Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta speaks on transfers, facing Forest and raised expectations this season ahead of their Premier League opener
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00:00 When we're ready, welcome back everyone to the start of the new season, the Premier League season. We'll kick off with James from Sky.
00:06 Hi, Mikel. Just how excited are you about the new season, considering what you did in the last campaign and of course the signings you made in the summer?
00:14 Super excited. I think it's a new challenge, a new opportunity.
00:19 Very fresh to start again and very excited as well to play at home the first game, which has been a while.
00:26 Have the expectations changed at the club, considering what you've been able to do on and off the pitch in the last 12 months?
00:32 Probably, yes. But the reality of it is in football you have to be at your best on the day and it's only about today and tomorrow and play the way we want to play and increase the probability of winning that game and the right to do that.
00:46 In terms of signings, has David Reyer been signed in time to be part of tomorrow's matchday squad?
00:51 No, we have no news on any incomings.
00:54 Is his signing, if and when it is confirmed, a sign that you really want the highest possible competition for places in every single area of the pitch?
01:03 Well, that's what we've been trying to do. Obviously increase the depth of the squad by the quality as well and the ability to be more flexible and the ability to have more quality and more interaction with players that can make us better.
01:18 And that's the whole point of it.
01:20 Could that added competition for places create a challenge for you, keeping everybody happy this season?
01:26 Well, I think you have to treat everybody with the sense that it's important and you have to make them important in order to at the end they have to play football matches.
01:34 I mean, football is a collective sport and only 11 players play and there's another 11 players most of the time.
01:40 They are not happy with the situation, it's how they deal with that and how they accept their role because it's going to change.
01:46 Every three days we're going to have a game and that's going to change.
01:50 And as well it tells you a lot about the human being and the profession, not only when you are playing but when you're not, what actually is your contribution to that team.
01:58 Whether it is not to play at all or to play when it's needed to help the team to win the games.
02:02 And then I want players that really have the feeling that they are happy when the team wins, regardless of what, because this is a team sport and that's what we have to build.
02:12 Do you think you'll try to bring in any more players before the end of the window?
02:16 At the moment we are not planning to do anything but the window is obviously very unpredictable.
02:21 Things can happen, things that probably we don't wish. So at the moment we are happy with where we've gone.
02:27 And from a fitness perspective, are you able to welcome back Georgino and Zinchenko for tomorrow's game?
02:32 Yeah, I think everybody is going to be available. Obviously we have Mo still out and we have Gabriel Jesus still with an injury but the rest should be fine.
02:40 And finally for me, on Gabriel Jesus, any closer to knowing when he will be back and ready to compete for you?
02:46 It's a bit early still. It's only less than two weeks since his operation. He's doing really well to be fair and next week hopefully he can start to do some activity.
02:56 But it's something that we want to be cautious and make sure that he comes back in the right way.
03:01 It's been five years since Arsenal started a campaign with a home game which is kind of incredible. How much of a boost does that give the players playing that first game in the hat? Or does it add pressure?
03:15 We love playing at the Emirates. We love playing in front of our people. We have created an incredible atmosphere and the boys and everybody I think can't wait to be there tomorrow ready for the kick-off
03:27 and put on the performance that they deserve and we want to do.
03:32 Forrest of course beat you on the penultimate week of last season. How tough of a game are you expecting tomorrow?
03:38 They did it in a really clever way and they deserved it today to get the points. Tomorrow we're going to have to play better and deserve more.
03:46 It's a team that is extremely well organised and what they've done last season, especially the way they started and how they adapted to the league and other qualities is remarkable. So they've done really well.
03:59 Going back to the title, obviously it's the first game of the season but obviously people are expecting you to be involved in that title race again this season.
04:07 It's been 20 years since Arsenal last won the Premier League title. What is the confidence in the camp after what you did last season and also winning the Community Shield that you can go again in Champions?
04:18 If we start on the first fixture to the Championship, we're going to burn our energy. We have to focus on doing what we have to do to earn the right to win matches and that's it and go game by game.
04:30 What factors are you taking into account as to who you play tomorrow and in the next couple of games?
04:49 A lot. First of all how they train. I think the state that they are in, the feeling that I have with them. How they react as well to certain decisions as well. I think it's really important.
05:04 Then building relationships regarding the opponent's qualities and their set-up that can empower our qualities to help us to win the game.
