Арсеналын дасгалжуулагч Микель Артета Премьер лигийн хүрээнд Лийдс Юнайтедтай хийх тоглолтын өмнөх хэвлэлийн бага хурлын үеэр багийн бүрэлдэхүүн болон клубийн ирээдүйн талаар байр сууриа илэрхийлэв.
Брайтонтой хийсэн тоглолтод 0-3-ын харьцаатай хожигдсон Арсенал энэ удаад Лийдс Юнайтедыг өөрийн талбайдаа хүлээн авч, хожлын замдаа эргэн орохыг зорьж байна. Микель Артета багийн гол тоглогчдын бэртэл гэмтлийн талаар мэдээлэл өгөхдөө Кай Хаверц, Эзри Конса нарын тоглох эсэхийг тоглолтын өмнөх өдөр шийдвэрлэх бол Христос Тзолис бэртлийн улмаас хэдэн долоо хоног талбайд гарах боломжгүй болсныг дурдлаа. Деклан Райс болон Бэн Уайт нарын хувьд тоглолтод оролцох боломжтой байгаа бол Хинкэпи, Москера нар бүрэлдэхүүнд эргэн ирсэн байна.
Манчестер Ситигийн санхүүгийн зөрчилтэй холбоотой үүсээд буй нөхцөл байдлын талаарх асуултад Микель Артета албан ёсны шийдвэр гараагүй байгаа тул ямар нэгэн тайлбар өгөхөөс татгалзаж, зөвхөн өөрийн багийн бэлтгэлд анхаарлаа хандуулж байгаагаа онцоллоо. Түүнчлэн тэрээр саяхан 2030 он хүртэл сунгасан гэрээнийхээ талаар ярихдаа, клубийн удирдлага болон тоглогчидтой нэгдмэл зорилготой байгаадаа сэтгэл хангалуун байгаагаа илэрхийлж, Арсеналыг дэлхийн шилдэг баг болгох амбицтай байгаагаа хэлэв.
Премьер лигийг дэлхийн хамгийн шилдэг лиг хэмээн тодорхойлсон Артета өөрийн дасгалжуулагчийн карьер болон багийн соёлыг төлөвшүүлэх үйл явц нь тасралтгүй үргэлжлэх сорилт гэдгийг цохон тэмдэглэв. Тэрээр багийн залуу тоглогч Макс Доуман болон бусад бүрэлдэхүүний бэлтгэл сургуулилтад бүрэн итгэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийлж, Лийдс Юнайтедын эсрэг тоглолтод өндөр төвлөрөлтэй оролцохоо мэдэгдлээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Mikel Arteta was faced with plenty of questions ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Leeds and football.london is on hand to provide you with the full transcript from his press conference
Mikel Arteta has addressed the media ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Leeds United.
The Gunners welcome Daniel Farke’s side to Emirates Stadium hoping to return to winning ways following their 3-0 defeat to Brighton before the international break.
During Friday’s pre-match press conference, Arteta provided the latest team news, his thoughts on Manchester City and why he decided to sign a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2030.
Read every word from the press conference below!
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It’s really difficult for everybody involved because of the big story surrounding Manchester City. We’re trying to ask all Premier League managers, obviously you’re a senior Premier League manager, your reaction to the situation we find ourselves in at the moment? An appeal is pending but guilty so far. “Well, yes, I fully understand the question, but obviously I think it’s very important that we respect the process, the timelines, and it’s still an ongoing process that is not resolved because it’s been appealed. My position, and I think the club’s position, is not to make any further comments until this is fully resolved.” They’re obviously looking like they’re going to be, again, your biggest rivals for the Premier League title. Is all the noise going on around the football team potentially going to make their type of challenge a bit more difficult, or at least inspire them to give even more? “I don’t know, that’s something that’s not in our hands. In our hands it’s the way we have prepared, since all the internationals are back, to be in the best possible condition, to be better than Leeds tomorrow and beat them. That’s where the focus has been.” Congratulations, it’s been a big couple of weeks for you and your new contract. You’re going to be here over ten years now. We haven’t had a chance to speak to you personally. How do you feel about that? “Well, extremely honoured. My family and I, I think we are very grateful to continue to enjoy this unbelievable ride that I started almost seven years ago. I loved, again, not the outcome, because when there are two parties and you have to resolve a situation, I said from the beginning that both the club and I wanted the same thing, but I loved the manner that it was handled. “I think it’s really important. I always say that when you are negotiating and when you are trying to figure out the future, the most important thing is at the end, when you are about to sign the deal, looking at everyone in the room and seeing some smiley faces and excitement in their eyes. “And that’s what I gather from Stan and Josh, especially, and then from Rich, from James, from Andrea, of course, that was there, and then obviously the staff of the players. And that’s it, and I have to earn the right every single day to continue to be at this level, sitting in this chair, and making the most out of it.”
