We travel to Belgium to take on Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League but before our clash, Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the press.
We head to Bruges looking to maintain our perfect start to the league campaign and during his press conference, Mikel gave a team news update, assessed our opponents and much more.
Here’s every word he had to say:
on the reaction to defeat at the weekend:
It was strange because we haven’t lost that many. That is a moment as well to reflect and have some perspective about what we are doing. First of all, when you look at the reaction of the players when they are on the floor and in pain and what I felt in that moment, in the end, you don’t know how much they put in and how much they want it. It is difficult but as well it is a reflection of who we are and what we want to get and this has to help us to be a better team, to learn the lesson, to value what we are doing. First of all, all the difficulties that we have at the start of the season, where we are in both the Champions League and the Premier League, is where we want to be, and it is time that we have to learn every single day that the margins are very, very small.
on how good it is to have a game soon after:
Absolutely, especially when you play a competition like the Champions League and how much we want to continue to do the job that we have started in the first five games. Tomorrow we are going to have our opening match against an opponent that has been very, very good. They have a new manager and a new manager always brings new energy, new ideas. So we have prepared for that as well and tomorrow we have to show again that we are right at the top and be better than the opponents in this game.
on Gabriel Jesus replacing Max Dowman in the squad:
Yes, so first of all, unfortunately, Max [Dowman] picked up an injury last weekend and had to come off. So he did some scans and he is going to be out for weeks and then we have the situation of Gabi [Jesus], who we were expecting to be training with us by the end of December. Gabi has been pushing every single day and he kept telling everybody ‘I am going to be earlier, earlier, earlier’ and he has done it. So thanks to his work and all the work that the medical staff have done in all these months, and we had the possibility to make a swap there and we have done it. Yes, on one side, you see Max and the situation and on the other, you see the joy and how happy Gabi is to be back in the Champions League.
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on Declan Rice, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard:
No, so Declan was ill. He was quite sick after the game, and he hasn’t travelled with us. William is still not available, and Leo again picked another knock in an area where he had the issue, and I don’t expect that it’s going to be long, but unfortunately, he cannot be here.
on Club Brugge having a new manager:
Obviously, you look at all the games and analyse the manager and their identity, and obviously, the last performance they had was in the Champions League and the domestic competition. In the afternoon, we got the news that they have a new manager. So you have to adapt, it’s not the first time that we are facing this situation. So, ok, we have to think about what the possibilities are and look at his past and we have to focus much more on what we have to do. We have to be able to adapt in relation to what they do as we said in terms of their formation and the players that they’re going to pick. Then we have to focus on ourselves, what we have to do to be better than them.
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on how frustrating the injuries are:
Yeah, a big one. I mean, losing Max again, it’s obviously not ideal with Leo, who is just coming back, that we have to manage the minutes. Willy is still not there. We’ve not got Big Gabi, and we have other players that they could only play certain minutes. Like, for example, Riccy [Calafiori] the other day. But it’s a situation that we have managed since the beginning of the season. We are in December, so it’s been almost five months in a remarkable way, and we’re going to continue.
on the reasons behind it:
Not training, no, because we don’t have time to train. So, training is not there. But obviously, the fact that you are missing players, you are loading other players more. That’s a consequence of that and it’s a really dangerous. The fact that we have some others who have long-term contracts that haven’t been with us since the beginning of the season. But, yeah, it’s a test for the team, and so far, we have reacted very, very well to that.
on how worrying Max Dowman’s injury is:
It’s part of the journey. I mean, at some point when you play at this level, when you play in the position that he plays, the manner that he plays, it was going to happen and it happened. One, that, OK, it’s not ideal, it will be a weeks, it could have been worse. Learn from it and use this time now to continue improving in his education, in everything related to professional football, his habits, the way he needs to develop his physicality, and his understanding of the game. Sometimes when you’re away from the game, you say, ‘I cannot really live without it, and how important it is.’ So use those moments as well to get a reflection of where you are as well, and if you are better, of course, go forward.
on whether he will look to buy players in January:
At the moment, we’re just focussing on bringing the players back, and hopefully it will be a matter of weeks. We know how important those weeks are going to be. We’re going to come into the period where a lot of things start to get defined in that period and hopefully, we’re going to have them.
on Christian Norgaard’s involvement:
Yes, but I’m really happy with how he’s come to the club, especially with him and everything that we need to do in many areas. Not only in the pitch, but what he has to do, he excels in the manner that we expect him. I think it’s similar to Ben White or Myles [Lewis-Skelly]. They haven’t played as much as expected, but they’re very positive.
on if he would choose one player to never get injured:
I’ll leave that to you. I think you guys will enjoy that conversation.
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on whether this is a set of fixtures where he can rotate:
We try the players in the best conditions to perform at the highest level. For example, Viktor [Gyokeres] injury, we’re missing two games without Viktor. Every time, he’s come back, without a pre-season, and at some point, he gets injured. Mikel [Merino] had to do that role because Leo wasn’t fit, or Martinelli wasn’t fit. You could see Mikel on the weekend. He needed some help because he was out of gas. So that’s the consequence of not having another player. The good thing, again, is the way we have managed so far to do that. We have now, after this, a clean week, which we haven’t had for many, many weeks.
on having the second most injuries in the Premier League:
I think you have to separate the kinds of injuries that they have. Some of them have been long-term and acute injuries, especially with some of the key players who give you a lot of days out. It’s something that we are constantly looking at. As I said, we have played a lot of games with a lot of players missing. That gives a lot of stress and then more injuries. We are on it and I’m really happy with what we are doing in terms of the medical stuff and everything that we are trying to do together. Sometimes, as well, we need some people to go in our time.
on what he’s seen when analysing the injuries:
It’s not only one season. It’s about some of the players that they have played. It starts to get overloaded and you start to ask them again and again to play. Others, because, as well, the moment that you have an injury, you are more likely to have another injury. That’s been a consequence of some of the states as well. We’re on it.
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on whether players have been overtrained:
No, because we don’t train. Today, we’ve done 20 minutes. So, it’s probably not because we’re over-trained players.
on whether it’s an opportunity for Viktor Gyokeres:
Yeah, we have to continue to manage his minutes. He played 45 minutes the other day. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.
on Declan Rice’s recovery:
I think that he needed more of a bed than sunshine because he wasn’t feeling good at all. So, yeah, he will have a couple of days to rest and to get his body right. But today, already, he was very keen to be able to play. But unfortunately, he’s not.
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