by We return to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to face Everton in the Premier League and before the game Mikel Arteta held a pre-match press conference.
The boss discussed what he has in store for the Toffees, our recovery and team selection, and much more.
Here’s all he had to say:
on whether Thomas Partey can run:
He didn’t train much. He had a session and will train today. It is what it is. He’s been gone for a few weeks and needs to get back into a rhythm.
on what happened between William Saliba and Gabriel at the end of the Leicester win:
They are happily married – they love to play with each other! But they really are demanding of each other, which is good. Everything’s all right.
on whether he has any comments on the use of VAR at Leicester:
NO.
on whether the Everton match is a case of revenge:
It’s about doing things better than when we played them a few weeks ago and earning the right to win the game. I hope we will play much better tomorrow than today.
on whether he re-showed gamers a video of the game at Goodison:
It’s like with any opponent. We showed them what they do, what they’re all about, what we expect to try to beat them and nothing else.
on only winning once in six games against Sean Dyche:
We have to improve.
for a win giving us 60 points after 25 matches:
If we do it then yes, but it doesn’t mean anything because we still have 14 games to play. There is still a long way to go.
on whether figuring out what his best XI is getting harder:
We assess this situation every day. The fact is we have options now – we have players coming back from injury who are giving us alternatives which will be crucial. Players can’t keep the same level for 10 months – it’s just not possible. We need to change and we need to generate alternatives and sometimes be more unpredictable to opponents. We have such opportunities now.
on preparations for the clash with Everton:
Of course, with Sean, it’s pretty clear what he did and where their success came from. Tomorrow we will prepare the match in a suitable and similar way (for the away match). But it’s the same with every manager. We need to look at some matches, their performance and try to find the right tactics to beat them – and have the same mentality and expectations of what we require in the game.
on whether he misses the post-match tradition of drinking with the opposing coach:
I didn’t have that opportunity because after I joined, two or three months later we had Covid. Covid was probably the catalyst for the loss of that tradition, which is a shame because it was something special and it generates a certain bond with the managers. Maybe we can talk about this between us and get it back.
on how he got the team back in shape:
We talked about the fields and we were much more efficient in both fields. We eliminated individual mistakes that cost us some points in that period. Opponents play, and sometimes opponents deserve to get something out of the game. But I certainly think our level and the way we played have not gone down.
on how opponents view Arsenal:
I don’t know – we have no influence on how opponents feel and how they prepare for matches. What we have to do is go full steam ahead tomorrow in front of our crowd, win the game, play well and compete really well against this team.
on the importance of Emirates supporters:
This will be crucial. Tomorrow we expect the same support, because it will definitely bring us closer to victory.
on separating work and family life to ease the pressure:
You may have difficulties and challenges in your job, which we do especially when you lose, but also when you win, because the job is so demanding, but you can’t ruin your life over it. Your family, your friends, your loved ones and the people around you don’t deserve to have their lives negatively affected because you didn’t win a football game so that balance in my case was critical but you need some help. If someone is painting this picture in front of you because sometimes when you are in this position it is not easy to see.
on sympathizing with Chelsea boss Graham Potter:
Of course, we are colleagues and we all know the pressures, demands and uncertainties that this industry has. At the end of the day the ball has to go into that net and there are a lot of factors that can prevent that from happening that are beyond your control so I fully sympathize because you are suffering and you know what it’s like to go through the net. those moments.
on whether he ever faced the level of bullying that Potter did:
I prefer not to talk about it.
on whether he likes our players to challenge each other:
I don’t want robots, I want players with feeling, with passion, who demand (more) of themselves and that they have chemistry, and these two (Gabriel and Saliba) certainly have that chemistry on and off the pitch. I love that even when they win, they want everyone to do better.
on whether he spoke to Bukayo Saka about not receiving the decision:
We talk about every situation in the game and every moment that affects the team or individually and he has to deal with it.
on whether she’s making him go in from wide positions:
There are many solutions.
on Jakub Kiwior and Emile Smith Rowe playing last night for the U-21 team:
They were really good, obviously they needed a few minutes, and at the moment they didn’t have much exposure in different situations. It was great to see them on the pitch as we will need them in the next few games.
on the possible loss of players who don’t get many minutes in the summer:
I don’t know, I don’t think about it. I’m thinking about what’s best for the team and the players who get the game minutes that everyone deserves. We’ll try to do that in the next games.
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