Things go according to plan, so it’s going to be at least 10, 11 years you’ve been here. There’s lots of talk about the word dynasty. Is that the way you see it, it’s an ongoing process? “Yes, but it’s something that you have to earn daily, as I said. We know what the level is right now, we know where the standards land, we know what the expectations are. But the good thing is the level of enthusiasm, passion and energy is even higher, and that’s what we want to accomplish all together, and that’s the opportunity ahead of us.” The term broken has been used by you as well, about how the club was when you arrived, and you’ve mended it. Is that your proudest achievement? “Yes, in the manner that we’ve done it all together, and everybody feeling part of something that is very, very connected right now, and then that the club has a very clear identity and ambition, and a pathway where we want to go. I think that’s very, very important as well.” To follow on the contract from me, you can go on and on and on. So, 20 more years from now? “It’s today and hopefully tomorrow, and this is how we have to live this job. And as I said, I think what you have to do is enjoy the journey. I think it’s the most important thing and probably the biggest lesson that I’ve had over the last seven years, because the biggest gift that I’ve had throughout this period has been the people that are around me, that have been around me to make me feel loved and allow me to enjoy what I do.” Injuries. Declan Rice, he’s had his minutes managed, his load managed. Is he OK for tomorrow? “Yeah, we have to manage him because he’s been with a few issues since he came back from the World Cup, and we know the amount of games that he’s played in the last three years. So, yes, it was a sensible thing to do, and hopefully tomorrow he’s available and some others that as well are in doubt.” Ezri came back early, Kai came back early, Tzolis came back early. What’s the latest on those three? “Well, with Kai, because he had a muscular injury. So, I spoke to Jurgen and immediately they sent the player back as is normal. Ezri, because he’s been carrying some issues as well, and we had good communication with the England camp about that. And who was the other one?
Tzolis? “Tzolis because he had a muscle injury and he’s going to be out, I think, for a few weeks.” So, he’s the worst of the three? “Yeah, he’s not available yeah.” And Hincapie and Mosquera back? “Yeah, they are both available. They did incredibly well to be available for the Brighton game. We decided not to use them at the end, especially in the manner that we had to play the last few minutes, but they are both available. Ben White? “Ben White is available as well.” In these seven years, what’s been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned about yourself? “That probably you put a lot of focus on the things that you need to do or you need to help to do to transform the football club to the vision or the idea that you have. And the reality is that within that period, there is a huge personal transformation as well that is needed in order to get where you want to get. And it’s probably been one of the most fascinating things because you don’t do that by yourself, but you do it with the people that are, as I said, next to you. And I’m very, very lucky to have the people that are next to me.” And if you could go back to the Mikel that arrived here when he saw the scene of you coming out of a car, what would you say to him? “Go for it, you know. So don’t even doubt, but I think it’s natural. That fear that it’s something unknown for you, it’s the first time you’re going to do it. It’s huge, it comes with so much responsibility, but you never know. But if you feel it’s the right thing to do and the purpose and the reason why you do it is right, I think it’s worth taking the risk and going for it.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow against Leeds, you’ve had a few weeks to reflect on the loss against Brighton, now that the dust has settled. How do you view it? “The pain is still in the tummy and tomorrow we certainly have to play with that because it was a lesson for us. It was a lot to learn from that game, especially when you don’t hit certain basics in a football match, especially against a really good Brighton side. You become almost not recognisable, you know, and it can happen. But it’s been more about learning from who we are and how thin the line is from being exceptional to becoming very average, and that’s a reality. But as well, just realising with the difficult context that we had with all the internationals that we had, what we’ve done in the first 18 weeks, I think it’s been remarkable. But, a big attention, because things change very quickly.” Leeds are in an incredible position, they’re unbeaten. I’m not sure many would have expected that and they’ve conceded one goal fewer than Arsenal. Are you surprised by the positive start by them and what do you expect? “When I watch their games, no. And I think they fully deserve where they are because they’ve earned it. And they are there because I think they merit with a lot of great things that they’ve done throughout matches to be better than the opponent. And we know their qualities, we talked to them in the last two days and we are fully ready for it.” It’s been a long international break, fans have been screaming out for Premier League football to return. What is your message tomorrow? Because 12:30 can be a funny time to play Premier League football. “12:30 is great! We’ve been three weeks with no football for us. I don’t know about the internationals, I don’t care, without club football. We play at the Emirates in front of our people. The atmosphere that we have created in recent months has been unbelievable and we need to make sure that we start by creating that. And I’m sure our supporters will be very excited to watch the team play.” You love giving a message to the fans, you really care about giving a message and telling them, asking for their support. The last two weeks they would have spoken about the Man City situation and some of them might be complacent and might think, we don’t have to win the league this year because who knows what punishment might be given to City and we commit anyway. What’s your message to them? “My message is very clear, that we have pain in the tummy for what happened in Brighton and it’s on us as well to get the pain that they still feel out of it. It’s our responsibility and we need to give to them now.” When you first came here, you haven’t managed anywhere else, you’ve only been an assistant manager at City. There was a chance you could be overawed by how big this club was. How did you guard against that? How did you almost seamlessly go and sit in that chair and manage? “Going through different stages and different moments. I think I’ve been driven by the passion and the love that I have for this club and because I had a dream which was to become a coach, a manager and this club gave me the opportunity to be at the highest level straight away and I was ready to do anything just to make it work. And as I said again, because I think I got the right people around me to cover all the deficiencies or the things that I don’t know, to help me to be better and to help the players and the club in every possible way to improve every single day. And to instil that culture, that identity and that ambition.”
