we are really positive
that if everything continues like that in the
next... Training sessions is going to be with
us soon. Soon. Soon could be February, but I
think personally soon is January. On conceding
the first goal in each of our last three away
games. It's about consistency. I think we lost
one game in 21 away from home before then. So
that tells you in this league the difficulty
of that. But if you want to continue to do that,
you have to almost hit. You have to hit almost
perfection in a lot of things that you do. We've
lost two games in the last kick of the game.
Two possibilities to win the games as well. But
that's what we have to learn and play better.
Two games in the last kick of the game, what?
What was the other one then? We lost to Aston
Villa. We didn't lose to Liverpool in the last
kick of the game, so I'm not sure what that's
about. But yeah, I wanted to actually comment
on the fact that Mikel talks about hitting perfection
and just leading in every single metric. The
thing is though, Manchester City don't do that
necessarily. They just win. They may blow you
out of the water 5 -1, 5 -0, 4 -0, 3 -0 on one
day or they might just win 3 -2 the next day.
They don't necessarily have to dominate every
aspect of the game, more corners. you know, least
shots against, things like that. They just win.
So this kind of systematic domination that Arteta
is obsessed with hopefully can pay off because
in recent years we've topped a lot of the metrics,
but not one. Teams like Liverpool, Manchester
City. They just find a way of winning the game.
They don't need to kind of necessarily stop the
opposition of having any shots against them.
They're just winning each game. However, by any
means necessary, whether they're whipping them
or they're winning 2 -1. So it is a little worry,
but let's see. On how we've used a full week
to train ahead of the Everton game. Sometimes
it's the level of energy and consistent energy
that you need throughout a game. To sustain when
you have played so many minutes in their legs.
And other things are the small things like we
talked about. Those defensive habits or connections
that you don't build because you don't have time
to do that. This week we had time to work on
them. And hopefully we're going to see an improvement
on Saturday. Hopefully because... That was like
the kind of last clear week that we have for
a long time. Because after tomorrow, the games
are coming thick and fast. Every three, four
days, there's going to be a game in the offing.
Only if atmospheres are lost from old grounds
when clubs move to newer ones. I don't know.
Sometimes when you change the location, maybe
as well. But I don't know. We're going to have
to go and witness how it looks like on Saturday
night. It's going to be different to the previous
one. You cannot expect to have the same one,
but I think it will bring some good and positive
things as well, I imagine. Yeah, I mean, Mikel's
clever not to kind of answer the question how
the press officer wanted him to and say moving
grounds will mean that the atmosphere isn't as
good as... The previous one at Goodison Park,
because that would just rile up the fans so that
they can prove us wrong. You don't want to give
any added impetus or any added incentives for
Everton to beat us or get something against us
on top of the one that they already have, which
is the fact that we're top of the league and
everybody wants to beat the team that's top.
On how he decides who should play, which game
up front. So far in December, my headaches have
come with having no options in the front line.
And no options in the back line. That's the headaches.
I haven't had headaches the other way around.
I hope that I do. It won't be headaches. It will
be difficult decisions. But they're going to
make the team better. The headaches are when
you have to make decisions. That you're making
the team weaker. Or you cannot make decisions
because you're going to expose other players.
Or players that if you give them too much game
time. Probably they're going to get injured as
well. So those are the headaches. Well, I mean,
the midfield for me is a bit light. I think we
definitely need a body in midfield next month
for sure. If we're going to do anything, I think
we need a central midfielder because I think
we've only got Marino, who's been used up front,
mind you, Declan Rice, who's irreplaceable, Zubimendi,
Christian Norgard, who when we play him in midfield,
there's a massive drop -off. And then Wanyeri,
who's not been playing. So obviously, clearly,
there's a dearth of depth there and that needs
to be addressed. On if there's a game he had
in mind for Kai to return in. I do. I don't want
to say because, again, I think in that last part,
especially after such a long time, that after
the rehab, I think we need to be cautious and
we need to go really firmly with every step that
we take along the way to make sure that when
he's back, he's back and he's back for the long
term. You know what, I think it's the Portsmouth
game in early January in the FA Cup because you
don't want him to come back in an intensive Premier
League game, do you? And also the Carabao Cup,
if we get there, will be against Chelsea and
you don't really want him coming back, making
his comeback from a lengthy injury in such an
emotional game like that for him. How he assesses
Victor's first few months at the club. I think
the level of attention on him hasn't changed
since he signed to today. That's normal. Everybody
was so excited to bring a number nine into the
club. We did it. We played. We bought a player
with an incredible scoring record that had to
adapt to the league. He had no pre -season. The
first few weeks were difficult because physically
he wasn't in his best state and he's a player
that needs that like any other player in this
league. almost to perform at that level, then
he kicked on. I think he had a really good period
and he got injured and now he's back. But I saw
a lot of positive things in the last two games
that he's done. We need to continue to tweak
and understand him a little bit better in certain
situations and he needs to do the same. But that's
about time and we have full support for him.
You know, the way he's answered that question
makes me think that he's going to want to start
him tomorrow just to kind of... you know, nurture
him and kind of play him back into form. Because
I think with the fact that he hasn't scored in
such a while and the fact that he's struggling,
dropping him to the bench is going to dent his
confidence even more. And I think he's a player
that is more likely to perform and affect the
game from a starting position as opposed to from
the bench. on if the scrutiny on him has taken
him by surprise i don't know at the end you have
to experience it you can imagine the global impact
that you're going to have to deal with when you
come to a big club and the expectations are as
it is but after you have to live with it but
after you have to live it and living it is always
slightly different to your imagination But he's
doing it with a lot of desire. I think his energy
level, his commitment are absolutely top. And
we are here to help him. Because we've all been
here. We all need time. There's always moments.
And the strikers have moments. They score more
goals, less goals. And we need to be there for
him. Yeah, I mean, Victor Jocquez is a confident
boy. But I've seen him in recent games. I was
there at the Wolves game. And he did look...
Out of sorts, he did look a little bit off the
board. He was getting brushed aside from defenders,
which is a worry because you would say his main
strength should be his strength, power and pace.
And a lot of defenders have been outrunning him.
A lot of defenders have been outmuscling him.
And when he's had opportunities to shoot, he's
passing it. And I'm thinking, I want you to be
single -minded and get shots off, whether it's
from tight angles, get shots off. You can...
force the keeper into a save which plays it into
the path of someone like Trossard, Martinelli,
Saka, you can win corners. But I want you to
get more shots off. If you don't shoot, you don't
score. On if we'll see another level from him
in the second half of the season, I think so,
yes. Well, you're going to have to. You can't
have a second half of the season like he's had
a first. I mean, he's obviously... Yeah, he was
off the pace a little bit at the start of the
season, missed pre -season. You know, he's obviously
lost a bit of weight, done a lot of gym work.
He got injured when he started to play well.
But now he's back. Let's hope he can kind of
get some goals, get some shots off first. Boost
your confidence. Just take a few shots, get some
early shots off. You know, play it simple. Keep
it simple. Lay the ball off to people like Saka.
Run, turn and spin. Your movement's got to be
better. You know, your movement has to be better.
But I do believe he will improve and I do believe
he's going to be the player that we've signed
and hope to have signed from Sporting Lisbon
last season. But he just needs to get back to
basics.