Shortly after arriving in the Czech Republic for the Champions League league-phase match against Slavia Prague, Mikel Arteta met with journalists and answered their questions:
— on the tragic death of Tenerife player Jesús de Miguel…
“It is absolutely heartbreaking news. I watched the footage again, the incident itself and what happened. To see a colleague lose his life in such circumstances — there are simply no words for it today. On behalf of the entire club, we would like to express our condolences to the family of Jesús de Miguel, all his loved ones and Tenerife. It has truly been a very difficult day.”
— on William Saliba returning to training with the team…
“He is in a very good place. I think the recovery process, the timeframe and the way we have managed this injury, and especially how Willy has felt throughout the entire period, have all been very positive. His recovery is progressing as expected, which is not always the case. He feels very comfortable. Last week, he played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly and is ready to return. So whether we use him now will depend on what the team needs.”
— on Martin Zubimendi’s role going forward…
“He is a very important player for us. He has been a little unlucky: first there was the issue with his ankle, and then with his nose. He has 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. From there, it depends on their performances and how much they help the team win. But there is absolutely no doubt about his energy, his attitude and his desire to help the team. He is an incredible footballer.”
— on how William Saliba is feeling…
“I think he is both eager to get back on the pitch and feeling the love from us. Willy is someone who is admired and loved by everyone in the team. Whenever he is around, he creates a special atmosphere. That is just Willy; it is part of his character. Now he is back with the team, and we need to choose the right moment and the right amount of playing time for him. Hopefully, that will happen very soon.”
— on the need to be cautious following a serious injury…
“Yes, but now he is either ready or he isn’t. At the moment, he is ready and is in the same position as any other player. All the preparation was focused on managing his workload and every stage of the recovery process he needed to go through to minimise the risks. He is in a very good place now. He has reached the required level of fitness, and the task now is to give him playing time. He is a centre-back, and that is a specific position. He is not an attacking midfielder or a forward who can be substituted. A centre-back generally needs to be capable of playing all 90 minutes. That is precisely why we have done so much preparatory work to gradually bring him up to that level.”
— on whether Max Dowman could start Champions League matches…
“Another year has passed in his career, and every time he has played for us, he has shown that he has something to offer the team. Now it is down to my decision whether to include him in the line-up.”
— on how Max reacted to what happened after the match against Fleetwood…
“That chapter is closed. It was a moment that became a lesson for all of us, and we are moving on. You have to learn from the less successful moments, but it is just as important to learn from the great ones. He is in excellent spirits. When you see this lad, and today we also spent some time together discussing various things during training, you realise that everything is very positive. At 16, you look at things and perceive them differently. And that is exactly what he brings to our team.”
— on the role of the two Spanish World Cup winners, Merino and Zubimendi, who have not started many games this season…
“They play a key role. If you focus only on the players who start, that is a different story. Mikel has already played several matches, including important ones, and he joined us after achieving great success at the World Cup. We know the value of the players we have in our squad. They need to feel that they are important. I genuinely believe they do feel very important to the team. We have to do everything to make sure that feeling remains. If they maintain that attitude and confidence 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 is also important to embrace your role on any given day. Everyone wants to start, but this season and last season we have seen some incredible performances from players coming off the bench. That will be just as important, especially when you have to play every 72 hours.”
— on Willy’s recovery process and how he managed to avoid surgery…
“That is a question better answered by a specialist than by me. But every possible option was considered. We brought in some of the world’s leading experts in this type of injury. In the end, they decided that conservative treatment would be the best option for him, particularly 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 eventually he reached the point where he was ready to play again.”
— on his relationship with Saliba…
“I think our relationship has always been very honest and open. It has probably become even stronger now because he has played a lot of matches, we have worked together for a long time and achieved success. All of that naturally strengthens the bond between people. While he was out, we tried to give him the opportunity to rest because his schedule had been extremely demanding over the past few years. Then he made an incredible effort and put in a huge amount of work to return. That is William: he does everything quietly and gets on with his job. Whenever he is around the team, he helps maintain and improve the atmosphere within the squad.”
— on how to use Saliba, Konsa and Gabriel in the same line-up…
“So far, we haven’t had that luxury. I wouldn’t call it a problem! We have much bigger problems to talk about. When all of them are fit and available, we will have the opportunity to give players rest, manage their workloads and cope with the demanding fixture schedule much better than we have done so far. Ezri can play at full-back, but I believe his natural position is centre-back. He can play on either the right or the left. The same applies to William, both for the national team and here at Arsenal. That will be a very positive thing for us.”
— on whether the players have supported Max this week…
“Yes, but I think we all did that because it is simply how you feel towards another person, not because he is somehow to blame or feels guilty about something. It is just human nature. When someone is upset or feels vulnerable at a particular moment, you need to be there for them and help them. All the players understand that perfectly well, and it is not just about his age. It is also about the kind of person Max is and how he treats those around him. He is simply someone you want to protect. The team has been very close to him.”
— on his personal conversation with Max…
“I sat down next to him and asked: ‘Did you see my press conference? What do you think?’ We just had an honest conversation, because everything is public. That is the kind of relationship we have, and I believe that is how it should be. It is a special way of communicating, and he should be able to tell me what he thinks. That is the kind of relationship we try to build with our players. He is in a good place now. Ultimately, he is at an important stage of his career when he needs to learn one lesson: situations like this will happen several times in every match. It won’t happen just once or twice in a season, but probably three or four times in a game. He needs to learn how to deal with such moments because they are part of football.”
— on shirt-pulling…
“I have plenty of video footage of incidents where players are pulled by their shirts or grabbed. I have a huge collection that we can discuss. We were talking about one particular incident, but I have an entire library of similar situations that can be used to remind everyone what every team has to deal with.”
— on last season’s match against Slavia Prague (3-0 away win)…
“I watched it twice. It was not an easy game because we are facing a very good team with an excellent coach. Obviously, they have been working together for almost ten years. They are a highly competitive side with a great mentality, clear principles and playing concepts that they try to implement on the pitch. They know how to manage the flow of a match and steer their opponents in the direction they want. We understand that we are in for a very difficult game.”
— on whether he considers Declan Rice one of the best midfielders in England…
“I shouldn’t get involved in those kinds of discussions. I love our players, and Declan is one of them. He is extremely important to the team. His influence on our game has been enormous, and he needs to keep going in the same way. It is October, and there is still a lot of work ahead.”
— on Jindřich Trpišovský’s work at Slavia…
“He is ahead of me because he has been working here for ten years already, right? That is a very long time. And above all, it says a lot about his qualities as a person. To stay in one place for ten years, you have to get a lot of things right, and it is about much more than tactics. It matters how you treat people, what kind of culture you create at the club, how you conduct yourself and how you build relationships with those around you. There are many different elements involved. I think what he has achieved deserves admiration. I congratulate him on that. Tomorrow we will meet on the pitch, and we have a difficult match ahead of us.”
Source arsenal.com
Author: MissingHenry
