Arteta on Rice's impact since joining Arsenal and the North London Derby with Spurs (full presser part 3)

NicheSportMedia

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the impact of Declan Rice ahead of the North London Derby against Tottenham

Transcript

00:00 quickly he's settled to become an important player?

00:02 I presume this is a game made for him, isn't it?

00:04 This is a big London rivalry.

00:07 Yeah, I think he's heard a lot about it already.

00:09 And, yeah, in a really natural way,

00:13 he's doing what he's done in the last few seasons

00:16 and for us in an extraordinary way.

00:18 I think he's really enjoying our way of playing, first of all.

00:23 And then I think he's competing and performing at a really high level

00:28 right from the beginning, which is always a question mark when you move teams.

00:32 He's new to the club, but as a Londoner and West Ham,

00:34 he knows all about the rivalry at the top.

00:36 Will that be important for you on the pitch on Sunday?

00:39 Yeah, he knows, obviously, and he's played many derbies as well,

00:42 and he knows what to expect and I'm sure he will set the tone.

00:46 Has he exceeded your expectations so far?

00:49 In terms of how quickly he has adapted, probably yes.

00:54 Yeah, you're all hoped, and especially when you pay big money,

00:58 that it's going to happen and it happens soon,

01:00 because he's going to help everybody, I'm really pleased with it.

01:04 Just finally, you talked about people around the club and in the street

01:07 talking about this match.

01:09 We know your boys are big Arsenal fans now.

01:11 Are they going to be here on Sunday? Are they getting excited?

01:13 They say, "Come on, Dad, you've got to win."

01:14 Everybody is, everybody around us knows the occasion

01:19 and the game that we are playing on Sunday, and they are all excited.

01:22 Harry?

01:23 - Hi, Mika. - Hi.

01:24 In the Champions League, David Reah hasn't had to make that many saves

01:30 in his three games, but he made one after about one minute midweek.

01:36 Is that a sign still about the whole team being alive and alert

01:42 in the early minutes of a game?

01:44 Because I know there have been three occasions in the league,

01:47 and I was wondering, I know you analyse a game, you must have noticed it.

01:51 You have done very well, and I noticed that and I didn't like it.

01:55 We have to react and we have to be sharper,

01:59 and I'm more on it right from the beginning,

02:02 especially at home with what happened a few times.

02:05 How do you safeguard against it?

02:07 Because you can talk about it, but it needs to happen on the pitch.

02:11 Is it a team thing?

02:12 I don't have a clue, that's the reality.

02:14 Because we used to have a lot of people play a send-off,

02:19 we used to talk about it and play with it, and I don't know, we made it worse.

02:22 We said, "We need more clean sheets at home,"

02:25 and then we decided not to do it and we got a clean sheet at home,

02:29 which hasn't been that many in the last 30 games.

02:32 So, I don't have that answer yet, if I'm honest.

02:36 OK, good.

02:37 You've got a tremendous home record against Tottenham,

02:42 I'm thinking is that something you have to guard against complacency?

02:45 I think they've won once in 17 league games maybe now.

02:49 It won't be any of that.

02:51 We know the level of the opponent, we know the game we have to play,

02:55 and we have huge respect for them, but at the same time,

02:58 obviously we're going to go for it and win the game.

03:01 And finally, we've got Sam.

03:02 Hi, two questions in one, if you don't mind.

03:05 Who do you think will have more of the ball, and does it matter?

03:09 I don't know!

03:11 I don't know, and what matters at the end

03:15 is to be better than them in the areas that are very relevant to win the game.

03:19 That's not something that is a big concern.

03:24 People describe you both, you and Ang, as possession-based,

03:28 you want to keep the ball and dominate it.

03:30 Do you mind, would you be happy to not do that,

03:33 if it meant winning one down on the break, for example?

03:35 Well, I don't know, I think every manager has his own belief,

03:39 I don't feel comfortable dominating the game without the ball,

03:45 it's something I don't know how to do.

03:47 So, we want to both have the ball, that's for sure,

03:51 in the right areas, with the right players on the ball,

03:53 and creating what we want to create.

03:56 Let's see.

03:57 A different challenge, because in previous seasons,

04:00 Spurs haven't wanted to play in the same way as Arsenal have.

04:03 Yes, and they've been really comfortable with that as well,

04:06 just allowing you to progress and having space to attack you in the right moments.

04:10 It happens in the league, we have many different opponents,

04:13 some of them have an approach that they are super aggressive,

04:16 they go man-to-man over the field.

04:18 We are used to it in the Premier League already,

04:20 and in Europe against PSV it was very different,

04:22 the first few minutes when they changed, they were a goal or two down,

04:25 and they changed their approach and opened spaces as well.

04:28 So, let's see.

Category

Transcript

Recommended