Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta previews Fulham and updates on returning players
31/03/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
31/03/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00Good to see you, good to be back. How are you excited to be back in action again tomorrow evening?
00:07Yes, great, obviously we had a good time to reflect and to reset and put ourselves in a really good position to go for the most exciting part of the season.
00:17And is Bukayo Saka going to be available to help you with that tomorrow evening?
00:20Bukayo is ready to go.
00:23In terms of managing his return to football, because it's been more than three months he's been missing,
00:27what sort of role do you think we could see him play tomorrow night?
00:31How carefully are you going to have to manage his minutes?
00:34Well, all the careful things he's already done.
00:37So now it's about putting him in the grass in the right moments.
00:42But he's pushing because he wants us to respect the time frame, we have done everything.
00:48And we have to hold him back even, so he's ready to go.
00:52In that case, could he be in a position where he could start tomorrow?
00:55Yeah, yeah.
00:56And how much of an impact do you think he can have now in terms of what you're saying is the most exciting part of the season now?
01:03Yeah, it's another massive weapon that we have with him.
01:06We know the impact that he's had on the team and how important his role and his contribution is to our success.
01:14So, great to have him back obviously.
01:16And elsewhere, how are Ricardo Calafiuri and Jurien Simba doing in terms of their availability tomorrow?
01:22Yeah, well, Ricardo unfortunately picked up an injury again with the national team.
01:26Really unfortunate the way it happened, it could have been much worse.
01:30So, hopefully it's going to be a matter of weeks, but we'll have to see how that injury evolves.
01:36And Jurien, yeah, he was ill for a long period, quite badly.
01:40He's felt much better in the last few days, so he's available.
01:44And we just met Andrea Berta, how excited are you by the appointment the club have just made?
01:49Yes, I think it's a big addition to the club, a big addition to the team.
01:55A team that is already formed with a lot of great people.
01:58Rich leading it obviously, but as well with James, with Jason, with a lot of people at the club that have been doing such good work.
02:09So, it's about building out that chemistry, and I believe Josh has been fully involved in the process as well.
02:16So, we are all very excited to have him.
02:18How much do you feel like he can help the club, especially in the transfer window?
02:21We've seen his reputation for signing some of the best players in world football over the course of the last decade or so.
02:27Well, you just met him, and straight away the words that come out are always winning, improving and demanding.
02:35And he's a person, very honest, very straightforward.
02:39Very clear vision of what he wants to do.
02:42He was so willing to join us, which is a very positive thing as well, because he had many other possibilities and he's chosen to come to us.
02:50And now it's about us giving him the support and understanding of the situation and context straight away.
02:58And for him to start to do what he's already done for many, many years at the highest level, which has been very impressive.
03:05Finally, nine matches left to play in the Premier League.
03:08What do you think is possible for Arsenal between now and the end of the season?
03:11It's possible to win tomorrow.
03:13And the preparation is to be better than Fulham and beat them tomorrow.
03:17And if we do that, we're going to start to generate a good momentum that's going to help for both competitions.
03:24Vishali from the Premier League.
03:25Hi, just to confirm, is Ricardo's injury, it is a knee injury?
03:29Sorry?
03:30Ricardo Canepura, it is a knee injury?
03:31Knee injury, yeah.
03:33In terms of him, he's had a number of injuries this season.
03:36So how much of a blow is this latest one in terms of his mentality?
03:43Yeah, two injuries.
03:44They were picked with the national team.
03:46One, it was a kick.
03:48And the other one is a really bad turn, twist when he slips with the surface.
03:53And the other one, it was muscular.
03:55But I mean, the main two injuries that he had, very little to do, very unfortunate.
04:00Fulham tomorrow at home.
04:03Of course, they suffered a disappointing lot of being knocked out of the FA Cup at the weekend.
04:07Do you think the way that they lost that game actually makes them more dangerous opponents?
04:11Because you could well expect a big reaction tomorrow night.
04:14Well, I don't know.