05:13 You spoke a lot last season about bringing energy to this Arsenal side. What have you noticed in and around the training ground this week after winning the Community Shield last weekend against Manchester City?
05:27 That winning is the best energy booster that exists. It was great. Everybody was so happy. I think it raises the confidence and the trust level of everybody that we can do. But understanding as well that there are a lot of things that we must do better, that we can still play much, much better.
05:44 The first game is going to be a completely different story, very different context and we're going to have to be really ready for that.
05:51 Last week was the first time you experienced the new rules and Rafael Varela and Roger have been very outspoken this week about the amount of games that players are having to play now and games being longer. What do you make of that, especially as you've got quite a young side and lots of players?
06:08 I understand that we needed to tweak certain rules and I think what the referees have done and the association have done to try and improve the quality of the games that we've seen is a really positive thing. I think there are things that we have to get used to. I mentioned it after the game and we need to work on them and adapt.
06:28 It's been 20 years this season since the Arsenal and Vince Fulls. You've got Edu here, David Seaman is now here involved in the youth team. How important is it to have those people who have had that winning experience back and around the Arsenal team?
06:44 With the incredible history that we have and that group of players have and the experiences that they have together, to put them at the service of the club, on those plays and the staff to help us to become better is something that we must do. I think we are trying to bring that back in the best possible way and I think we've made some important steps in that sense.
07:05 Can that be repeated or what can you try and learn from the Invincibles and try and take into this Arsenal side?
07:11 I think they were the Invincibles and they will be the only ones. The way they did it was in their own way and we have to write our own histories. It will be different but hopefully very beautiful as well.
07:23 Are you sure at the start of last season most people outside the club would have been surprised? They wouldn't have been sitting after us, they wouldn't have been at the title. Is there a different pressure going into the new season?
07:39 I think it's excitement. This is what we want to be and building a team that has the belief and the quality to be fighting for those places. The competition this year is going to be even harder than last year. You see a lot of teams, the movements that they make and you have to expect something different from them. We're going to have to be much better still than last year and this is the way we are preparing to try to see for that.
08:02 A lot of teams, some of them your rivals, Premier League starts tonight and they still don't know if they're going to have their best players available or if they're going to get players through the door. You finished undefeated on the 15th of July. So getting your business done so early, does that give you an advantage, especially at the start of the season?
08:20 I don't know. We've done it and we had the intention to do it. Sometimes it's possible, sometimes it's not. We try our best and we just have to focus on what we can do, the reasons why we've done it and try to maximise the resources that we have.
08:34 Does it make it easier? They've obviously played a few games with you, they've learnt how you want to play.
08:39 I think it definitely helps, especially the players and the environment and getting set. Obviously for the coaches it's important, I think for media, for the commercial, for the clubs as well, especially when you go on tour to be set and have all the players that you're going to have during the season. I think it was something very positive for us.
08:56 At the end of last season you said there were seven players you maybe wanted to get more out of because maybe we didn't see the best of them. I think this pre-season you've been a bit more experimental with your line-ups than say last year. Is that a reason behind that to get them in the rhythm?
09:15 Yes, because they deserve opportunities. We have to put them in the right positions and we have to put them next to the right players as well so we can make fair judgements of those performances. We're going to try to do that much more this season.
09:29 With a lot of players who can maybe fill in similar positions but give different qualities, how big is that for you in terms of changing the momentum of games during the season?
09:43 Having that ability is something as a coach that you really want and you saw that in the game. At the moment we changed the game, we changed our formation and we brought some quality players on the pitch with a different freshness and a lot of creativity.
09:58 Other things started to happen in the game and at the end Leo scored the goal, Fabio scored the winner and those finishers are going to be really, really important.
10:07 You've turned down a bid for Flo Balligan from Monaco, is that because you want to keep him?
10:13 I cannot talk about internal things, yes.
10:17 There is a massive number of players in the squad at the minute. Just in terms of a sheer numbers point of view, in terms of planning training sessions and lots of players who potentially have their futures elsewhere, is that difficult for you now at this stage of the season when you're trying to focus on the start of the Premier League but you also have to see day-to-day training?
10:33 They are our players and we have to look at them in the best possible way and they have to be treated in the best possible way. It's true that sometimes in certain exercises there are too many players but we have to adapt. It always happens in this window and it's part of the plan to be flexible and be understanding of the situation.