Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Why 2nd place matters for Arsenal & Miles Lewis-Skelly’s breakthrough into the England squad
14/03/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
14/03/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00You mentioned there the speed of Miles' rise, that's obviously extraordinary, but also he's
00:07done it in a position that he's not actually played before, playing a left-back, which
00:12feels even more remarkable really. What was it that made you think he should be a left-back,
00:17having come through as a Cavalier to do?
00:19Very intelligent, very willing and very physical. You have those three ingredients and you have
00:26a personality that you will go through blinks, it can happen and that's why he's done it.
00:33Do you think long-term he might return to that midfield thing? You were talking about
00:39Ethan, for example, maybe being number nine one day. When you map out Miles' long-term
00:43career, where do you see him playing more?
00:45He can do as a six and as an eight as well. I think it will depend a lot on the relationships
00:50and the chemistry with other players, how this evolves as well within the team, I think
00:55in football in which direction he goes, what demands from certain positions as well, but
01:00he's certainly a player that can play in those three positions.
01:03Has the speed of his development and also Ethan's changed the long-term squad plan?
01:09Obviously you wouldn't know before the summary just how ready they were. Maybe if you're
01:14planning ahead for two or three windows, do you now look at it differently because of
01:17these two guys?
01:18Yeah, but those modifications in the squad plan are always very positive because when
01:22you predict the amount of minutes that those players are going to play this season, it
01:25was going to be a super low number, like a tier three, tier four players, and suddenly
01:29they started to play some very impressive numbers, so you have to rethink. I think it's
01:35something, again, as I said, super positive because you already have in-house, you don't
01:40have to recruit, so pretty good.
01:44What are the striking things about this selection? Tuchel's picked this squad, his job is to
01:51win the World Cup in 15 months' time, this isn't a development squad, this isn't four
01:55or five years' time, so what does that say about Miles' temperament and the way he's
01:58handled the big games so far, that the England coach thinks he's ready for this 15-month
02:03mission?
02:04Yeah, I don't know exactly what he's thinking, but for sure with the demands that you have
02:10in the national team is to win, and if he believes that Miles can help him, that's the
02:15story, that's great.
02:16At the age he is, I just think it's pretty unusual to have that backing from a manager
02:21that's got this mission as well, it's not long-term planning, he's there to make an
02:27immediate impact.
02:28Yeah, it's very impressive, but I think that's what Miles transmits, that willingness to
02:32win, that willingness to compete at any level against any opposition, regardless of his
02:37age, so probably that's a big factor.
02:40Just on Sunday's game, do you see Chelsea now as contenders for the rubs-up spot for
02:45second place, and how important is finishing second?
02:49If you can qualify for the Champions League, does it make any difference whether you're
02:52second, third or fourth?
02:54Well it does, but yeah, if they are contenders, I think from the moment I was playing pre-season
03:00and understanding how Enzo works and the talent that they have in the squad, in my opinion
03:04they were contenders to even win it from the beginning, because they have so much there
03:09that the moment everything glides together and they find that connection, energy and
03:13consistency, I think they can compete with any team.
03:16How many teams do you think potentially could finish second or have got the potential in
03:21this mix for this position now?
03:23A lot, I mean there are 10 games to go, so there's still a lot of variation, a lot of
03:27games between us, a lot of difficult games, so there's a lot of teams still involved,
03:32yeah.
03:34Hi Mika, of course only a few months ago Myles was on the Arsenal bench trying to make his
03:39way into the first team and now he's pretty much a regular.
03:42At what point, was there a moment at all where you thought this kid's going to be a big star
03:46or a big feature of the season, because it's very unusual to, especially at 18, to progress
03:51so quickly?
03:52No, I think it goes gradually.
03:54Obviously you see the talent, you see how they react to certain stimulus or certain
03:59challenges and then you start to think, we've got a player here but then you have to do
04:04it.
04:05I was very impressed with him in the States when he came on, for example, against Liverpool
04:09as a sub and we started to compete against those guys in the front line and I was like,
04:14we have a player here.
04:16And then Myles has been consistency, his habit is the way he trains every single day, giving
04:20you the right reasons all the time to consider him and then the best way to talk is on the
04:26pitch for any player.
04:27Go on the pitch, do the talking and compete and show how good you are and how good you
04:33are for the team, especially, and he's done it.
04:36Arsenal have, of course, suffered many injuries this season.
04:39Do you sometimes sit there and think, what could have happened if Myles and Ethan didn't
04:43step up to the way that they've actually stepped up?
04:46It's one thing filling the position but it's another thing to perform as they've done?
04:50Yeah.
04:51We don't know for sure.
04:52We've played with 11 players, maybe we'll discover another option.
04:56Last year when we had it, Jakub played there and we sustained the level for many months
05:02as well, which was good and this season it was their turn.
05:08Do you see some similarities in terms of Enzo's first year at Chelsea and set ups and downs
05:14and your also early years at Arsenal where you were trying to find the right foot, it's
05:17really difficult but you can make progress?
05:19Similarities?
05:20Yeah.
05:21No.
05:22None.
05:24No similarities?
05:25No.
05:26We were at Chelsea during the last 15 years, the squad that they have, everything where
05:30they were.
05:31I don't think there are many similarities.