04:15It's always a really tough opposition.
04:17A team that is very well coached.
04:19They've been together for many years.
04:21They have great organisation, a lot of individual quality and very clear identity of how they play,
04:28how they want to approach the games, especially against us.
04:31So we're going to have to be really good tomorrow to beat them.
04:34Marco Silva has today been speaking about Emerald Smith for all the facts.
04:38He's had a lot of ups and downs this season.
04:40And he's kind of failed to find that consistency in his game.
04:44What kind of a player do you feel, having worked with him, he can be?
04:48Exceptional.
04:49I mean, he's got all the attributes to become a top, top footballer.
04:53And that consistency, especially with us, it was enabled, especially in the periods I had injuries.
04:59But tremendous quality.
05:01And in terms of fun, generally, their record against Arsenal recently has been good.
05:06They caught through with you 1-1, I think it's in December.
05:09What can you take away from that game in particular, that 1-1 draw?
05:14Well, especially with a lot of dominance and quite a lot of chances, both open and set-pieces wise.
05:22But they were very clinical in what they do.
05:24And the first chance, especially when we were very on top of the game, they managed to score the goal.
05:28And then, obviously, they sit back and reduce the spaces.
05:32And it's a team that is well-organised.
05:35George, BBC.
05:36Can I just take you back to the international break, when Marles Kelly, Lewis Kelly, scores that goal.
05:41Where was you and how has he been this week?
05:43Because he was buzzing after.
05:45So what's he been like on the running squad since he's come back?
05:48A great moment.
05:49We are all so happy for him.
05:51So unusual to see something like this on your debut.
05:54Especially a full-back scoring the goal in the manner that he did for his country.
05:59So a very special week for him.
06:01Pacayo, I know you mentioned he could start, but will he start tomorrow?
06:06Yeah, we'll see that tomorrow.
06:08We just met Andre Albert.
06:11Can you just talk about what direction the club's going in now?
06:15You talked about ambition, he said about wanting to win stuff.
06:18So is he almost a new signing that's going to unlock the potential about what Arsenal need to do going forward?
06:24Well, we certainly believe that if someone is going to impact the club,
06:29and he's got that experience, he's got this personality as well, this charisma,
06:35and he strives and will to win, that is going to be very contagious.
06:39He's very much instilled in the football club, especially from the top.
06:42Because this is what we want to achieve.
06:45But to have people with different experiences and they've already done it is very, very helpful.
06:51What do you like about him the most and what's his best attribute?
06:55Was he involved in the decision-making?
06:58Yeah, we were all involved.
06:59What I like the most immediately is how much he wanted to come to the club.
07:05He was really attracted and really excited about that possibility.
07:09And then the way he believes that he can help us to achieve what we want.
07:15Tom, Purple London.
07:16Hi, Joe.
07:17Just on Andrea again.
07:18He's coming at a time, kind of in this midway point between the start of the year and the summer.
07:23You talk about planning ahead and having a lot of ideas about what you want.
07:27I'm sure a lot of that's already been done.
07:29So what's that dynamic going to be like with somebody coming in with already established plans in mind,
07:34but also somebody who wants to bring their own ideas?
07:36Well, that's what I mentioned, that the good thing is the strong team that we already have in place.
07:41And all the work, the recruitment that Jason, James and all the boys have been doing,
07:46and everything is prepared.
07:47And then that planning has to be tweaked,
07:49because what you plan and you execute most of the time ends up being a bit different.
07:54But the direction, the vision and what we want to do is clear.
07:57He will jump on board of that and hopefully he will twist it and make it better.
08:01That's why he's here.
08:02We heard from Thomas Tuchel over the international break,
08:04first chance to really hear him speak after the start of this game.
08:07One of the things he talked about was,
08:09he made reference to the fact that Decon Rice played in the 7-1 win over PSV.
08:12And this idea of rotation and picking players of importance,
08:16even when perhaps there's ideas about giving players rest from their club teams as well.
