Arteta on Guardiola, challenges of facing City, transfer business and fitness issues (Full Presser)

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Manchester City and his relationship with Pep Guardiola, possible transfer business and fitness issues London Colney, London, UK

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon everyone, hope everyone's well. If the camera's okay at the back we'll kick

00:15off with a live section as always then we're going to a 10.30 for Saturday. If

00:18we're already in the room we'll kick off with Gail from Sky.

00:25Can you check in on some fitness issues? I guess the biggest is that Mariano has missed

00:33the game in a week. Is everyone else okay? Ben White, Edgerton, Klosser?

00:42With David it's still uncertain. We have another session tomorrow, another 48 hours, so we

00:49have to wait and see. Ben is definitely out, he hasn't trained with us yet so he's not

00:53going to be available. No other news from the game against Girona.

00:58In terms of Reyes' injury, can you just explain this to everybody?

01:03It's a muscular issue, so we have to wait and see.

01:06I'm sure you're very well aware. Can you safely tell the deadline? How optimistic, confident

01:16are you that there will be some attacking move from Spence in the world?

01:22I'm very confident with the work that the club is doing and exploring every single opportunity

01:27that we believe it can have an impact on the team. If that's certainly the case and we

01:33can agree on something, we will. If not, we won't.

01:36Is it a play you might pick?

01:39We are trying everything that we can but I don't want to give any reassurance or not.

01:44I don't know. It doesn't depend only on us. Our intention is clear but the possibilities

01:49are affected by three parties.

01:51The drama of the City game a few months ago, it was an amazing game and the fallout took

02:02up almost as much as the game itself afterwards. I wonder if you have the sense that all the

02:11stuff that happened towards the end, whether your players have got a bit of a point to

02:17prove, there's a bit of a niggle, there's a bit of unfinished business there as you

02:21head into Sunday, whether or not you can really use that?

02:25The business is to try to be better than them, to beat them. That's it. The only thing I

02:30review is what happened on that match, how competitive he gets is normal when two big

02:35teams want to win the game and nothing else from that side.

02:38How do you reflect on that game now?

02:41Very disappointed with everything that we did for 98 or 99 minutes but it's what it is.

02:50Part of that fallout, there was a lot of tension between yourself and some of the things that

02:58was said about City. I know you and Pep afterwards exchanged certain words and conversations

03:08in the press conference.

03:09No, only positive ones.

03:12Did you not make a comment that you said you understand or you know what they did?

03:23Of course I know because I was there for four years so I know how competitive they are and

03:28how willing they are and how they can sustain that competitiveness regardless if they win

03:31and win and win again. That's what I meant.

03:35He's obviously somebody that's played a key role in where you are today.

03:40There was some suggestion that your relationship had been affected with some of those comments afterwards.

03:46How would you describe that?

03:47No, even though we wouldn't be talking on the phone and talking to each other and messaging

03:52each other and deserving and willing to have the best, it wouldn't happen.

03:57How would you sum up the Arsenal-Man City rivalry that has developed in recent years?

04:06Normal. Two teams trying to win.

04:09No winner?

04:10No.

04:12How decisive do you think this result could be in terms of the title race?

04:15It would be a big boost for us. Winning big matches is always something special. Every

04:21time we play a big match against our big rivals it brings something extra. It's the confidence,

04:27it's the emotion, it's the fact that you are there and you continue to win. That's what we want to achieve.

04:34Down to 10 men in the reverse fixture. Hopefully with 11 men on the pitch on Sunday,

04:38how confident are you that this Arsenal team can beat Manchester City?

04:42With 11 and 60,000 in every ball right behind us pushing and bringing the energy. That's what we want.

04:52You have been asked about transfers, but this week you made a bid for

05:00Ollie Watkins which was turned down. Is that the sort of player you are still

05:06looking for between now and Monday?

05:10You know, I'm not going to talk about any individuals. As I said, we are actively

05:13looking proactively to find a solution in that position and we will see what the market brings.

05:20Off the back of the game at Etihad and events that occurred last weekend,

05:27how important is the man in the middle, the referee, on Sunday?

05:31Listen, he needs to do his job the best that he possibly can like we have to do, each of us.

05:36There's nothing new, nothing special. We are just going to focus on what we have to do from our

05:41side to be better than City and try to beat them.

05:44Is Sunday a must win?

05:47We really want to win.

05:49But is it a must win? You have to, don't you?

05:51I mean, every game we have to. We have to on paper, you have to. It's that will.

05:58The beginning of the season, if we had all been sat here, we would have thought

06:01if Arsenal finish above Manchester City, after the last two years, they will be champions.

06:07Are you surprised this season how, I'll use the word inconsistent,

06:12Manchester City have been?

06:14I don't know, but that's the beauty of football. It's not that simple

06:18and it's much more complicated than what you think in June or July or August.

06:27I know you're not going to speak specifically about individual names,

06:30but Oliver Watkins is an experienced striker, so the forwards you're potentially looking at,

06:36are you open to experienced players coming in or a young player who can grow and develop?

06:42Yeah, we don't really look at the market in those terms. We look at what we have in the squad and

06:50what we are lacking and what can really impact and bring something that potentially

06:54can make us much better, regardless of the age or sometimes the background that they have.

07:01It's a real belief that that player can be really good for us over time.

07:05Is there a world where you don't bring in a striker? Is it a must that you have to bring

07:09one in before Monday?

07:12It doesn't depend on us. We have the intention, the purpose and the ambition to try to help the

07:17team and support the squad to be better and to finish the season really, really strong and

07:23we are actively trying to do that.

07:28Against Wolves was the first time that we've seen Miles Lisketti and Ethan Leroy start

07:31in the Premier League together. This game is obviously on a much greater magnitude and there's

07:36a chance we could see that again. What does that say about the youth and the quality of such players?

07:43First of all, they earned the right for us to trust them. That's certainly the case with those

07:47two because, again, in pre-season probably we would have projected how many minutes those

07:53two were going to play in the league or in the Champions League. Probably we wouldn't be talking

07:58about the numbers that they have already achieved. So, that's again credit to them,

08:03everybody that is contributing to that. If they continue to perform, they will continue to play.

08:10The timing of this game, being the day before deadline day, is there any way

08:15that the result of this game could affect how the transfer window ends for Arsenal?

08:21No, the result, no. I mean, hopefully not but obviously if something happens that

08:25obviously there's no plan and we put the squad in a much dangerous position, it might do.

08:32That, no, because that would mean that we haven't planned anything and we're just

08:36reacting to something last second, which is not good.

08:44Does Sissi still think his side are in this Championship race?

08:51I think it's very obvious that it's yes. We don't have to discuss that, I think.

08:56Just in terms of the last match against Sissi, there was obviously some

08:59comments made by Oling Harden to see you after the game. Just your opinions on that?

09:05I don't take anything personally what happens on the pitch for me and since I've been a player,

09:10it stays there and it's full of emotions and things there and I just leave it aside and move on.

09:21Can I have a crucial one on the in-season with this off-ball movement and contribution

09:25to both goals? How important is it to the squad going forward?

09:30Yes, very much. Obviously he's been our main striker now for a while and he's producing

09:35some big numbers and his work ethic is unbelievable. Not only that, what we're

09:40demanding to do in our model, his availability has been exceptional. He's always there and

09:45we're very happy to have him.

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