Arteta on changes made for playing away, from home to keep players fresh

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on changes made for playing away, from home to keep players fresh  18/10/2024  Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK

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00:00Hello, Pep. Talking about your connection to England,

00:05how big a factor was that when you almost played for England on Friday night?

00:09I was thinking about that the other day, I was actually talking to Edu about that at lunch,

00:16and, yeah, I would have done it.

00:20So that was Capello?

00:21Yeah, and I would have done it, I felt very proud about it and I was very realistic looking at the place

00:29that Spain had at the time, how little chances I had, so you need to know your level,

00:35that's very important, look in the mirror, and at the end it didn't happen.

00:41It was good, at least to think about it.

00:43Were you sort of disappointed, upset, did you try and fight that ruling in any way?

00:48Sorry, sorry?

00:49When it couldn't happen, as far as I understand, FIFA basically said...

00:53No, but it's OK, you cannot do it, you cannot do it, that's it, it's fine.

00:57It wasn't sort of a big ambition, you weren't totally devastated?

01:00No, I wasn't prepared to fight against the wall in that moment.

01:06Jürgen?

01:07Hi, Miquel, four of the first six games of the season were away from home,

01:12the next ten games you have seven away games.

01:15How much mental work do you do with the team, with the club,

01:18to ensure that these days do not affect you, these periods of being away from home for so long?

01:26Yeah, we discuss and we put things in place, especially to make the players feel fresh,

01:32because there's a lot of travelling, there's a lot of requirements,

01:36a lot of routines and habits that become a bit different,

01:39but they've just been ten days away from home, most of them as well,

01:44in hotels and playing international football, so they're quite used to it.

01:48The thing is when you glide those two things together and then the days become

01:53a big proportion of sets and periods, then it becomes more challenging.

01:57So far, we are still very early in the season, the team is fresh.

02:01What do you do to keep them fresh?

02:04Well, try to make those periods as short as possible, as efficient as possible,

02:09obviously respecting the priority always, that is performance,

02:13that is preparation and that is rest and recovery.

02:16So we have to bring them back straight away after a match is perfect,

02:19the best thing is to stay in the hotels and try the following day to have better sleep,

02:23better food, better time to recover and prepare for the next match.

02:27They have to understand, and then we always do sets and activities within the squad

02:31to keep it fresh, to keep it a bit of a surprise and a bit of something a little bit out of the norms, basically.

02:39Any examples of what you do?

02:41Not at the moment.

02:42And just finally, you've done a lot of work to make away days feel like home,

02:47you know, putting slogans in the dressing room and trying to make it feel like home.

02:51There was a period when Arsenal really struggled away from home,

02:54but that isn't the case anymore, do you feel like you can now go on away days

02:57and you don't fear it or dread it as much as maybe you used to?

03:02Well, we try to prepare the best possible way and obviously the results that we had in the last two seasons,

03:08especially away from home, it's reassuring, it brings confidence,

03:12it brings trust to the team that we are capable of competing in any scenario.

03:17And that's, in my opinion, very, very important for ourselves and as well for the opponent

03:22because they can see that we are ready to face-to-face.

03:28Over the summer, there's quite a bit of excitement around Gabriel Jesus

03:32and the return of him obviously being fully fit and the rest of it, obviously,

03:38what do you make of the start to the season?

03:40Do you think there's a bit more to come from him?

03:42Because it seemed against Alonso that he wasn't fully back on his feet.

03:47Well, as I said, he came on in great shape, probably better than in the best condition he's been with us.

03:53He was flying in pre-season and unfortunately he got that injury straight away.

03:57That affected him for a few weeks, he put, again, a lot of work into it to come back

04:02and now he needs to get the rhythm, you know, he's playing a few games,

04:06he has started two games already against Atalanta and Bolton, he's come on against Southampton,

04:12so, yeah, he's there.

04:15Now he needs to end the right to play more, he's got our full support,

04:20he's a player who can play in various positions and he's a really important player for us.

04:24In terms of English managers in this country, looking at the pathway,

04:28is there anything more that this country needs to do in terms of producing English managers

04:32or do you think it's just a matter of time before more come through?

04:36I don't know, I think...

04:40I don't really know the system that well, to give a clear opinion,

04:44but I can tell you that the level of English managers is really high

04:48and the education of the players, especially when they come into the academy, is extremely high.

04:56So that means that there is quality there, they have enough opportunities as well,

05:01that's a question that probably is not for me to answer.

05:04Gary?

05:06Hi.

05:07With Ossie Thomas' past experience at club football,

05:11would that be perhaps slightly advantageous for you

05:15when it comes to the learning for some of the players who go on to the Intermediate Cup,

05:19that he knows what it's like to be in your shoes

05:22and then maybe you get a little bit more of a strike?

05:26Would that be perhaps equal to defensive football,

05:29because you're definitely at certain points?

05:32Well, I think all the managers understand the demands that we have at the club level,

05:36but the reality as well is that they have the responsibility to do the best for the country

05:40and to fulfil the duties that they have in their role,

05:43which is to win all of the games.

05:45And with those demands, you have to make the best decision that you think for the day.

05:50And it's very difficult, I understand that, for anybody to look,

05:54one month ahead, three months ahead, or looking at the previous history.

05:58Ed?

05:59Just on Jack Wilshere, you mentioned he's going to be a big miss.

06:03Have you made any attempts to try and keep him, to talk to him or offer him a...

06:08No, I don't know exactly where we are on that today.

06:11At the moment he's here with us, we are extremely happy to have him,

06:14and what happens in the future, we can discuss it after.

06:17And just generally on your players, the next international break,

06:20obviously you've got a lot of injury issues at the moment.

06:22There's a few players that have sat out this international break.

06:24Do you expect more to do the same for the next international break,

06:28which comes in a really, really busy time?

06:31My wish will be that everybody is fit and available,

06:34and they can go with the national teams, and we don't have to adjust any of that.

06:38So, let's see where we are in November.

06:40OK, last quick couple, thanks.

06:42Should we be surprised that there are more Spanish coaches in the Premier League

06:46than English coaches, when there are 2,000 Spanish coaches

06:50with a pro-licence badge and only 200 English?

06:54And if I wanted to go and get my UA for pro-licence tomorrow,

06:58good luck to your team!

07:00LAUGHTER

07:02It would cost me £13,000, where I think in Spain it's something like €2,000.

07:07Should we be surprised that there's that imbalance in Spanish-English coaches

07:11in the Premier League?

07:13Again, very difficult for me to give you a proper answer,

07:16because I don't know all the data and all the factors that are contributing

07:20for probably that imbalance in the numbers that you are describing.

07:25OK, finally, John.

07:27You mentioned that the England players were smiling quite a bit,

07:31does that include Raheem, who's out of it?

07:34I don't know if Raheem was in there.

07:36LAUGHTER

07:38What about Ben White, did he ever visit it?

07:41LAUGHTER

07:43So he doesn't ask me about Bukayo or Declan, you go to...

07:48We just assume that those two were happy then.

07:50LAUGHTER

07:52Well, I assume that Thomas Tuchel would be happy with those two.

07:55And with Russ, I think he would be very happy,

07:57and probably very happy to have Ben as well.

08:00Is it important to get Raheem back in the England side?

08:04Well, if that's his desire and what he wants, for sure,

08:07and he's in a really good moment right now.

08:11I was watching the last few training sessions and he was exceptional,

08:15and Raheem at his best can compete with any player in this league, for sure.

08:19OK, that's us. Thanks, guys.

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