08:21Is it important that that is kind of got on top of the players are giving important rest
08:26at certain times of the season in perhaps friendly games?
08:28And how is that relationship with Thomas going to evolve?
08:31Yeah, well, the more communication there is and understanding,
08:34obviously when a player plays,
08:36it means that do you want to play or you have to play?
08:39It's very different.
08:40If you have other alternatives, you still have to play.
08:42It's one decision.
08:44If you have to play because there are other alternatives,
08:47because the situation you have in the squad, that's something.
08:50The best thing is always to communicate ahead what the intentions are,
08:53what the process are and what the thought process was behind certain decisions.
08:58Because to compare two similar actions with different contexts,
09:02it doesn't make any sense.
09:03Phil from PA.
09:04Hi, Michael.
09:05Just going back to Kai,
09:07can you just give us an insight into his mindset?
09:09Because he must be absolutely buzzing to play.
09:12He needs to be in such a long time since he played last year.
09:15Well, it's more the energy that he transmits, you know,
09:18that he's missed the thing that he loves the most in his life,
09:22which is to be around the team, to play, to train and to compete at the highest level.
09:28And the fact that he's able to come in the most important part of the season,
09:32obviously, is a massive boost for him and to the team as well.
09:36And just because he hasn't played since December,
09:38are you confident that he'll be able to hit the ground running?
09:40Because obviously you've got Madrid next weekend.
09:42Yeah, especially to get that out of your head, you know.
09:45You haven't played for three months, but you've played for the last 48 months.
09:49So three in 48 is a very small percentage.
09:53So, yeah, I haven't done maybe the housekeeping duties for a week,
09:58but I've done it for 10 years, so I know what to do.
10:00I know how to sustain it, and I'm clever enough to maintain that.
10:04The habit is certainly there, so don't think about that.
10:08OK, the last couple in the live section.
10:09Firstly, the gentleman here, I think, via play demo.
10:11Canopus.
10:12Canopus, yes.
10:13Canopus, about Martino de Guardiola.
10:15Can you explain to us what does it bring to your team and what are his qualities?
10:19I need a lot of time to do that.
10:21He's great. He's the captain. He's one of the most important players.
10:24His consistency levels are incredible.
10:29And, yeah, it's a player that defines our way of playing.
10:33That's what I would put it, basically.
10:35And why did you choose him to be the captain now for two years?
10:39Because we believe he's the right role model for the club and for the team.
10:45OK, and finally, for the live section, we'll go to Mel.
10:47Hi, Mikel.
10:48Hi.
10:49You've played nine games until the end of the season and you're also in the Champions League quarters.
10:57What have been the most positive aspects of the team so far?
11:03The ability to adapt to very difficult situations, without a doubt.
11:08And why?
11:09Because we've had a lot of difficult situations.
11:11A lot of very important player injuries for a long time.
11:15And also a lot of penalties.
11:17And playing a lot of games with ten players.
11:19And the ability that the team has to compete, to rebel against that.
11:23And being where we are, I think it has a lot of merit.
11:27And in his debut with England, Mel Gillespie marked his first goal for his country.
11:32Since he's returned, have you seen any evolution or change in his personality, in his character, in his confidence?
11:41How is he since his return?
11:43His personality? I hope not.
11:45Because by scoring a goal for the national team, he shouldn't change.
11:48His spirit, his level of confidence, I think it's high.
11:51And I think that's very good for any footballer.
11:54And I think he's starting to gather very nice experiences for a very short period of time.
12:00And I think he's assimilating it very well.
12:02And how has that changed recently?
12:04What?
12:05How has your change in confidence and your...
12:09No, it's not a change, it's an evolution.
12:11Because in the end, this is a state of mind.
12:13But then, every ball, every action you do in a game, that state of mind changes.
12:18Above all, knowing that this is part of a process.
12:21And it's a path that he's starting to walk.
12:24That at the moment everything is going very well.
12:26And that you have to do things so that it continues that way.
12:29Thank you very much.