For the first time in 2025, Mikel Arteta welcomed journalists to the Sobha Realty Training Centre for a pre-match press conference ahead of our trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
They asked him questions about injuries, the opening of the transfer window, our academy and much more.
Here is everything Mikel had to say in response:
on if Kai Havertz can make the squad for Brighton:
Yes I think so.
on if anyone else has been affected by the sickness bug:
No. The ones with the injuries I think are going to be okay. They will train today and if everybody is fine they should be available.
on Raheem Sterling:
I think he’s starting to do some stuff on the pitch so that’s great news. As quickly as possible we want him available. Let’s see how he progresses this week and then see if we can go for the following week.
on Ben White and Tomiyasu:
Ben is still a few weeks away and Tomi again has done some stuff on the pitch but now because it’s been a long-term injury we need to see how quickly he can progress and how he reacts.
on Declan Rice and managing minutes:
In his case especially, he plays so much football. We have nine games in this period this month and he had some niggles in the last few games. He had to come off and we have to manage every player and there are no exceptions.
on if it’s likely that we’ll sign someone in January:
I don’t know, again because the focus is on the players that we have. When something is in the market that we can afford and believe is going to have a real impact on the team, we have to be open to that possibility. We have the ability to change the squad in the windows, but at the moment the focus is on what we have.
on if Kieran Tierney will leave in January:
All the players that are here want to focus on performing and impacting the team. If something happens there, we’ll assess it.
on if Ethan Nwaneri is the most natural replacement for Bukayo Saka:
He’s a player that can play in various positions. It’s not a position that he’s played a lot when he was at academy level, but he can adapt to the demands that we have in two or three positions. I think he did really well there.
on Mikel Merino’s time here so far:
We expected a very fast integration because he’s played in the league, he’s such an intelligent and experienced player and he fits very well. He had an injury and another little niggle, and he had no pre-season because he played for Spain as well and it took him just a while to start to get set, but now you can see the impact he has in the team, his intelligence and the goal threat that he offers to the team. Then, more and more will come because he’s a natural leader as well. As he grows in the role, I think we’ll see much more from him.
on Gabriel Jesus’ form:
It’s about supporting our players and they know that they have to go through some periods that are not exactly how they planned because it’s a part of that. But as well they have to believe in themselves and we have to make sure that, if one day they doubt, then we’re there to recognise them and make sure that they feel from our side how much we like them and how happy we are to have them.
on what to expect from Brighton:
They’re a really tough opponent. When you see the record they have at home, the way of playing, the capacity to adapt to different shapes, it’s really impressive. I think he’s done something slightly different to before and I really like them. I really enjoy what they’ve done.
on giving more Premier League debuts to our youth players:
The first thing that we want is to look at the academy – can we get what we want in the academy, that’s option number one. If we don’t have it there, then we have to look elsewhere. We have to develop our players to different positions and make them more versatile, or we have to go into the market and recruit. I think those two players [Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri] are playing because they deserve to, not just down to injuries, but because there are options to play other players. They play because they are good players.
on if Mikel has taken anything from the La Masia academy as inspiration:
I would love [to] but the revelations here are unfortunately very different. A lot of the things that in my opinion are the most impactful things, we cannot do here.
on how he sees our academy developing in the years to come:
Many more coming through, especially that they feel they have a chance and any moment anybody [can come in] and that means academy players and staff. The first thing we do with the staff is exactly the same, everybody has the ambition, the purpose and intention to prepare and show that in any moment they can come and be a part of our team.
on if the future is bright for our academy:
I think so, we have put in a lot of work. Per and the team have done a lot of great work, and we are on it. We know the level as well and along with the system we have at the moment for where they are playing to where they have to come. The gap is huge, but we are trying to find ways to make sure that they can fulfil that gap.