05:33Do you think he's been under almost more pressure because of the environment at Chelsea?
05:38You have to win now rather than...
05:40I don't know.
05:41What I can tell you is he's a magnificent coach.
05:45He's very clear what he wants to do.
05:46I like him because he's been bold and he's been very clear what he wants to do, how he
05:50does it and I really like the way his team plays.
05:55Can you give us a sense of what the next week is going to be like?
05:58Will he be on the grass with all his feet?
06:01Will he be just running?
06:03What are the steps for next week?
06:05Yeah, he's going to be here, hopefully more with the ball on his feet than in his hand.
06:09So that will mean that he's passing the ball and shooting and running and everything.
06:15He's done quite a lot already on the pitch.
06:17Everything on his own, that's true.
06:19So the next...
06:20He needs to reintegrate with people around him, with players around him and a more competitive
06:24training session and see how he goes with that.
06:26Just finally, we understand that Miles has been learning Spanish.
06:30Have you had any conversations with him?
06:34Is it something I'm understanding?
06:36He's very curious.
06:37Yeah, I know he's been doing that.
06:38I think he's, on all the academic parts, very hands-on and his family as well, which is
06:44great because he's still very young.
06:47Ed?
06:48Hi, Miguel.
06:49Just on Ben White, Thomas Tuchel said that he loved to be back in the Union squad.
06:55Have you sensed a weight lifted around him now that this has resolved the issues that
07:00he had before?
07:02Yes, but I don't know.
07:04Whatever the outcome is, what I want is Ben to be happy that he feels fulfilled and he
07:09really feels his next decision.
07:12Knowing Ben, his decision is not going to be influenced by somebody else.
07:17He really needs to feel it and if they find that chemistry between Thomas and him, that's
07:22great.
07:23If he wants to come and Thomas wants him, great, because I think he has the level and
07:28certainly the potential in his career to achieve big things with the national team.
07:33Thanks.
07:34Just on Ethan, obviously he's in the under-21 squad.
07:36What are your views on that path of development in international football?
07:41England's under-21 squad has got some really big names in it this time.
07:45They're playing France and Portugal.
07:47Is that quite a good way for him to develop away a little bit from the spotlight?
07:51No, no.
07:52It's a big step.
07:53I mean, he's 17 years old and he's playing with under-21s with all the names that they
07:58have in the team.
07:59I spoke to Lee this morning and I'm glad that he's his coach because I know him very well
08:04since we've played together for many years.
08:06So, a great pathway and development for him and a great experience for him.
08:10What did you say to Lee?
08:12Talk about positioning or something like that?
08:15No, no, no.
08:16Just that he was going to select him and I know him.
08:19He's a phenomenal coach.
08:21He's a person who's unique, so I know that he's going to really look after him.
08:25He's going to push him in the right way and he's going to hear a different coach with
08:28different ideas.
08:29And this is always so good for any young player.
08:32OK, last couple now.
08:33Firstly, Gary, from The Times.
08:34You said about finishing second is important.
08:37Why is it important?
08:38Is it pride?
08:39Is it finances?
08:40Sorry, sorry, I missed the question.
08:42You said finishing second is important.
08:44Why is it important?
08:45Is it pride?
08:46Is it finances?
08:48I prefer to finish first and second.
08:51Second and third.
08:52Third and fourth.
08:53And if you cannot be the best, be the second best at least.
08:57That's for sure.
08:58You were saying a few months ago how you finish the season would depend on what you would
09:02have this summer, maybe financially.
09:04Is that effectively qualifying for the Champions League?
09:08Well, it's not only in the financial part as well.
09:11It's what we've done and when we measure and understand what the team has done and the
09:18performances that we had within the resources that we had in each time of the season, we're
09:23going to really have to think hard to understand what is missing, what is really working and
09:28how we're going to now make the next step.
09:30Very important.
09:31If you strip away the resources you didn't have and everything was at baseline level,
09:37would you then be above where you should be relative?
09:40Because like you say, you haven't had the resources.
09:43Nobody knows.
09:45OK, finally we'll go to Jonny.
09:48Ben White coming back to England is controversial with some people simply because he seemed
09:54to have turned his back on his country.
09:57How can you as his club manager deal with this storm, this pressure?
10:05I know.
10:09The just opinion I can take because I was very involved in the moment that that happened
10:17and I know how Ben felt and that was for me very, very clear that the reason why he made
10:23that decision, how he was feeling about it and how struggling he was.
10:27Certainly it wasn't about that, it was about being the opposite, just facing the situation
10:32and say I cannot handle with it now and I'm not the best person to represent the country
10:38in the way I feel right now.
10:40So for me it was completely the opposite.
10:42I think not a lot of people would do it.
10:44What a lot of people would do is hide in that context, in that environment and let time
10:48go and nobody talk about it.
10:50What he did in my opinion was very brave and not a lot of people would have done it.
10:55It appears that if somebody lets you down once, they'll let you down again.
10:59You're saying that it's completely misunderstanding what happened.
11:03From what I understand the reasons, it wasn't about letting somebody down, it was just telling
11:08somebody I don't want to let you down and this is the way I feel.
11:11I think it's very difficult for me to give you what you need.
11:15So I think it was very completely different.
11:24Thank you very much.