Mikel Arteta on the challenges of injuries and Arsenal's will to win as they prepare to face Leicester
14/02/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
Embargoed Section
14/02/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
Embargoed Section
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Jürgen, last week you said ideally you wanted a squad of 20 outfield players and three goalkeepers,
00:07and then last week you said maybe a team with a squad of 45.
00:12Has your thinking changed over the season in terms of what resources you actually now need?
00:18Ideally always 23-24 outfield players and four goalkeepers, that's my idea always.
00:24But last week you said about 45.
00:27Sorry?
00:28Last week you said some teams have got a squad of 45...
00:31Yeah, but that's not my idea.
00:33Well, it is ideal, a 45 squad, to have a pool of players that you can use in various ways.
00:37Some of them to play here, some of them to be on loan, some of them to development,
00:41some of them to give you profit, you know.
00:44But the actual squad to compete in four competitions, 24 and four.
00:50So this ties into you...
00:51And all available, without injuries, without people coming from surgeries,
00:55you can have them there.
00:57The way to get that would probably be to have some sort of multi-modal use applied recently,
01:01maybe you have a view on that, to have a wider network of players you can tap into.
01:06Well, that's a possibility as well, obviously having a lot of talent in the academy
01:12and in the loan system that we can provide that.
01:16Just to check, I know Simon asked you about Max,
01:19have you actually asked the Premier League, or have they given you guidance?
01:24No.
01:27That I haven't asked the Premier League, no.
01:30OK, good.
01:32Mika, Man City have had major injuries, Tottenham have had injuries, you've had injuries,
01:37are Premier League players on the risk of breaking down because of the intensity,
01:41because of the amount of competition?
01:43The risk is always there because we play a sport that is very demanding,
01:47there's a lot of contact, and on top of that we are demanding them more and more and more.
01:51And some teams are going to have a competition as well with the Club World Cup in the summer.
01:56So we know the direction that it's going,
01:59so certainly sustainable in the manner that it is today,
02:05you want to maintain the quality, I think it's going to be very difficult.
02:09Ricardo Calafori played as a striker when he was growing up.
02:12And Saliba.
02:14You didn't know that, eh?
02:16I play as a striker.
02:23All the options are welcome.
02:27You never know what's going to happen, so we're going to have to be creative.
02:41Do I look like an animal?
02:47I'll do it as an animal.
02:49I think it's part of the sport, it's part of the challenge,
02:53and it's part of the beauty of when somebody is having a difficulty
03:01or somebody is facing something that is not ideal,
03:05it's how we react to that.
03:07And that's testing the spirit and the quality of a group of players,
03:11or a team in this case.
03:13We need to love that, you know?
03:15We need to be obviously very, very analytic on the things
03:19that we can do better as well, to try to avoid that.
03:22But after we have to react in a manner to show that will as well,
03:26that regardless of what happens, our will to win and our ambition
03:29is not going to change.
03:30And you've seen the players react the same way as yourself,
03:32which is, oh no, why me, and let's do this in that order.
03:37And the order is exactly that, because oh no is again,
03:40this is a reaction and you feel for the person and the player,
03:43then the impact that they are having in the team as well.
03:46But then you have to say, OK, what else can I do to make this work again?
03:51Yes, sir?
03:52Hi, Mourinho.
03:53What's not getting a strike at the most recent win
03:55that was always going to be a roll of the dice?
03:57At the time, did you, from your perspective,
04:00could you understand the gambling?
04:02What's not getting a strike, or is that coming to play now
04:05since others are coming too?
04:08I understand that, but we had two strikers with Leo Three,
04:11with Gabi and Kai.
04:13So now we have to look at other teams that have four or five strikers.
04:17I don't know how many there are in Europe.
04:19So we had the strikers.
04:23And how hard is it now, obviously, I know you've got to adapt and get on with it.
04:28Obviously, Kai was a big part of your puzzle as part of the team.
04:32What's it like now to try and adapt going forward?
04:35You've got a good three or four months left in the season, now and after.
04:39It goes day by day.
04:41Because I don't know what the next challenge is going to be
04:43or the next opportunity is going to be.
04:45We have won a lot of games as well with playing Leo as a nine,
04:49and when you look at all the players that they play together.
04:51So, again, we'll find the right solutions.
04:54And what's the situation with Charles Seguros Jr.?
04:57He played against Bramford last season, I think, in the Carabao Cup.
05:00He had loads of goals, obviously, Swansea and Sharif Vitar.
05:02What's the situation with him?
05:05Well, he's certainly training with us,
05:07so any player now that is obviously in this position,
05:10the same with Kavia and Ney, as well, that have been very much involved with us,
05:14they will have opportunities.
05:16OK, finally, we'll go to Sam.
05:18Did you say that Williams offered to play Alba?
05:21Yeah, Williams is so funny, in a strange way.
05:24It's one of his reactions, and it's true as well that he plays.
05:27He used to score a lot of goals, but as he said,
05:31probably a lot of players played when they were younger in those positions.
05:35Would he be a good target?
05:37Yeah, can you imagine?
05:40When you first came to Arsenal, you won the FA Cup playing a different style of football.
05:45You didn't have the same players you didn't have.
05:47You've shown in the past you can play different ways and adapt,
05:51and you're not just stuck to 4-3-3, that's it.
05:54Given the resources at your disposal,
05:57do you envisage a big change of approach and philosophy and style now?
06:02Yeah, for me it's much more related to the intentions and behaviours of the team
06:06than formations, in my opinion.
06:08For me a formation doesn't mean anything if you don't tell me what intents that team had.
06:12For example, we were talking before about the high-pressure situation.
06:16You can play five-for-one and be the most aggressive team in Europe
06:19if you want to, and play man-to-man every ball.
06:21Or you can just sit back in 20 metres, very compact,
06:25don't jump to anything and counter-attack.
06:27So it's the behaviours and intentions of this team that are not going to change.
06:31Some others, we're going to adapt to the qualities of our players.
06:35OK, guys, that's us. Thanks very much.