Arteta on transfers, injuries and excitement for the new Premier League season (Full Presser)
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on transfers, injuries and excitement for the new Premier League season as they prepare to face Wolves
Sobha Realty Centre, London Colney, London, UK
Sobha Realty Centre, London Colney, London, UK
Transcript
00:00How are you, bro?
00:01Yeah, but don't you think you're short, expecting him to come on TV?
00:04No, they're going to complain, it's too cold, it's too cold.
00:07It's a bit cold.
00:09How's the cold, please?
00:10It's fine, thank you.
00:13Welcome back, everyone, happy new season.
00:16We'll kick off today with the usual live section,
00:18then we'll go into a 10.30 tonight.
00:21As always, I'll ask if the camera's ready, we're all good.
00:24So to kick off the season, we'll start with Gary from Sky Sports.
00:28Hello, Michael, happy new season.
00:31You said last week that Durian should be ready for the start of the season, is he?
00:35Yeah, I think he will be in the squad for tomorrow, yeah.
00:38Obviously, he's got such a tight time,
00:40it's his second start for Arsenal in the Premier League, potentially.
00:45Yes, obviously he had a really tough period,
00:49but he used it in a great way, I think,
00:51because he still managed to get a lot of things done
00:55and improve in many areas that, except for playing,
00:58he found really, really helpful, I think.
01:00And now he looks ready and he will have the chance.
01:04Fabio Villar, the same?
01:06Fabio, yeah, we have to check him now after training how he is,
01:09but he looked better today.
01:11And with Tommy Asser and Thierry, a little bit more of a wait?
01:15Yeah, they will be a few weeks behind still.
01:18Any other injuries too?
01:20No, the rest is everything is fine.
01:22Eric Ten Hag and other managers have spoken to you this week.
01:27Because of the summer and all the finals and tournaments that have gone on,
01:32they're saying they're actually probably not ready for the start of the season yet.
01:37Has a team at Arsenal ready?
01:40Well, we are really excited.
01:42We've been missing the competition for many weeks, too long for us.
01:46We are so willing to start, really enthusiastic about it.
01:50But we had a really, I think, challenging pre-season,
01:55but we have managed to adapt.
01:57And it was a great challenge, I think, for everybody to adapt,
01:59different groups, different stages, playing different conditions.
02:02And we took it as an opportunity and a good challenge.
02:06And the team has looked really sharp and are really at it and desperate to play.
02:12If William Saliba is involved, it will break a bit of an Arsenal record.
02:18He will become the fastest Arsenal player ever, if you win,
02:22to be involved in 53-point balls.
02:26So if you win another record, the more records you can get,
02:30particularly for players like that, the better.
02:32Yeah, let's earn the right to beat a very good Wolves side
02:36and hopefully we can achieve another one.
02:39Because it took you 77 games to be involved in 53-point balls.
02:42So come on, lift your game.
02:46Yeah, that's why they are much better than we used to be.
02:50I've checked my pockets, I've got my keys, I've got my wallet, I've got my phone.
02:55There's been reports of you trying to get the best out of your players,
02:58the game of your reservations, in summer.
03:03How important is it that you keep the players on their toes at all times?
03:08Well, it's the demands that we put internally,
03:11that they have to be much higher than anybody can ever think of putting us
03:16in any position that we feel the pressure.
03:18And that's the level that we have to hit every single day here.
03:21And if we do that, our level will increase and everybody will be benefited to that.
03:31Does Mikel like Mikel?
03:33Sorry, sorry?
03:34Does Mikel like Mikel?
03:37If I like myself, you mean?
03:40You know that I cannot talk about any other player.
03:45But that area of the pitch, if you could find somebody that could come and help,
03:49because you've got a busy schedule, potentially 60 games or more,
03:52a lot of infielders, but quality is always something you're looking for
03:56if you could find one player in that area particularly.
03:59After the season we had two objectives, the main one and the most important one
04:03is make sure that we're still very, very much in love with our players
04:07and find ways to improve them because that's the main thing.
04:10And then, OK, if there are certain opportunities in the market
04:13to improve the squad, certainly we have to look at that.
04:16And that's what we're trying to do.
04:26While the market is open, things can happen and that's always a possibility.
04:36With such high margins that you lost the title out to Man City,
04:40but you had so many great aspects in terms of a club record,
04:4428 Premier League wins, a Premier League club record goal scored,
04:50and you conceded a Premier League club record low 29 goals.
04:55What do you think this time around it will take to win the title
04:58given all of those incredible numbers last night?
05:01Break more of those records again and earn more points for sure
05:05because it won't be enough.
05:07With the level that we are competing with and every season is getting harder,
05:11we're going to have to improve again for sure.
05:13Will it take a perfect season to win the title this time around?
05:17Well, perfect, I don't know what perfect is,
05:19but it has to be very close to the numbers that we've seen in recent years,
05:23that's for sure.
05:25I think you kind of touched on it before,
05:27but how excited are you personally about the challenge of taking this team
05:30and competing for the title once again?
05:33It's great.