on if we’re looking to the academy due to PSR:
Regardless of the PSR, that’s the first intention that we’ve always had. The thing is what you need is at the level of the academy, the timeframe that you need as well. You can have a lot of talent but maybe that talent doesn’t have space in the squad. It’s something that we have built over the years, to create with the players that were coming through, especially with the spaces in our squad, so we can use the players that we have.
on if 2025 is a big year for both Arsenal and England for Lewis-Skelly:
I don’t know, I think the focus has to be establishing first of all as a first-team player, performing at the highest level and people will mention [him playing for England].
on if Lewis-Skelly is good enough to play for England:
I don’t know, until you can play at that level you cannot say. That’s what he has to prove every single day, in every training session here and be good enough to sustain that level consistently. That’s the objective.
on the Premier League title race:
We have to show the same level of consistency and a bit more, because the last year we have been the best team in the league, broken various records and still haven’t won a major trophy, so something is missing. It’s going to be very thin, small details, you can pick up certain games and situations, but at the end, we’re so close and we just have to flip that coin to the other side to make it happen. That’s only going to happen if we do what we have to do and what we can control, the rest is out of our hands.
on our options on the right to replace Bukayo Saka:
I said on day one when Bukayo got injured that I think it’s going to be a lot of different options, especially with the amount of games that we have. There’s not one player that’s going to play nine games in a row in that position, it’s impossible. So, when we look at that and we look at the opposition as well, especially the way they defend, the way they occupy spaces, one day a natural or inverted footed, would be more [useful]. We need more threat, we need more players fit and rotation in that unit. In relation to that, we will make decisions and as well, players’ performances, that’s simple.
on whether he analyses previous games where Martinelli has played on the right:
We look at a lot of things, the more recent one is when he had to play at Palace. They played with a back five and were quite deep as well and he produced an assist and a goal from that position. Options are great, Gabi can play, Rice is available and he fits into the team really well, and we have other options as well.
on whether the team is performing at a higher level this time around:
To a higher level yes, and especially to a higher level with a lot of very different circumstances and challenges we have had this year. I think we have made big improvements in that sense.
on whether the gap between us and Liverpool is motivation:
We don't know, this can fluctuate within weeks. It sounds boring but it is about our performance and looking after ourselves and the things we can control and keep evolving and improving. If we perform at the level that we are doing, we can win a lot of games and the reality is that every game for everybody is a massive challenge.
on whether Ben White could be back before the end of the month:
It might be a possibility but he hasn’t done anything with the team. The knee looks good, he’s reacted really well, and in the first few weeks everything is going smoothly. Now we need to start the load and that means he needs to get through many more things that up to now he hasn't been able to do, but hopefully it's good. His work ethic is unbelievable and naturally, he’s a really gifted player so I am very positive that we're going to have him quite early, but I don't know when.
on Jorginho and Thomas Partey being able to talk to foreign clubs:
That situation is there in the contracts so that is a possibility. It’s close communication with them to understand what their idea is, what they want to do, express our intentions and then let's decide for everybody what the best option is, but it’s two players that I am very, very happy with. They add such value to the squad and I want to keep them in the right mindframe because the most important part of the season is coming up.
on whether he wants them to stay:
What I can say is that it's not about what I want, it’s about what those players have in their minds and their situations. I don't want to start to have these conversations now, I want to have them much later because the focus now has to be what we have to do in the season. They can understand the intentions, and then we will see what we can do.
on whether it’s simplistic to say we have to sign a striker this month to win the league:
I don’t know, it can be a perception, it can be a reality. Signing someone is not enough, that's for sure because that signing then has to score how many goals? A lot of things have to happen. Sign and then I score 20 goals from here until the end and then you have a better chance? Maybe, yes. I don't know! But I'm very happy with the players that we have. If you look at the amount of goals that we score as well, it’s more than enough to win a Premier League, and our other numbers as well. But the reality is if somebody doing more, that's life so we have to be better.
on whether people have to be realistic about what can happen in a January window:
That market is much more limited than the one in the summer, but I don't know. People's expectations and dreams are something good.
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