Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shouts instructions (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave a press conference ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
Read on for our full transcript of Arteta’s press conference, with the Gunners boss’ updates on injuries, the pressure to win trophies, and Per Mertesacker’s departure as head of the club’s academy.
All the words from Mikel Arteta’s press conference
In injury reviews
Those two [Hincapie and Calafiori] they have not been found and the others we have Willie [Saliba] and Leo [Trossard].
From Piero Hincapie’s scan
We don’t know yet.
About Ricardo Calafiori
He goes on, but we don’t know. I think it will be a matter of a few weeks, maybe, but we don’t know exactly when.
To Saliba and Trossard
Those two are doubtful.
To Max Dowman and Mosquera
[Max] is very similar to [Cristhian] The Mosquera too. Very similar injuries, very similar times and both come out really well. But they haven’t trained yet so they have a few weeks to go.On the return of Kai Havertz
Obviously we miss him a lot. It’s been a long year in football but as you say, the way he came back, he looks healthy, really confident. He is a brilliant player in that he is a natural communicator from the start, and you can see how much they love him because every time he enters the box everyone jumps from their seats on the bench. So yes, we are very happy to have him, he will help us a lot, and now we have to keep him healthy.
For Havertz to start vs Chelsea
We have to manage his minutes now, but he had a good 20-25 minute block the other day. He trained really well today, now it’s just a matter of building up his fitness and making sure he’s available for every game.
Playing with Liam Rosenior in the 2014 FA Cup final
I saw a few pictures of that, the beauty of football, you know. Two very different careers but in the end, they will meet tomorrow at Stamford Bridge in the semi-finals.
If he knows Liam Rosenior well
No, I know the people he worked with, I know the people who were close to him on his journey, especially as a coach and they talk a lot about him. So, I wish him all the best except for tomorrow obviously.
For Rosenior who uses his journey as inspiration
Personally my motivation was to help the club and change the football club, that was it, not to prove people wrong. That, in my case, was not the reason. They obviously know him well because they’ve worked with him for a few years now so they made that decision based on, of course, because of his strengths and because they believe he’s qualified and the best person to lead that job.
By studying in last year’s semi-finals
Football gives you another chance, we have been consistent again in the competition and now we have to knock another big team out of the competition to get to the finals and that is the goal. We hope that we will learn from last year because it was painful especially with the way the games went and the number of opportunities we missed not to advance, but I hope that this year we are better and I hope that we work well.
It is open if the Carabao Cup helps other competitions
Well, the more you participate in these types of games, the better, because it gives you a boost, it brings a different kind of energy to the team. It gives you the sense that the goal is very close and that is a great motivation for everyone. So we know that there are two games left before we play the final. We have to go game by game and the first one is Stamford Bridge.
In the game of Noni Madueke vs Portsmouth
He’s had a big impact in some areas, very, very good and in other areas we need to improve in terms of consistency, but the level of threat he gives to the team I think is amazing.
By going a long way in this competition
I know that to do that you have to be better than the opposition tomorrow and that’s what we have to do. The rest is out of our control, so we have prepared the game well. The boys are motivated and there because we see that this is where we want to be and we have to take another step to achieve what we want and that is the goal tomorrow.
In group selection
Well, I think in our situation, in my situation, we won’t do that, because obviously the players have to be there to be able to choose them there, and I don’t believe in the players of the tournaments, I believe that we have a competition and we want to compete in all the competitions in the best minute of the players that we have in our equipment, and that’s what we’re trying to do.
On Rosenior saying that Arsenal are good at everything
That’s what we’re trying to do, and in some things we’re very good, in some things we’re good and in some things we’re great, but really that’s the goal. The better we are in every category, the more likely we are to win.
On the departure of Per Mertesacker
After all, it has been 15 years at the club. We were teammates, we were friends, we were captains together and we shared an amazing project together in a different role, him as a school director and me as a manager, so I’m enjoying every minute of it. I think he is someone who I think conveys the principles of this football club, its ambition and everything related to it in the best possible way. So thank you very much, we had a great time together and certainly, again, he has made that decision and I wish him luck, in the next, the next chapter, because I am sure he will be successful.
On his memories of winning the Carabao Cup with Manchester City
Yes, as I said before when you get to this stage in the competition, you get to the final and you cross the line and win it, it brings strength, it brings belief and the idea that everyone is very important and plays a part of that, so yes, I think it is something, when you get there and win it, everyone remembers and if not, no one does. So, when you get there, get a job.
Deep in the group
Ultimately, we should try to manage the team and individuals in the best possible way. I think we share the minutes while we are still very competitive and that is what we have to try and tomorrow we have another opportunity with the players who will start and finish the game, and it will continue like this until May because there will be a game every three days.
In that he needed to help transform the club
From the position we are in and the vision we have inside and out about where the club has been, in every sense and we have brought it back to the highest level at all levels and won a lot of big trophies.
With the departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid
Well, I don’t have many details about this situation, I don’t know if it was Xabi’s decision to leave or if it was the team’s decision, it’s very difficult to give an opinion there, obviously. Whatever the decision is, just wish Xabi all the best because he is a top class person and an unbelievable coach and I am sure that whatever he decides to do in the future, it will be top notch.
As for what Calafiori’s issue is
A muscle was injured.
In helping Bukayo Saka to be strong
Of course every position brings challenges and the opponents learn from you and they obviously try to stop you in the most effective way and you need to have solutions against each opponent to succeed and defeat them.
In Saka’s games this season
I think the influence he has consistently is amazing. I mean, it’s very hard to see a player who plays this position keep doing what he’s doing. It’s good for the team, and the players around him support that. But I think, again, this season has been really good.
By not having goalkeepers in certain competitions
However, it is because in the end our job and my job is to prepare the team in the best way to win the tournament, every tournament we are in. Every game is different, every game requires different qualities and players, and players have moments when they are at their best, when they don’t have a lot of confidence and minutes and every situation is different, and with the goalkeeper on top of that it is a very specific matter, because obviously the players have the least opportunities every week. But we try to treat them that way.
In the style of his center forwards
It depends on the objection. If we play against a very low block and you have a line that goes down, you have no presence in the box, so I think that every opposition needs a different analysis and qualities but Gabi is not only going down as well, he has many others like Viktor and Kai.
About what it would mean to win the Carabao Cup
I’ll let you know when that happens. So in the end it’s about how I feel about putting everything we have into winning it and I feel, again, really motivated. We are looking at the big game tomorrow and how we will behave in these situations to achieve what we want.
If we have to win the Carabao Cup
I understand that, but there are many clubs that should, should, should; I think it will be one in one and the other will not. So we will try and do our best.
