Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the impact Rafa Nadal had on tennis, his chat during the international break with owner Stan Kroenke and Nottingham Forest
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London Colney, London, UK
Sobha Realty Training Centre, London Colney, London, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00What did he mean to you as a Spanish athlete and was there anything you took from him about
00:07how he approached this profession?
00:09Just proud, you know, for how he has represented the country, the sport. I think as an athlete
00:17for everybody, it doesn't matter if you're a tennis fan or not, the way he acts, the
00:21way he behaves, the way he wins and especially the way he's lost, the way he has dealt with
00:26difficulties in life, it's just an inspiration. For me it's a very special role model because
00:32as well I know him and the people around him and how he had to adjust his career, adapt
00:37to it and what he has achieved I think is phenomenal. It's like Roger, I think they
00:43will be there as one of the best forever in the sport.
00:47I believe that during the break you went over to America to have talks with the ownership.
00:52How big a topic was the January window and have you ensured that Arsenal can move as
00:57quickly without Edu in the building?
00:59It's always really positive to spend time together. Obviously we had time to talk about
01:05the windows but as well about the club, how they're feeling about what we are doing, how
01:10we're feeling about where we want to take the club, next direction, obviously Edu. It's
01:15a lot of topics there but again it's a joy to spend time with them because it's a lot
01:20to learn. They have so much experience in this sport because you feel the ambition,
01:25especially when you go out there and they are very far, how close they live every day
01:30with us and what we want to achieve together. It feels great.
01:35I wrote Jason Eto'o, Edu's assistant, someone who maybe not a lot of people on the outside
01:40know about. How highly do you rate him and could he potentially step into it?
01:45Very good, very good. Jason and all the team. Edu and I got probably a lot of the prize
01:52but the work behind it is done by this guy and Jason has been phenomenal. It's not easy
01:57to wake up one day and having to move to a different office and do a different job like
02:01it was for the team but again the spirit, how people react, how they're willing to,
02:06okay that's it, that's the situation, let's move forward. With that ambition and as well
02:11with that determination and enthusiasm, that's something great and Jason has been great on that.
02:20Is there any sort of time frame on when he'll be back?
02:24No. He's going to be away now for a few weeks to continue with his treatments and as well
02:30change a little bit the environment because psychologically it's been really, really tough
02:34for him as you can imagine and he's a guy that the only thing he wants to do is work
02:3924 hours to get better and he feels terrible when he's not fit so it's a real shame so
02:44we want to give him the best opportunity to try that kind of thing as well. If we can
02:48trigger something, unlock something and try to help him to have him as quick as possible
02:53back but I think we need to be patient.
02:56On Pep's day, I think a lot of supporters would have thought Pep going is easy to win
03:05the title but for you is there part of the motivation that you want to win the Premier
03:09League by beating the best managers and Pep being one of those?
03:12Well we certainly have a lot of the best managers in the world in this league and that's enough,
03:17that's the challenge, that's the level. It's not about saying it on paper, it's why you
03:21live especially because you know the level and how opposition prepares and the things
03:25that they do to try to beat you so it's great to be in this environment and try to pull
03:31yourself and win.
03:37Can I just ask you about Martin Erik about this, obviously he had to go to report to
03:40Norway when he came back, how has he been since he played against Chelsea?
03:43Well he played really well obviously that has its consequences because after such a
03:47long time not playing he needed time to recover, the ankle reacted and other areas of the body
03:53obviously after putting so much load into it, it wasn't ideal but he's been OK the last
04:00day and a half he trained with the team and he's feeling good so pretty positive.
04:06What did you miss when he was not available and what do you get now that he's back as
04:10a captain and in the team?
04:12Well he couldn't but we did a lot of things and in some games work especially in certain
04:18games really well but obviously Martin brings everybody together, he has this capacity to
04:23win without the ball, his charisma, his leadership, that's why he's the captain and his intelligence
04:30to make everybody better and everybody click and that's a unique quality that he has and
04:35obviously that has been missed.
04:38And in the dressing room before games?
04:40Yeah but he's been really implicated, really on it in that sense but at the end when you
04:45step in there and you have to go through certain moments on the field having him makes life
04:51easier but that doesn't mean that other players cannot do it or can do it in a different way
04:55as well.