05:34When you're looking ahead and you see everything that we are doing
05:38and everybody is so enthusiastic about it,
05:40that willingness to improve, to get better, to keep demanding each other,
05:44to look for higher ceilings, this is what I think everybody needs.
05:50It's motivating, it's inspiring.
05:52Every day is something new to look at.
05:55We have created that culture and we're going to keep going.
06:00Gary kind of mentioned how you try and keep your players on their toes.
06:04What keeps you motivated and back here again, ready to go again,
06:09what kind of keeps you motivated?
06:11Just looking around and the people that I work with every single day,
06:15that they are ready, that they bring in ideas,
06:18that they are so willing to work,
06:20that they are ruthless about the vision that we have
06:23and what we want to achieve.
06:25And then obviously the players,
06:27the energy that they come in the building every day.
06:31Their ability always to put a smile on my face,
06:34regardless of what happens,
06:36and they make me enjoy my job.
06:39And that's the biggest motivation.
06:41And in terms of tomorrow,
06:43obviously they have lost to Mexico and they've lost to Inter,
06:47so how do you view the test tomorrow?
06:49It's really tough.
06:51We always have a big challenge to beat them.
06:54Gary and the coaching staff,
06:56they've done an exceptional job.
06:58It's a really competitive match.
07:01They are really tricky to attack.
07:03They are very tricky to contend with
07:05because they create chances in various ways.
07:10We need to be at our best and if we do that,
07:12we'll have a good chance to win the game.
07:16After finishing so strongly at the back end of last season,
07:19how hungry have the players been this summer
07:21to get back to competitive action?
07:23Since the last day,
07:25I think we had my gathering together
07:29with all the club players,
07:30and the players were coming to me and said,
07:32we're going to do it next year, we're going to be better,
07:34we want more.
07:35And when you see them doing that,
07:37they are the ones driving that ambition,
07:40so that's always positive.
07:42You've spoken a lot about the importance
07:44of the connection between the team
07:46and our supporters in the stadium.
07:48How important is it for that tomorrow?
07:51Yeah, we need to make another step there.
07:53This season has to be better than last season.
07:56From day one, if we can create that,
07:58and we have to give them a lot of reasons
08:00to feel that way,
08:01and hopefully the team will do that,
08:03I'm sure that they're going to respond.
08:05It was unbelievable the other day against Lyon already,
08:08the surroundings of the stadium,
08:10so I expect a big one tomorrow again.
08:15In the second two years in a row,
08:18everyone expecting you to challenge again for the title,
08:21how do you feel ahead of a new title challenge?
08:25Again, very excited.
08:27You are trying to climb to the highest mountain,
08:30the most difficult lake in the world,
08:33and you feel surrounded by a lot of people
08:36that are having the same ambition
08:38every single day to achieve it,
08:40so we're certainly going to try.
08:42You've strengthened in defence with Ricardo Calviori
08:45and Jürgen Timbers back for this new season,
08:47which is great for you.
08:48Lots of options,
08:49but how important is it for those players as well
08:52to keep themselves sharp and have that competitiveness?
08:54Yeah, availability in the back line was a big issue for us.
08:57We were really, really short in numbers,
08:59and thanks God that we had especially Ben,
09:02Willy and Gabi fully fit almost the whole season.
09:06But you cannot replicate that.
09:08Two seasons in a row, more demands, more games,
09:10and we had to put another player in that back line.
09:15OK.
09:18Hi, Miguel. Are you all right?
09:19Good, thank you.
09:20How much pressure are you putting on yourself this year
09:22to win the title?
09:23For me, it's the enthusiasm to do better, you know,
09:26and when the task sets are already done,
09:31the last one is to win it.
09:33You know that, so we are focusing in the process
09:36of what we need to do to give ourselves
09:38the best chance to achieve it,
09:40and that's the demands that we put every single day on us.
09:43You say you need to be better than last year
09:45to overcome City, but Arsenal in the last four years
09:49have improved every year on their points tally.
09:51No team has ever done it five years in a row.
09:54So how are you going to improve
09:56on what was almost perfection last year?
09:59Well, because for me it's far from perfection,
10:02and I think this team has still very much
10:06other levels to reach,
10:08and they give me the reasons to believe that
10:11because I see them every day,
10:13the way they train and the way they play,
10:15and there are big rooms still for improvement.
10:17You scored a lot of goals last season,
10:20but still, come the end of the season
10:22and through the summer,
10:23I think the thing you've heard most,
10:25or we've heard most,
10:26is do Arsenal need a striker?
10:28And out and out, 20, 25 goals a season, a striker.
10:31Do they?
10:32We have great strikers already.
10:34We have a great attacking line.
10:35I'm really pleased with them.
10:36And you finally mentioned your back line.
10:39There's a new England manager.
10:40Is it an incentive for Ben White
10:42to play really well this season
10:44to maybe now become an England player?
10:46That's a question for the England manager
10:48and for Ben to discuss.
10:52Would you like to see him?
10:53Sorry?
10:54Would you like to see him?
10:55If that's what Ben White wants, for sure.
10:58So I just want to see him happy.
11:02Is that the kind of fine margins
11:03that can make a difference?
11:04I know every point is so crucial,
11:06even these first games in August
11:08before we start.
