Mikel Arteta press conference duties in Munich came with good news and a clear message. Speaking at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night, ahead of Arsenal’s third league-phase game against German champions Bayern Munich, the boss gave a team news boost, praised Vincent Kompany and Harry Kane, and admitted he is still haunted by last season’s Champions League final defeat.
Here is everything Arteta said.
Team news: Zubi back, Piero close
“Zubi is back with us, so he will be involved tomorrow, and Piero, let’s see if he’s able to train in the next few days as well, he can be available for Everton, which is great news.”
“This is the stage” for a win in Munich
“Well I’m really looking forward to the game, this is the stage, this is the kind of team, this is the kind of coach, this is the kind of club, the stadium that you want to be involved in. So we have prepared the game with lots of enthusiasm, and really thrive to come here and win the game tomorrow.”
On Eberechi Eze’s form
“This is good because we have some really good players, the expectations are so big for all of them and we want more from everybody, and that’s the mindset. That’s what is going to make us better individually as a team so I hope that continues because that’s going to push all of us to reach different kinds of levels and be better.”
On Olise being suspended
“I don’t know [if it is an advantage], I don’t want to say who is the best player in these kind of games. He’s out, but when you look at the squad the starting possible XI that they have, you know, first of all, as a team, how incredibly well coached they are, the mindset that they have, the competition that they have in every action and the individual quality moments that they can creator throughout the game when you look at the goals and chances that they generate. So that’s the opposition that you want to be facing and we will be facing tomorrow and we’re just going to confront that and go for it.”
On Vincent Kompany not being well
“Well I hope that he gets [somewhat] better, I hope that he’s there tomorrow because it would be very good for the game that his presence is there. I’m a huge admirer of him, one as a person, because I get to know him, I got to work with him for a few years, and then what he’s done as a coach, his career, started first of all in Belgium then at Burnley and now what he’s doing here because I think the identity and the quality that his team shows in the last few years, it’s another level, and that’s a big credit for him.”
On comments from ex-players
“I haven’t heard it so I’m not going to make any comment”
On opinions becoming reputations
“I don’t know, we are open to opinions, it’s part of our job, it’s part of our roles, and those opinions have to be respected, especially if they are done in a respectful way. We are here to prove that we belong to this level, to this stage, and as I said, we always have the intention and the ambition to improve and be better, that’s it.”
On how excited he is
“Yeah, we know the kind of game we’re going to play, I think both teams are very clear on that, and we experienced that at the Emirates, and it’s going to be a very similar one in many moments, especially we have a lot of connections and positiveness in and around the team, so yeah, very excited about it.”
On facing a low block
“Again, a low block demands a different kind of game to the high block, with a team that is constantly putting a ball in the last line, it’s different. I think it requires something different to the team. Still, I think on Sunday, we could have done things better, but that’s in our hands and we need to recognise that openly as well, but we did a lot of great things as well during the game against a really tough opponent, very, very well coached as well. We did something that we didn’t manage to do two years in a row, so that’s another step and a positive one, a really positive one. Then we learn from it and we go.”
Still hurting from the Champions League final
Did Arteta use the summer to get over the final? The answer was a firm no.
“I tried, but I haven’t managed! So I tried for many weeks in the summer, even today. And when I see the ball, when I see the music, when I see the scenes, I want it so badly. We know that we have to go step by step, but I think that fire is within the team and all of us individually because we know what we have to go through. By a penalty we were not champions of Europe, so let’s try again.”
On scrutiny of the top teams
“This is for every team. If you analyse the top teams in England, I don’t care what they are talking about, but they all have a list. We all have a list because none of us are perfect. Thank God that we are not perfect, thank God we can still improve, even though we have won the games we have won, because otherwise, the next day, what do you do? You just expect to be better than the opponent and that’s it. And especially in the Premier League, we know that’s very far from the reality.”
On the debate about Arsenal’s style of play
“I don’t have that impression because I heard that the style was incredible because we have scored so many goals. We have more possession, more shots, different players participating, no goals on set pieces. So the story is completely different to last year. I think we are talking about a very small minority. I think the bigger ones, they know that they have enjoyed a lot the way we have played and dominated games this year. I think we have proven that. So, that’s my opinion.”
On memories of the 2-0 win in Munich
“I remember it was a quite bizarre game that won because of the feeling [of winning but going out]. But you know that when you come to that stadium, you know what you’re going to be facing, and you have all the standards and the quality that’s going to be required to get out of this stadium tomorrow with another three points.”
On the away goals rule going
“My opinion is it’s much better [without it], and I think it gives both teams as well very much at it and less speculation, this is my opinion.”
On Glasner calling Konsa and Gabriel the best defensive partnership in the world
“That’s a great opinion! For me, my players are the best in the world, and I think the partnership that they have developed in such a short period of time is remarkable. Credit to both of them, credit to the rest of the team as well. But I think on Sunday, both of them, specifically in key moments, they were exceptional.”
On whether Harry Kane is the ultimate test
“Well they get tested a lot in the Premier League certainly, and they have already done in the Champions League. But I think what Harry’s doing, and has done in the last few years, is just something else, another level. That’s what we have to face tomorrow.”
On magic moments
“We’re going to see at the end of the season. I think so far, yes, because in the games that we have played, we have produced those moments, and they’ve been produced by different players, which is something very positive, and it’s football. Tomorrow we’ll have to show it here in this arena.”
On Kane never scoring in open play against Konsa
“I didn’t know that.”
On Serge Gnabry’s evolution
“No, it’s true that playing wide he was very comfortable coming in, because he dominated both feet. He was a 360 player for a winger, which is quite unusual to do, but maybe like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. They both had that kind of range and capacity and qualities to play in these spaces. I’m really happy for him personally, and I’m happy for why he’s done for the last few years, and the way he’s developed himself and what he’s done in the game.”