Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta discuss' the team mentality stating that 'The we is so so so strong!'
11/04/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
11/04/2025
Sobha Realty Training Ground, London, UK
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00:00After the game, Rice was talking about his free kick and he said
00:04the Knickers Joker actually wanted him to cross the ball instead of shoot.
00:08Now, he obviously ignored that.
00:10Do you like that the players in those moments can take the initiative
00:13and say, I know the coach wants me to do this, but I sense something.
00:17I sense I can do it.
00:18I love it, especially when he goes to the back of the net
00:21instead of a counter-attack.
00:23So, I mean, they have to make the decision.
00:26We are here to help them to try to paint the picture of what the options are.
00:31But I loved it.
00:32I think when we talk about making the next step,
00:35it's a lot about that.
00:36It's about taking initiative, making things happen on the pitch
00:40and believing that you can actually win the game by yourself sometimes.
00:43And I was really impressed the way he did it.
00:46And you always talk about needing magic moments.
00:48And sometimes magic moments,
00:49and they're not born out of following the rules.
00:52Sometimes you have to break the rules.
00:55For sure.
00:56And you have to do something that is not in the books.
00:58We always talk about that.
01:00It's like the energy that we create in the stadium.
01:03That's a magic moment.
01:04You know, it felt like the crowd was taking that ball
01:06and put it into the net.
01:07It was something special that night from the beginning.
01:09And when you are able to create those moments,
01:12I think you are more likely to experience the situation
01:15that we had a few days ago.
01:17And what's the reaction on the coaching staff
01:19when they tell a player to do this and it will work
01:21and they do some completely different advice?
01:23I think the first one probably is,
01:25you see I told him to bend the ball like this
01:27because the crowd and the people,
01:29they cannot really understand.
01:30I have my nephews telling me,
01:31I saw Nico telling them to put it over.
01:33He said, you don't want to know the truth.
01:36Yes, sir.
01:37Hi, I'm Cassidy.
01:38Before, obviously, the Ramadri game,
01:42the light show,
01:43there was your quote the day before asking for the crowd
01:46to bring the public to the atmosphere.
01:48Obviously, that must have had some impact on the game itself.
01:51Do you wish that that kind of atmosphere
01:54was created a bit more across the season?
01:57Because obviously, the big games,
01:58would it be nice to be able to have that
02:00just for general league games,
02:02not to that extent, but a bit more?
02:04Well, that would be ideal.
02:06It cannot be the same
02:07and probably shouldn't be the same
02:08because then it wouldn't be a special as well.
02:11But I think we can all raise the level
02:13and the demands that we put to ourselves
02:14to put the standards out
02:16how the Emirates have to be looking every single week,
02:19at least to a point, you know,
02:20and then we can raise the bar in special occasions
02:23to do something extraordinary.
02:24I think that has to be the aim.
02:26I think we have to have the best state
02:28and the best atmosphere in the world.
02:30That's what I would put the bar.
02:32With Jakub Kibiyo, he's obviously come in
02:34and played well the other day.
02:35What have you made of his ascent in some ways?
02:38Because it can be quite hard
02:39to go from not playing much at all
02:41to then facing up to the back day.
02:43I mean, super difficult.
02:45Very difficult to do what he's done.
02:46I'm really impressed with him.
02:48I don't know if the world is surprised
02:51because the way he trains,
02:53the way he commits to every drill in training,
02:55the way he reacts when he's not playing,
02:57it's phenomenal.
02:58But then you have to do that against the best strikers
03:01in the world.
03:02But, I mean, the partnership,
03:03the way they work together,
03:04I think they're really both a step up
03:06in the oceans of the gap.
03:08Hi.
03:09I mean, you were just talking about
03:11Beckham taking it on his own
03:14to do the pre-kits and have a shot.
03:17Is that a sort of reflection of the journey
03:19that the team has been on over the last few years
03:22and getting a lot more mature and taking it this season?
03:26Yes, and probably it's related to confidence as well
03:30and feeling and owning that moment,
03:32which is really important.
03:33So, I mean, there's no coincidence
03:36that all the top teams,
03:38you look at their games in the Champions League,
03:40the amount of individual moments
03:42that won the football matches.
03:43I mean, in the Champions League at this level,
03:45that's a necessity.
03:47Without that, I don't have a chance to progress
03:50and be in the finals and winning trophies like we won.
03:54I think a lot of people would have been surprised
03:56by the result just given the number of injuries
03:58and problems that you've had this year.
04:00But do you think that that shows such an amazing result,
04:03shows you what you're capable of even
04:05with a few players missing and what you can achieve?
04:09Yes, and I'm probably understanding as well
04:11that I think that's a reflection of a lot of Mon's work
04:15and how the players have maintained that level of belief
04:19and the standards throughout the season
04:21with all the issues that we have.
04:22So that means that the we is so, so, so strong.
04:25You know, and within that,
04:27there is a lot of people that contribute to that,
04:29especially the ones that they haven't played that much
04:31and they keep the standards and the level of the team so high.
04:34OK, last couple. Sorry, Karen.
04:36Sorry, Karen.
04:37You said that you need the energy
04:39to keep making the players more valued.
04:41Does that mean this summer you will have quite a big involvement
04:45in the contracts that need to be signed with the players,
04:48as well as the new signings?
04:50Andres is a bit new to the company,
04:52he doesn't know the players the same way that you do.
04:54Does that mean you're going to have a much bigger role?
04:56No, no, no.
04:57I mean, I talk to the players, I talk to the club,
04:59what would be my idea, try to convince them
05:01and especially Phil, if they are happy with us,
05:05fully happy and they want to commit to us,
05:07but then that's for Andrea and the board ownership
05:10to get the right deal and the right contract.
05:13I don't want to get involved in that.
05:15That's for Andrea.
05:16What sort of deals you've got to do as well as new signings?
05:19There's been a lot of pressure on the wage bill
05:21over the last couple of years anyway.
05:23Do you have the financial power to do what you want to do
05:27without maybe getting into the Champions League?
05:30Do you need to get into the Champions League to do that every year
05:33to have the finances?
05:35Again, that's probably for him, for Rich, for the team,
05:40for ownership to discuss those topics.
05:42I mean, for the right reasons,
05:45we want to be playing in the Champions League
05:47and at the highest and latest stages of that competition
05:50because obviously without that
05:51and the models that we have for the future
05:54will be very difficult.
05:55So that's what we're going to be.
05:57Okay, final question.
05:58Michael, you mentioned focusing on the next game this weekend.
06:02How hard is it as a staff,
06:05obviously you must have enjoyed the evening,
06:07and how hard is it for you to switch back off the players
06:09and yourself to such a game like this,
06:11and the highs of the week?
06:13When you're winning, I think pretty easy
06:15because your energy is good, your mood is good,
06:17the team is performing,
06:19and you have a fantastic experience together.
06:21So you are looking forward to the next one.
06:23So there is no, I mean, that's a huge advantage,
06:26I think, when you have that momentum to keep going.
06:29So looking forward to the game tomorrow.
06:31Can you enjoy it before you go to the next game yourself?
06:34I did enjoy it, especially because we had quite a lot of family together here
06:39and it was such a special night that I did enjoy it for a few hours.
06:42Next day, watch it back, then enjoy it,
06:45but okay, things that we have to do better,
06:47and then into Brentford.
06:49Okay, guys.
06:50Thanks very much.
06:51Yeah, thank you.