Arteta previews Chelsea clash and Miles Lewis-Skelly's England call up (Full Presser)

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta previews Chelsea clash and Miles Lewis-Skelly's England call up  14/03/2025  Sobha Realty Training Center, London, UK

Transcript

00:00Jürgen, just two questions for you today,

00:03do you regret not signing a striker and have you written off winning the league?

00:06Just kidding.

00:08LAUGHTER

00:13The England squad has been announced,

00:15and some good news around these parts,

00:17because MLS has got the nod, your reaction to that?

00:21Very proud, very proud of him, it's a huge moment for him and for the club as well.

00:26Again, one of our graduates getting the call for England,

00:29it's a massive thing, so I'm very happy.

00:32They've been saying the right things, I think, to Thomas Tuchel,

00:35about the work he's said about fast-tracking a fast-tracker,

00:39what they can offer in the right environment,

00:40have you been involved in those discussions?

00:43No, but I'm sure that that will be the case,

00:45and Thomas is a top coach, I know a few people around him and the set-up in England,

00:49and I have no doubt that they will do the right thing with him.

00:52And he's confident, that's not going to be an issue for him,

00:55he's not going to be missing in that kind of company, is he?

00:57With Miles? I don't think so, no.

01:00And obviously Ben White, not in the squad this time,

01:02because obviously he's not been playing because of injury,

01:04but the mood music is good, there's a kind of mending of the part of him,

01:10the way he's healed, he wants to be involved again, is that good news?

01:13Yeah, well, I heard that there's been some positive conversations around it,

01:16so I imagine it will be about timing more than anything else,

01:20especially with the amount of time that he's been out with injury.

01:24You don't know Ethan yet, that's probably just a step too far for him,

01:28but potentially in the future, another Arsenal youngster getting involved with England,

01:34do you get a personal pride from that, the role that you've played with Miles,

01:38and eventually maybe Ethan?

01:41Yeah, I think we all do, because obviously we are involved in their development,

01:44and we know that it's one of the biggest dreams that you can achieve as a football player,

01:49and a really proud moment, so being part of that obviously is a great thing to be.

01:55A real English core at Arsenal as well now,

01:59both in the English side and here at Arsenal, is that something that is important?

02:04Very important, I think culturally, because of our history and we are an English club,

02:10to have that DNA that represents us as a club,

02:14and then having a lot of academy players as well,

02:16I think it's something very, very positive, so very proud of it.

02:20Just quickly before we move on from England,

02:22Baka'i Osaka obviously not in the squad, injured,

02:24any update on when we might see him back training?

02:27No, he's getting closer, he's stepping up and making very good progress I would say,

02:33so let's see when we start to throw him in with the team,

02:35how he reacts and how fit he can get quickly.

02:38The supercomputer, I love a supercomputer,

02:41you said they made you third favourites to win the Champions League,

02:45behind Barcelona and PSG but ahead of Real Madrid,

02:49so you've got a say in whether Real Madrid win the Champions League or not,

02:51talk to us about that draw.

02:54Well, a fascinating draw, I think you're going to play against a club

02:57with the biggest and more history in the competition,

03:02and I'm very excited to play against them,

03:05but before that we have three big matches in the Premier League.

03:08Yeah, and talking about the Premier League,

03:09the same supercomputer gives you a 0.5% chance of winning the Premier League,

03:17a 99.5% chance of not winning the Premier League,

03:23so you're right, there is still a chance.

03:25Into the next one!

03:28Chelsea, 5-0 this time last year, you'd go for that again, wouldn't you?

03:34Well, I think it's going to be a very different game,

03:37and I think the way they develop as a team as well is very impressive,

03:40what the agency has done and the coaching staff,

03:42the amount of talent that they have in the squad,

03:46so yeah, a really tough match, but we are at our best as well,

03:49a big chance for us to win the game.

03:51Raheem obviously was found in the match mid-week,

03:55played well, looked like he was enjoying himself,

03:57that could be the start of him maybe getting back towards his best for you,

04:01but unfortunately obviously he can't be involved on Sunday

04:04because of the deal with Chelsea.

04:08Is that bad for him, would it have been good for him to carry on that momentum?

04:13I think so, but it's what it is, we knew about it, he played, he played well,

04:16he was contributing to the attacking goals that we scored as well,

04:21so very good, that's what we needed,

04:24players in good form, in good spirit, good confidence,

04:27and certainly that performance is going to help him.

04:32Your players have spoken about how effective you've been

04:35getting the team into the right state of mind mentally,

04:37how has it been for you though, mentally as a coach,

04:40to go through the seasons, develop the project,

04:43keep the boys resilient, hungry for more,

04:45and the different challenges you face,

04:47we're nearly at the end of another season, it's got to work.

04:49Yeah, day by day, try to surround yourself with the right people,

04:55that have the right expertise and can advise you to make the right decision,

04:59and after that, predictability is a big factor in this industry,

05:04and you have to adapt to it, you can have an understanding,

05:07or a way of doing things, and from there, for sure,

05:09things will happen that you're going to have to adapt,

05:12but go into the next day.

05:15Ben White, he returned to start, 122 days after his injury,

05:19and one year ago today he signed his new long-term contract,

05:22how do you think in this closing stage of the season he can really help the squad,

05:25even just being around them more in training?

05:27Very much, and he's been now involved for the last two weeks almost,

05:30and he's not reacting, so that's very positive,

05:33and we know Ben is a really important player for us,

05:35he brings something very different to the team dynamic,

05:38and I'm thrilled to have him.

