Press conference

Arteta on Mari, Cedric, transfers: transcript

Mikel Arteta was back in front of the media on Friday as he looked ahead to our Premier League clash with Burnley.

Our head coach was asked about new arrivals Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares, plus whether we'd be doing any more deadline-day business.

See what he said in our full transcript below:

on how pleased he with the new signings...

We've been trying to be active in the market to resolve some of the issues we've been going through in the last few weeks. We found two players that we believe can be very useful and improve our squad, obviously with the resources we had as a club. We are happy with what we've done. 

on Aubameyang and David Luiz being available again...

Yeah we missed them. It's good to have top players back in the squad. They've been training well so we have more bodies available.

on positive news on Mustafi's injury...

Yes. It's not as bad as we thought. He's been having treatment, he's been doing a little bit of treatment, and we're feeling positive about him.

on what Cedric can bring to the club...

He's a player who's got a big experience. He's played in different countries, he's played in this league, he knows what it means. He's very willing to go to another top club and he's got that desire, that commitment. I followed him a few seasons ago, I started to follow him and I really like what he can bring. They were the right conditions for us as well to try to improve the squad.

on when Cedric may be available...

They were assessing him yesterday and we will have more results today, but he's got a little issue. I don't think he will be available to play [on Sunday].

on Pablo Mari...

For me, it's very important. He balances what I want to do from the back line, he gives more options, more solutions, he opens up the pitch more. Again, he's a player that we've been following for the last few months. We are really happy to have him. 

on whether we could do any more business...

I will say no, but you never know, as you said!

on whether he’s happy with the club’s business this window…

I am happy for two reasons. We believed that we couldn’t strengthen the team a little bit in some areas with the financial situation that we have, but as well, four weeks ago I was very concerned with some of the departures and we’ve been able to manage that so far.

on what he’s expecting from Burnley…

It’s one of the most English brands. What they do, they do it really, really well and they’re specialists at that. The type of game that they want to play makes it really difficult for the opponent, so we need to be ready for a battle, be clever and take the game the way we want. We will go there with complete focus and energy and a very clear plan, because if not, they are very hard to deal with.

on how he can use our break after Burnley to his benefit…

There are two aspects. One is that since November they haven’t had two days off, so they need to relax their minds a little bit. I wanted to take them a little bit away from here and I want us to live together a little bit more. In the last few weeks we also haven’t had time to really prepare or train.

on his hopes for the final part of the season…

A lot of the things that we’ve been doing in recent weeks, I’m starting to see some signs of it. The process and how long it takes for us to get where I want, it will dictate and results will bring more confidence and energy. But we are on the right path. The next two weeks after Dubai are going to help us as well to accelerate that process a little bit more. Hopefully we don’t lose any more players as well because injury wise it’s been tricky. I’m happy where I am.

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