Shortly after arriving in the Czech Republic for Arsenal’s Champions League league-phase match against Slavia Prague, Mikel Arteta met with the media and answered their questions:
On the tragic death of Tenerife player Jesús de Miguel…
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking news. I watched the incident again, the moment itself, what happened. To see a fellow professional lose his life in those circumstances, there are simply no words for it today. On behalf of the whole club, we want to send our condolences to Jesús de Miguel’s family, all his loved ones and Tenerife. It really was a very difficult day.”
On William Saliba returning to training with the team…
“He’s in a very good place. I think the recovery process, the timescale and the way we’ve managed the injury, and especially how Willy has felt throughout, have all been very positive. His recovery is progressing as expected, and that isn’t always the case. He feels very comfortable. He played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly last week and is ready to return. So whether we use him now depends on what the team needs.”
On Martín Zubimendi’s role going forward…
“He’s a very important player for us. He’s been a little unlucky: first there was the issue with his ankle, and then with his nose. He’s already had some playing time, and we have options in midfield. Like everyone else, he has to be ready. Everyone will get an opportunity to play. After that, it comes down to performance and how much a player helps the team win. But there is absolutely no question about his energy, his attitude or his desire to help the team. He’s an incredible footballer.”
On how William Saliba is feeling…
“I think he’s both eager to get back on the pitch and feeling the love from us. Willy is someone everyone in the team admires and really loves. Whenever he’s around, he creates a special atmosphere. That’s Willy; it’s part of his character. He’s back with the team now, and we need to choose the right moment and the right amount of playing time for him. Hopefully that will be very soon.”
On the need to be cautious after a serious injury…
“Yes, but now he’s either ready or he isn’t. Right now he’s ready, and he’s in the same position as any other player. All the preparation was about managing his workload and every stage of the recovery he needed to go through to minimise the risks. He’s in a very good place now. He’s reached the level of fitness we needed, and the next step is to give him playing time. He’s a centre-back, and that’s a particular position. He’s not an attacking midfielder or a forward whom you can substitute. A centre-back generally needs to be capable of playing the full 90 minutes. That’s why we did all that preparatory work, to build him up gradually to that level.”
On whether Max Dowman could start Champions League matches…
“Another year has passed in his career, and every time he’s played for us, he’s shown he has something to offer the team. Now it’s down to my decision whether to put him in the line-up.”
On how Max reacted to what happened after the Fleetwood match…
“That chapter is closed now. It was a moment we all learned from, and we’re moving on. You have to learn from the moments that don’t go so well, but it’s just as important to learn from the wonderful moments. He’s in great spirits. When you see the boy, and today we also spent some time together discussing different things in training, you realise that everything is very positive. At 16, you see things and experience them differently. And that’s exactly what he brings to our team.”
On the roles of the two Spanish world champions, Merino and Zubimendi, who have not started often this season…
“They play a key role. If you focus only on the players who start matches, that’s a different story. Mikel has already played a number of games, including important ones, and he came to us after a World Cup in which he had great success. We know the value of the players we have in the squad. They need to feel important. I genuinely believe they do feel very important to the team. We have to do everything we can to maintain that feeling. If they have that attitude and that self-belief every time they step onto the pitch, they can do a great deal to help the team win.”
On the importance of having experienced players who know how to win…
“Absolutely. It’s also important to accept your role on a given day. Everyone wants to start, but this season and last season we’ve seen incredible moments from players coming off the bench. That will be just as important, especially when you’re playing every 72 hours.”
On Willy’s recovery and how he avoided surgery…
“A specialist would be better placed to explain that than I am. But every possible option was considered. We brought in some of the best specialists in the world for this type of injury. In the end, they decided that conservative treatment would be the best option for him, especially given Willy’s injury history. Every week and every month, we assessed his condition and progress together with all the specialists. His recovery went so well that he eventually reached the point where he’s ready to play again.”
On his relationship with Saliba…
“I think our relationship has always been very honest and open. It’s probably even better now because he’s played so many matches, we’ve worked together for a long time and we’ve achieved success. All of that obviously strengthens the bond between people. While he was out, we tried to give him a chance to rest because he’s had an extremely demanding schedule over the last few years. Then he put in an incredible amount of effort and spent a huge amount of time working to come back. That’s William: he gets on with things quietly and does his job. Whenever he’s around the team, he helps maintain and improve the atmosphere in the group.”
On using Saliba, Konsu and Gabriel in the same line-up…
“We haven’t had that luxury yet. I wouldn’t call it a problem! We have much bigger problems we could talk about. When they’re all fit and available, we’ll have the opportunity to rest players, manage their workloads and cope with the congested schedule much better than we’ve been able to so far. Esri can play at full-back, but I think his main position is centre-back. He can play on the right or the left. The same applies to William, both for his national team and here at Arsenal. That will be a very positive thing for us.”
On whether the players supported Max this week…
“Yes, but I think we all did that because it’s how you feel towards another person, not because he’s done something wrong or feels guilty. It’s simply human nature. When someone is upset or feeling vulnerable at a particular moment, you need to be there and help them. All the players understand that very well, and it’s not just about his age. It’s also about the kind of person Max is and how he treats those around him. He’s the kind of person you naturally want to protect. The team was really there for him.”
On his personal conversation with Max…
“I sat down next to him and asked, ‘Did you see my press conference? What did you think?’ We just had an honest conversation, because it’s all public. That’s the relationship we have, and I believe that’s how it should be. It’s a particular kind of conversation, and he needs to tell me himself what he thinks. Those are the relationships we try to build with our players. He’s in a good place now. Ultimately, he’s at an important stage of his career where he needs to learn one lesson: situations like that will happen several times in every match. It won’t happen once or twice a season, but probably three or four times a game. He has to learn to deal with those moments because they’re part of football.”
On shirt-pulling…
“I have a lot of video clips of incidents where players are pulled by their shirts or grabbed. I’ve put together a huge collection that we could discuss. We were talking about one specific incident, but I have an entire library of similar moments that could be used to remind everyone what every team has to deal with.”
On last season’s match against Slavia (a 3–0 away win)…
“I’ve watched it back twice. It wasn’t easy because they’re a very good team with an excellent coach. Obviously, they’ve been together for almost ten years. They’re a very competitive side with a great attitude, clear principles and playing ideas that they try to put into practice on the pitch. They know how to control the course of a match and steer the opposition in the direction they want. We know we’re in for a very difficult game.”
On whether he considers Declan Rice one of England’s best midfielders…
“I shouldn’t get involved in those debates. I love our players, and Declan is one of them. He’s extremely important to the team. His impact on our play has been enormous, and he needs to keep doing what he’s doing. It’s only October, and there’s still a lot of work ahead.”
On Jindřich Trpišovský’s work at Slavia…
“He’s ahead of me because he’s been here for ten years, hasn’t he? That’s a really long time. And it says a lot about his qualities as a person, first and foremost. To stay in one place for ten years, you have to do a lot of things right, and it’s about much more than tactics. It’s about how you treat people, the culture you create at the club, how you conduct yourself and how you build relationships with those around you. There are many different elements to it. I think what he’s achieved deserves admiration. Congratulations to him for that. We’ll meet on the pitch tomorrow, and we have a tough match ahead of us.”
Source:arsenal.com