Finally, I haven’t completely checked but I think I’m right in this, I’m not in the Guinness Book of Records. Are you in the Guinness Book of Records? I don’t think so. Max Dowman is three times. I mean this young man, unbelievable. How do you keep his feet on the floor? “I think that’s a collective responsibility. First of all for the parents because they are the ones that they spend the most time with them and they are already given the education to be how he is today and then everybody that works in and around him. But I don’t think that Max has a lot of signs to be worried about because what he wants to do is play football, play football as well as he possibly can at the highest level and his focus is there.”
I appreciate your position but you obviously have a lot of history with Manchester City, you were there for a long time. Does what has come out after the last few weeks for you personally taint your memories of that time?
“Again, as I said, I understand the question where they’re coming from. It’s a lot of noise around it, it’s an ongoing process that is not resolved yet and I think we need to respect it and certainly I have to respect that. You talk about the noise, it will not be lost on your players either.” As a manager, how much have you had to address that this week since they’ve been coming back from the international break?
“There is nothing in our hands and the only thing that we can do is focus on everything that we can do to be as we possibly can and to be better than any other opponent and that’s where we put the energy.”
For the integrity of the Premier League, how important is it that this is resolved this season?
“The people are responsible to manage this process and to come to the right conclusions and I’m sure it will be done and it will be resolved in the right way. We have to trust that.”
You said you loved the manner of the contract negotiations. Could you take us behind the scenes? What were you referring to there? I guess it’s not the number at the end?
“No, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about how we feel about each other. The way we have analysed what we’ve done together and especially how we’re going to take this club to be the best in the world for many years and the platforms, the good things that we have and then you just have a sense how you feel about each other, how we do things and I feel really lucky and having Stan and Josh in front of you and talking to them and expressing still what they want to do, how they want to do it especially is just inspiring and then there are things that are relating to me but as well the coaching staff and how they value the people around it and what has been done from both sides is just total alignment, what I can say.
“That’s why when I see somebody happy after a few months of having discussions and ideas and this is the best thing to do and for how long and other things that have to be discussed, I was just moved because everybody looked happy. I was immensely happy, my family as well which is the most important thing but the staff, the people around, the players and them as well and I think that’s very important and not only the outcome.”
Richard [Garlick] spoke this week about your club dominating football and he kind of alluded to it there and you said this is only the beginning. It’s quite a big word, it’s quite a big standard to set for something that could come back and haunt you at any moment. Why do you feel confident in saying that?
“Well that’s what we want to try to achieve and that’s ambition and I don’t think you have to hide it, the thing is that you have to earn it every single day and this football but your aspirations and your dreams are where they are. I think it’s easier to get them because if I said to you the one that I had when I arrived probably you would say what are you talking about? But that was the ambition, that’s the drive and it’s because we believe that we can do it and then there will be many factors that would allow us or not to achieve it. Time will tell but certainly that drive is there.”
Are you particularly relieved or satisfied that your title last season was done on the pitch, no external factors about time or distractions before the verdict came in?
“I feel very proud and I feel very emotional when I think especially how we’ve done it and the moments that we have to go through actually to achieve it and it’s a unique and a genuine feeling that I have because of the manner that we did it. And just one on your contract, we’ve seen managers at other top clubs maybe get to a stage where they need a new challenge, they need to sort of refresh.”
Did you ever have any doubt in your mind that you wanted to sign a new contract here?
“Well you have to sometimes stop and think for how long can you do this as well and not only doing it here but for yourself, do you have the right level of desire, the energy, the people around you, the way they look at you when you talk. But my feeling was yes and if that feeling changes one day we’ll look at our eyes and that’s it, it’s simple.”
Whatever the outcome with City, there is a concern amongst some fans that the league is already damaged. You’re the Premier League champion, do you think it’s damaged?
“There is a process there again that is not resolved, it’s ongoing and we can have I think a much clearer opinion once it’s been resolved. Up to now I’m not prepared to make any comments.”
