Mikel Arteta press conference: Burnley vs Arsenal

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Mikel Arteta press conference: Burnley vs Arsenal

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Burnley at Turf Moor (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

Arteta confirmed Saturday’s game will likely come “too early” for Gabriel Martinelli while he will “have to wait and see” whether William Saliba will be fit.
On the time frame of return for Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke: “I would say weeks, and some of them pretty soon, hopefully, if they keep evolving the way they are doing. Difficult to put a game – we have an international break, and after that, I think we’ll have some back. I don’t know if it’s going to be all of them, some of them, but we’ll be quite close by then.”
He added he is confident Odegaard, Havertz and Madueke will be available to face Tottenham after the international break.
On the quality of the league, with all three promoted teams – including Burnley – currently outside the relegation zone: “More than ever the level is increasing year after year. Better structure, better organisation, decision-making from clubs. Better managers, better players and when I look against big teams where they have won points or lost points it’s from very small margins.”
Discussing fixture congestion and comments previously made by Manchester City’s Rodri around the potential of a player strike, Arteta said: “Every decision that we make in terms of a fixture has to be guided on two main things; players’ welfare, and then supporters, and that is it, and the rest has to come very, very far away from that. And we should never forget that principle. If we have that big piece of paper with those two principles there in front before we make any decision, all of us in our industry, we won’t get there. If we don’t and we just ignore that, then anything is possible. If we look after the players’ welfare and our supporters, we are never going to get to that point (strikes). We have to close the window there. We cannot open that window. It has to be closed. It’s our most precious value.”
On being favourites to win the league: “It’s a big opportunity that we have ahead of us but we have to continue with this level of consistency. Tomorrow will be an extremely tough match for us and we will have to hit those performance levels again to win the game.”
Arteta urged his side to “maintain the level of urgency”, adding: “The concentration, the focus and the ambition we are showing in every game. Every game brings different challenges. Sometimes we have to be very patient, some of the times we have to have a different approach.”
Offering more on the fine margins of trying to win a title, Arteta said: “A lot of factors have to go your way. You can do a lot of great things and still a lot of things have to go your way. Personal lives have to be perfect. There is so many things and there is still so long. We have seen already the turnaround in the league and the Champions League is the same. We are in a very specific context at the moment, so let’s focus day by day.”