11:09Is getting the edge over Man City even more?
11:11Is that the motivation behind that?
11:13I think we all have different plans
11:15throughout the season
11:16when we give days off,
11:17the kind of training session that we do.
11:19We believe it was the right thing to do.
11:21It was something that we shared with the players
11:24to try to find the right schedule
11:27for all of them.
11:28And we agreed that in that particular schedule
11:30with Dortmund,
11:31it was like this with Willy.
11:32It was a bit different to the rest
11:33because of the amount of games that they played.
11:35So we're happy.
11:38Jordan Matheson.
11:39Hi.
11:40Some people look at the squad
11:41and think Calafiori is maybe the only new addition,
11:43but is that sort of missing the development
11:45of Ethan and Myles?
11:47Have they made that jump
11:48from young players they've had throughout the squad
11:50to proper players that are usually willing
11:52to put in a privileged battle now?
11:55Yes, for sure.
11:56And as well, obviously, Jurgen.
11:57We lost Jurgen last year for 11 months,
11:59so that's another one.
12:03Myles has played a lot of minutes,
12:05Ethan as well,
12:06and Precision has given us a big platform
12:08for them to understand how good they are
12:10and the options that we have in the squad right now.
12:13And they said they're going to be training with us.
12:16Have you noticed a change
12:17in the way they hold themselves amongst the group?
12:20Maybe that tries to overtake
12:22the senior players in front of them?
12:25What I love the most
12:26was their attitude,
12:29their personalities,
12:31how much they want it,
12:32the way they were competing in training.
12:35We throw them in very difficult contexts
12:37and they responded.
12:39And it was a great test to see where they are,
12:42and I think we are in a really good place.
12:44Do you think, in general,
12:45people have become so obsessed
12:46with new transfers and new players coming in
12:49that we sort of forget
12:50that coaches can improve players
12:52and players can be together for three, four years.
12:55There's still more that you can get out of them
12:56during football.
12:57Almost forgot that you can improve
12:59with what you've got.
13:01Well, I already said at the beginning
13:02that the main focus that we had as a coaching staff
13:05is to improve our players
13:07and find margins in everything that we do
13:10to give them the best possibility
13:11to find a level that probably
13:14they haven't even dreamed about.
13:16And that's what we have to do.
13:17And then if we have to add something
13:19because we don't have it in our team
13:21or in the academy,
13:22then obviously we have to recruit it.
13:26You touched on there
13:27that you had a sort of gathering.
13:28Was that just after the season
13:29before everyone went away?
13:31Did you just have a meal together?
13:32Yeah.
13:33Were you sort of...
13:34The reaction you had there
13:35when we saw the players on the pitch
13:37was quite emotional.
13:38Yeah.
13:39Did it sort of surprise you that
13:40I don't know how soon after the meal was
13:41that suddenly they turned quickly to next season?
13:43Yeah, it was the same evening
13:45and everybody was talking about the same thing,
13:48you know,
13:49and that we're not going to stop here,
13:51that we want much more.
13:52We know the things that we can do still better
13:55and how the players can still evolve.
13:58How we have evolved as a club is huge as well.
14:01You know,
14:02how we feel playing in our stadium is another one.
14:04So those margins are huge
14:06and how we have to really, really, really use them.
14:09It feels so often with this group
14:10that when they've had sort of setbacks
14:11in the midst of the Champions League,
14:12they go on,
14:13that they've used pain
14:14as a really good motivational tool.
14:16Do you sense that?
14:17This sort of pain they felt on that game?
14:19Yeah.
14:20Whether it's pain,
14:21whether there are experiences,
14:22whether there are moments
14:24where you have to really as well accept
14:27that somebody else has been better,
14:29it is the sport.
14:30And you want to get to where they are at the moment
14:33and that's as well really inspiring.
14:35Okay, last couple in the live section.
14:37Hi.
14:38Hi.
14:39Across the summer,
14:40wherever you've gone,
14:41you've met with tremendous support.
14:43In terms of the support for next season,
14:45how important is that to you
14:47and what would be your message to the fans?
14:49Yeah, it was great.
14:50We went to the US and again,
14:52full of stadiums,
14:53huge support.
14:54So that tells you, you know,
14:56what these players have been able to transmit
14:59to our supporters.
15:00And again,
15:01when we had the last two games at home
15:03against Bayern and Lyon,
15:05it was amazing.
15:06So I expect, again,
15:07another level again.
15:09And I think we can reach it
15:10and if we do,
15:11that's going to be a huge boost for the team.
15:14Aaron.
15:15Hi, Mikel.
15:16You reflected on a challenging pre-season.
15:18You had Bayer Leverkusen,
15:19the champions of Germany,
15:20obviously Lyon are a good side.
15:22Does that give you confidence?
15:23It's no secret,
15:24it's a tough few games for Man City.
15:26Does it give you confidence
15:27for the big games coming ahead?
15:29Yeah, we now just have to go game by game.
15:31Obviously, we're not going to compete in relief
15:33for points in the most difficult league.
15:36And we have to prove that we are better than last year
15:41and we have to start tomorrow.