Just on your contract, if you see it through you’ll be here for longer than 10 years, which is quite rare in the modern game, Pep stopped at 10, Jurgen has stopped at 9. Do you think one day you will want to quit? A break?
“To stop doing what I do? At the moment it’s not in my head, because I love so much what I do, I wake up every morning and I have this energy. A lot of people say, Mikel but you need to rest sometimes, but the reality and I’m honest, sometimes I take a break during the day, I go back and I start to work on something and I get more energy because I love what I do. What about this, what about if we pass on that? This is the beauty of working, of doing something that is your absolute passion and that’s why I feel extremely lucky to be where I am.”
So many of the top managers have stopped after 9 or 10 years, but the way you’re talking does sound like you could go on as well?
“I don’t know, I think I’m still really young and this is just my first experience as well and that is probably the way I live my profession and this week we had a lot of discussions and people talked about pressure or stress and I understand, I don’t relate my job to that and I’ve been through very different moments, but it’s more about the level of the passion and love that I have for the game and what I do with the ambition and drive and aspirations that I have. And if you want to put a name into it, fine, but for me it’s just a privilege to do that every single day. And if one day it’s not, then it will be as well my decision to say, now I’m enjoying it, I’m enjoying it in a different way, it’s time to stop.”
Do you still think this is the best league in the world?
“100%.”
Congratulations on your new contract. You talk about that dominance, this is a team that has won the Premier League by really savvy financial management, doing it the right way. You built the stadium, had a financial plan, do you think that’s why the Premier League is where it is right now? If you look at the teams in third, fourth and fifth, Brighton and Brentford, Leeds, is this a truer league? How important are these stricter financial rules?
“I’ll just respond to it. It is the best league in the world in my opinion, yes, for many reasons and as well because I’ve been here for over 20 years and it will continue to be the best league in the world. And again, I feel privileged to be where I am and the fact that there are other clubs, and you mentioned a few, that they’ve been extremely good at managing the resources in such an intelligent and efficient way is good because it has increased the competition and we saw that a few weeks ago already.”
Can you give me an update on Max Dowman’s fitness, does that mean Kai and Ezri are available to play? What have you learned over the international break about what went wrong at Brighton and how have your players come to terms with a busy international break? “Well, two things. First of all, the first one about the game, I already mentioned it and then how good our players are because when I watch them travelling the world, playing with different national teams and the incredible impact that they had for the national teams, it gives you reassurance as well to do that. And then that when they come they have big smiles on their faces so they feel at home and they are happy to come and this is as well a great thing to feel.” Max Dowman, is he available, are Ezri and Kai available?
“Max is available, Ezri and Kai we will see tomorrow.”
You spoke a little bit about the noise this is causing, is there a small element of you that thinks at least this is going to play into Arsenal’s hands? A lot of fans might be thinking that that’s the case with the upheaval at one of your biggest rivals?
“What we think is about us, about what we do and what we want to achieve. That’s it. The rest is something that we don’t control, we have never controlled it and we don’t want to control it. That’s the beauty of what we do. At the end a lot of things depend on us and that’s where we want to leave it.”
In terms of the great relationship with Pep, have you spoken to him at all since the news broke?
“We’re going to talk about that using a different thing that is happening. I prefer not to answer those questions.”
Seven years as Arsenal manager, over that time we’ve seen a lot of different versions of you. I was just wondering how you view your evolution as a man and a manager in that time. How much do you feel like you’ve changed?
“Well, as I said, obviously with the transformation of a football club or a squad of people that we had around the club, obviously comes a personal transformation at every level. Doing something that you’ve never done in your life, moving your family, starting to build and create something that you very passionately believe that it will make a lot of people happy.”
“Then experiencing some difficult times along the way, getting up again and dragging people with you with the same purpose, having some incredible moments together. That shapes you. It’s inevitable. It’s been one of the best things, it’s been a gift through that journey. I want to experience many more transformations and evolutions because this is why we are here to continue to learn, to be curious and to help people to enjoy this incredible game.”
In terms of dragging yourself through that and getting to another level, I saw a few years ago you said one of your favourite films is Gladiator. I was wondering what kind of things might inspire you that you look at and think, maybe I can apply that to?
“I always loved it when it’s against difficulty and when you have to bring people with you. I think that’s the nicest thing in our job, to bring people on the journey, to make them feel part of something, to have a very clear purpose and then going through stages where chapter by chapter you start to get closer to achieve them or achieve them all. Then go again and embrace yourself and do that. Then there is as well the way the game has evolved. How do you evolve with the game? Can you be ahead of the game? That’s a constant challenge as well, especially with the level of managers and teams that we have in the league. That’s not going to stop, so that’s not going to allow you to stop as well.”
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