05:41Your players have also spoken about how meticulous and knowledgeable you are

05:44when you do your analysis against opponents,

05:46very, very detailed apparently,

05:48very similar to Enzo Maresco, who likes to be very analytical,

05:51Chelsea next, big loads of derby at home,

05:53what sort of match-up do you expect, like you said,

05:55it will be different to the 5-0,

05:56there's not a lot of change in their squad, injuries both sides?

06:00Well, let's see, I think two teams that want to be very dominant in the way of playing,

06:04very aggressive on the high press and the way we have to have the ball,

06:07a lot of individual quality on that pitch,

06:09so it's about imposing what you want and the direction that you want to take the game,

06:14and keep them very far from their strengths,

06:16I think that's going to be a key thing as well.

06:18Thank you, good luck.

06:19Thanks, Chris.

06:20Simon for the Standard.

06:21Pique, you touched a bit there on having a sort of British draw,

06:24I think you were here in 2012 when there was that famous photo,

06:28I think it might even have been here when Arsene was there with Aaron, with Alex...

06:32Oh, the new signings.

06:33Yeah, when the five of you were together.

06:34I just wonder what your memories are of that

06:37and why the importance of having that British draw is in the club?

06:40I think that's great, I think it attaches people to the football club,

06:44it makes them proud, I think everybody wants to see academy players and English players

06:48driving and being the face of the football club, I think it's really important,

06:53I think it has to happen organically, you cannot force it, especially with those two.

06:58Now it's really good news because they deserve to be where they are,

07:02they are doing great and there's a bright future ahead of them.

07:05And I know you'd like to recreate, are there more behind Ethan Marles

07:09that we maybe don't know about yet, is there excitement for what's to come in the future?

07:12Hopefully there are many more, but again, it's something that time will tell,

07:17and as Gary used the word, fast-tracking players,

07:21if they are good enough there is no problem with that,

07:24but at the same time they really have to earn it to play at this level.

07:28OK, Tom, Football London.

07:29Jürgen, ahead of the Youth Cup game, you spoke to Adam Birchall

07:33and he talked about the importance of keeping Ethan and Marles separate,

07:37not four of us as a pair, because they come from the same time

07:40and we naturally tend to think about them as a pair.

07:42Marles has obviously got a senior call-up, Ethan hasn't,

07:45do you think that in some ways will help them individually develop

07:48apart from one another in two separate teams?

07:51Yeah, any comparison there I don't think is right,

07:54I think they have a very similar pathway,

07:57because obviously they've played so many years together,

08:00but after that they're going to have different moments

08:03and each career will be unique and individual for them,

08:07and they're going to have to earn it,

08:09and what one does is not going to reflect or affect the other one

08:12in a positive or negative way, so that needs to be totally independent.

08:16It's great, it's a luxury to have someone that you spend so much time,

08:20trust and love next to you on that journey,

08:23use it in that way, that's it, and the rest, throw it away.

08:28And ahead of the weekend, it could be an opportunity

08:30for Gabriel Martinelli to get his first Premier League start

08:32since coming back,

08:34you've seen with the absence of a number of forwards,

08:36Nicol Marino used as a centre-forward,

08:38with Martinelli back it gives you more options to change the front line,

08:42do you see that front-line structure returning to something more

08:45that we've seen in the past, or do you still see Mikel very much

08:47as a centre-forward option?

08:49No, now we have more options, but it's true that we have to really

08:53manage the load and he's been a little bit ahead of schedule

08:57and that's what we didn't want to take,

08:59and we don't want to take any more risks with him loading in with more minutes.

09:03OK, last couple in the live section, firstly Art.

09:05Hi, Mikel, I know you said you weren't involved in Mars' call-up,

09:09but I was just wondering, because Thomas Tuchel said he felt

09:12the vibe was very parental around how he was selected,

09:16I was wondering, throughout this season have you felt a similar vibe

09:20of being almost a parental figure, with not just Mars but Ethan as well,

09:24as young men coming into this environment?

09:27Well, they have almost the age of my oldest son, so yeah,

09:30just for that factor I can see a lot of similarities,

09:34but both of them have great family, their environment,

09:37and they are in charge of that part of education,

09:40obviously we have a big responsibility and a lot of things

09:43that are related to that as well, but they are in good hands,

09:47we are here just to support and guide in many other aspects,

09:50and if they need something they know they can knock on the door

09:55and have that conversation.

09:57And when we were in Spain, the Girona game,

10:00obviously that was big news when Mars' red card got rescinded,

10:03and he was asleep at the time, so you didn't have a chance to speak to him,

10:07I was wondering have you had a chance to speak to him today about the call-up?

10:11Yeah, I had, and we all had, and we were all really, really happy

10:14because it's a really nice story, and a story that gives a lot of hope

10:18to a lot of young players, and that in six, seven months

10:23your career can change dramatically, drastically, for the good.

10:27So it's something for people to be inspired,

10:30I think it hasn't happened because he was lucky,

10:35I think he pushed for every chance to happen and the way he's done it,

10:38so yeah, good example.

10:41OK, finally we'll go to Mel, a question in Spanish.

10:43Hello, Miguel, this morning you called for Maradona to be on your team,

10:48is that what you're going to do this morning, and how do you feel about it?

10:53I'm very happy and proud of him,

10:55because for any player to represent his country,

10:58especially if he's not that young, it's incredible,

11:01and we've congratulated him among all of us,

11:04let him enjoy it, have fun,

11:07feet on the ground, and compete tomorrow.

11:10Thank you very much.

11:11OK, guys, that finishes the live section.

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