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The ball is in the air. Back again for
every word from Mikel Arteta's pre -Crystal Palace
Carabao Cup quarter -final match presser. The
ball is in the air. Today we're going to hear
every word from Mikel Arteta and what he said
on Arsenal v Crystal Palace, the striker dilemma
and fixture chaos. Here is every word from Mikel
Arteta's pre -match press conference. before
the quarter -final later on today. Mikel Arteta
faced the media ahead of Arsenal's match against
Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter -final.
With the hectic schedule over Christmas limiting
time, the Gunners' boss spoke to reporters immediately
after his post -match Everton press conference,
which is understandable. The match against the
Eagles, the schedule, the cup priority and Gabriel
Jesus... were the main focus of the discussions.
The Brazilian has a great chance of starting
his first game for the Gunners since his return
from injury. This will be Palace's third game
in seven days after their draw on Thursday in
the Europa League and then defeat away to Leeds
United on Saturday evening. The winner of the
match will face Chelsea in a two -legged semi
-final across January and February. Here is every
word from the Arsenal manager's press conference.
Gabriel Jesus made three appearances off the
bench. Do you think he's ready to start? Yes,
he is. You can see now, not only in games, every
day in training, how much he wants it. He's going
to deserve a chance soon. I've been saying this
for months, that I felt like this was the game
that he was to get his first start in 11, 12
months. I earmarked it for the game for him to
start. But having said that, he may not start
because we've got some good options. Jocker has
got off the mark in recent games. Also, Mikel
Moreno has been phenomenal up there. So what
personally I do think is a flip of a coin between
Moreno and Jesus to start up front. Although
I do actually have both of them starting. I have
Moreno in midfield just to give people like Zubimendi.
arrest have you been surprised at how sharp he's
looked considering how long he's been out no
because i was watching when he was seven months
already on the pitch and the way he was moving
and how much he wanted it I think he wrote a
beautiful letter there explaining what football
means to him and how it affects his life. I think
it was something beautiful. Yeah, I mean, I love
Jesus because he's so infectious. It's like he
wants it so much. He's so passionate. Every time
he gives his best, you know, he's so flary, exciting
player to watch. He always makes something happen.
He's going to give you some verve, some effervescence,
some spark in the team, which I wouldn't say
he's been lacking, but something that is... How
much could he shift the dynamic? Obviously, he's
a very different player to Victor, for example,
and Mikel Moreno. How much could he shift it
and maybe unlock a few players that haven't quite
hit their top form? Okay, obviously, that question
was linked to Gabriel Martinelli, clearly. I
think that's probably the biggest quality of
Gabi, bringing people together, connecting with
people and generating a lot of uncertainty in
the opponent. When you see him today, the amount
of spaces that he was involved in, that's his
biggest quality. So we need to exploit that.
I think two players that will automatically have
their lights turned on when Gabriel Jesus is
in the team are definitely Gabriel Martinelli,
which is why I think Jesus will start because
I think Martinelli will start. And also Martin
Odegaard, because I know they're close. I know
they like to do their tricks together. They've
got a connection in that sense, where they're
probably the two most skilful players at the
club. Well, Madaweke's up there as well. And
yeah, obviously he's one of the senior members
of the squad. He's 29 now, I believe. Next year
he'll be 30. He's been out for so long. So that
commands respect. He's also one of the few players
to have won the Premier League. So you can say
he's one of the leaders of the squad. I'm sure
he'll be chomping at the bit. I'm raring to go
to have a fantastic six months to lift trophies
for Arsenal so he can squeeze himself back into
that Brazil squad. Because if he's at his best,
he'll be at the World Cup. It's a quick turnaround
for what is a really important game against Crystal
Palace tonight. They've played a lot of games.
They've played Thursday. They've played Sunday.
How do you think that's going to affect how both
teams go into the game on Tuesday? We are used
to it. I think it's the only week that we've
had a week to prepare. It was this week. The
rest until February at least is going to be like
this. Yep, that is true. I looked at the fixtures
and it's just game after game after game. But
obviously top level football is like this. Crystal
Palace are in this situation because they won
two trophies in the last few months. So obviously
you can't have one without the other. If you
want to be successful, then this is what comes
with it. Sorry for another one on Gabriel Jesus
really quickly. But if he does play against Crystal
Palace, it will be his 100th Arsenal appearance.
So I was just wondering if you could talk about
the Gabby that came to Arsenal back in 2022 and
the one that you see now. Well, it's been a really
intense journey, I would say. I think when he
joined us, I think he lifted the belief, the
spirit and energy of the club and the team. I
think he gave something very different to what
we already had. And that was really impressive.
And then he had some really bad injuries that
hasn't allowed him to have the consistency that
we need from a very important player. But he's
back. I like his fighting spirit, the way he's
decided to always prepare in the best way. He's
unbelievable and the team has got it now and
we need to use it. Yeah, like I already said
about Jesus, there's something about him where
he just kind of gives his all. He has quality,
skillful, just his energy on the pitch and off
the pitch is infectious and it brings respect
from not just his peers but his opponents as
well. I think now is a key moment now because
I do think he has a key role to play. He does
look fit, he does look sharp, so unleash him.
Especially given the fact that he did score a
hat -trick at this stage last season, almost
exactly a year to the day ago because I was there.
in a remarkable 3 -2 win that we had over Crystal
Palace. And obviously, we know what happened
against Newcastle in the semi -final. We don't
want to go into that again. With so many fixtures
you have this season, how important is the Carabao
Cup competition to you? Because when you look
at the fixtures ahead, when will you guys get
a break? Now the most important one is the Carabao
Cup against Palace because it's the next game
that we have. Take it game by game. Winning and
performing every game helps you for the next
one. So now full focus on that. Yeah, I mean,
in terms of the Carabao Cup game, it's a tricky
one because it's a quarterfinal, a chance to
get into a semifinal where we got last season.
But also it's a chance to give players that haven't
played much an opportunity. People like Lewis
Skelly, people like Wanyeri, Kepa, Norgard. However,
the team that I've predicted, I may be way off
the mark with some choices, but just based on
circumstance, based on the fact that we got Brighton
on Saturday, I've gone with this following team.
striker gabriel jesus left wing gabriel martinelli
bow