Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the resilience of his side, possible transfers at the club and the challenge of facing Wolves
London Colney, London, UK
London Colney, London, UK
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00:00After the Zagreb win, I heard one pundit say that they believe that this Arsenal team is now more durable,
00:08they can stay in games, stay in competitions for longer, with the ability to go and win something.
00:15Is that something that you've really worked on over the years here, making a team that's not only good enough,
00:20but also durable, can stay in games, can stay in competitions?
00:24Because we've seen Arsenal exit competitions early in the past, it's about being there, isn't it?
00:30Yeah, for sure, and understanding the context of the situation that we have,
00:34this is an adverse situation, a situation that was not planned,
00:37they were unexpected in the position where we are.
00:40It is very difficult to achieve, very difficult, and you can have examples about other teams, very clear.
00:47And just, we know that when you want to sign players it isn't just about physicality,
00:52it's about mentality, being mentally tough.
00:55How do you assess a player's mental toughness and durability, if you don't know, if you haven't spoken to them?
01:03That's why asking questions, having people who have worked with them, understanding their history,
01:08when it's a success, is it a success for a period of time, what is success,
01:12or when a club has been in a difficult position, actually what they have produced as a player,
01:16how they have acted, what their role has been in that, there's a lot of factors there.
01:21OK, John?
01:24You've obviously negotiated your way through the Champions League very smoothly,
01:29but has the fact that it's been extended in the new format,
01:32has that made January more difficult, because there's so many teams still in it?
01:37Normally some teams would be out of it and you could have a go at them,
01:42try and find their players, but everybody's still there,
01:45is everybody still clinging on to their star players more than usual?
01:49Well, yeah, for two reasons, I think one is because there's a lot of uncertainty still,
01:52who's going to qualify and what do you need in the last game,
01:55so it leaves it really open, I think probably for the public it's very interesting,
02:00and the other factor is, yes, that we're still at the end of the market, it's open,
02:04and a lot of competitions are running, and with a lot of uncertainty for certain clubs especially,
02:12so it makes it a little bit harder.
02:14Is it just a little bit harder or is it significantly harder?
02:18I don't know, for us it's probably a little bit, but for the rest of them it's the same.
02:22It's interesting what you said about asking players,
02:24could you give an example of a signing that was recommended by somebody who played against this person?
02:32Played against this person?
02:33Yeah, who's saying, I know this person that you're talking about,
02:36because I've been up against him, is that not what you're saying?
02:42Yeah, but I wouldn't like to give you an example,
02:44but there are quite a lot of cases in the squad,
02:47because they have played with each other or they have shared the national team,
02:50so I know somebody very close to them that has been their coach.
02:55In my opinion, it's a good conversation to have.
03:00Can I just ask you about Martinelli,
03:02you had a bit of a dip a while back, being outside, now back and playing really well,
03:06have you seen a change in him in stepping up when Moussaka's been injured?
03:11Normally all the front players have moments,
03:14and they have a high moment right now,
03:16they're in a really good moment confidence-wise, physically,
03:20and they are contributing to the attacking phase in a really good way,
03:25so it's good to have that.
03:27Did you feel that he needed a break from the side at all?
03:31No, it's probably very difficult to expect the same impact of players every three days,
03:36and especially with the amount of games that they have to play.
03:40OK, thanks, everyone.