Mikel Arteta was back front of the media for his pre-Southampton press conference on Friday.
Speaking at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, the manager looked ahead to our Emirates FA Cup quarter-final at St. Mary’s Stadium.
Here’s everything he had to say on the following subjects…
on winning Manager of the Month:
Well that means that we won a lot of games in a really important and crucial part of the season, so a good team effort.
on if it adds any extra inspiration:
I think that’s a reflection of what the team is doing, on the level of performances and the amount of games that we are winning, as I said, I think it’s just a reflection of that.
on players withdrawing from international duty:
Yeah, we have very good relationships and communications with most of the national teams, certainly with Thomas (Tuchel), we’ve been extremely supportive all the time, and when you have to communicate the state and the moment of every player, we are always very honest, and in the end it’s a medical decision that has to be made and that was clear what the conclusion was.
on the benefits of resting key players for countries as well as clubs:
I think when a player is fit and available to play, they have to play. I think it makes us so proud that we have that many players in the national team, and the players are desperate to play in the national team. We know how important every time that they are together and the time that they spend in preparation means to them, so we are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.
on if there are any players who are not available after international duty:
You will see, I will continue the speculation so you can do it and you can judge it afterwards, if what I say was right or you have to maybe change and delete and write something else.
on if he would rest players ahead of a big Champions League night:
We are in a position now that we are going to make the strongest line-ups and decisions that we possibly can to win every competition. We are two or three games away in the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.
on if Noni’s injury is as bad as it looked:
No, it’s not. It looked really bad, and Noni was really worried especially after what happened to him in his other knee a few weeks ago and he was out for six weeks. But no, he’s nowhere near that injury, so that was really good news.
on if he’s only out for days:
I think so.
on Eberechi:
Ebz is out; with Ebz I cannot put a finger on it because I don’t know, because he’s a special character.
on if Martin and Jurrien are available again:
Those are in contention to possibly be in the squad.
on if the goalkeeper tomorrow will be Spanish and have a name that ends in A:
I think tomorrow the goalkeeper is going to be European, he’s under 32, right-footed and speaks at least two languages.
on the importance of tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final:
Huge competition, so related to the history of our football club. We’re going to play a team that is in a really good moment, they have won so many games recently, they’re in a really good moment. You know the expectations, the crowd, the environment that they are going to create, so we are ready for that, and we want to be at Wembley again, so tomorrow we have the opportunity to do that again.
on having a lot to contend with against an in-form Southampton, who won the FA Cup 50 years ago:
That’s the magic of the FA Cup, that every scenario, every context, every game, has a history. This one is a special one and we are ready to face that tomorrow.
on playing in our red kit away from home, with Southampton set to be in yellow:
Yes, which is special again, so good.
on if we look back at our previous trips to St. Mary’s Stadium:
Well yes, there are certain things that are going to be similar but obviously with a new manager, with the players and the amount of changes that they have in the squad it is very different. And at the end you have to talk about the moment, what they are doing in this moment and what we are doing and we as well are obviously a very different team.
on what we learned from our run of 16 wins out of 18 games at the end of the 2023/24 season:
Yes, we look back at those things and the things that we did, the things that we can work on. But again, it’s a different group, we are in a different position as well in certain competitions compared to that year because there we were just talking about a certain competition. But yes, we will try to do what we believe is the right thing, what the team needs to give us the best chance to win every game.
on if Piero’s injury was a serious one:
Yes, it was.
on if he knows how long he will be out for:
No.
on the reaction to Ben White’s involvement with England and boos from the crowd:
The volume was down so I could not hear that, I could just see a big smile on his face and the way he came back from the national team. And the good thing that he was telling about everybody, about the group, about the meetings that they had, about Thomas and everybody. So that’s great to hear because when you send a player to the national team, you really want to bring back a better player, a player that is happy, a player that is available and fit and that was certainly Ben’s case.
on Calafiori not qualifying for the World Cup with Italy:
Try to lift him. I think for Ricky, I think for Italy, I think for football, a country like them with such a passion, such a history not to be in a World Cup, it’s tough. I know that it’s good for football but that shows you as well, the difficulty of going through all those phases to earn the right to be in the competition.
on Gyokeres taking Sweden to the World Cup and wanting to use his momentum:
Yes, and especially the importance of those goals. I can imagine how much it means for him to get his country over the line and the position they were in to be able not to play the World Cup. He was full of energy and confidence and that’s great.
on if he’s noticed a difference in the excitement of players who will be going to the World Cup:
Very difficult to say. The first day when they are coming back they are still carrying that energy. They all come back really happy to this place and that’s something really positive to witness and that’s the important thing. Now we have to focus on the club and after we play the last game they can have plenty of time to prepare for the World Cup.
on wanting to show that our Carabao Cup final defeat hasn’t had a knock-on effect:
When you didn’t manage to win that final I think what you have to take on board is how this is going to make us stronger for the final push of the season. That has been the mindset, that has been all the work that we have done in the last few days to use that as fuel, as tools to be able to get the final push that we want and achieve what we want.
on if the group are eager to use that fuel as motivation:
Yes, immediately I could sense that and the way we look at ourselves and the things that we could have done better and how the game can shift at that level from the first and second half. That’s something that we need to manage better and again this is going to make us better I’m sure and we have to use it for the most important and beautiful part of the season.
on if he’s worried about Bukayo’s statistics this season:
I’m certain of that, I spoke to him and again everybody is going to remember what we’ve done in the last part of the season and in this final push of eight weeks what we’re going to deliver individually and that’s where now we can impact what we’ve done in October and November. It’s irrelevant, it’s done, it’s about now and how we prepare ourselves to give the best chance to win what we want.
on how useful the international break has been, and how much we’ve rewatched the Carabao Cup final:
Ideally you play a game the next day and when you have an international break sometimes it’s not exactly what you want but use it in the right way. We’ve had a lot of work done, analysed what we’ve been doing not only in that one but in the last 120 days. The amount of games that we play, our winning ratio, the things that we have accomplished, give some perspective and at the same time be very critical of what we can do better to help the players more and to be able to win any game in any context.
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