It is no surprise that Mikel Arteta was quizzed at length about summer signings during his press conference on Thursday.
Our head coach was asked about what new addition Willian will add, and who could follow him through the door before the deadline.
This is what he said:
on Willian’s ambition to win the Champions League and Gabriel…
Well, it is the right spirit! I want players who are optimistic and willing and they want to win for our club. That is the feeling I got from the first day I met Willian: he is not satisfied with what he has done in his career, which is a lot, and he is going to bring some special qualities for our team, and the type of attitude and mentality that you just mentioned in your question. Regarding Gabriel, we cannot announce anything yet, the deal is not finalised - you all know he is a player that we have followed for a long time and hopefully we can get it done.
on the deal for Gabriel and whether it’s okay…
Well, everything is okay when both parties sign, and the player agrees the terms and he goes through the medical - sometimes that, in the final stages, is not as easy as it looks. But we are pretty positive that we can do it.
on the competition to get Gabriel…
Again, when we get it I will be very pleased. He's a player that we've followed and we're very determined that it was the right profile for us to improve our squad. If we are able to finalise it, we will be delighted.
on how close Gabriel is to signing…
We are trying to finalise a deal. That's what I can tell you at the moment.
on Dani Ceballos and if we’re making a move to bring him back…
Well, we have some talks and Dani knows really well what I think about him. He was pretty clear with me as well that his intention was to remain with us but obviously Real Madrid is involved and I don’t know yet what they want to do with the player. But he’s a player that we are interested in because we really saw, in the last few months of the season, what he is capable of bringing to us.
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