Mikel Arteta was back in front of the press at London Colney for his first press conference after the November international break.
He spoke to the media about the latest team news, Aaron Ramsdale's involvement on Saturday, the trip to Brentford, his 200th game in charge and more.
Here's everything he had to say on the following subjects:
on the latest team news and if Odegaard will be available:
Hopefully, yes. We have another training session today but he’s been progressing well and hopefully he will be available.
on concussion protocols with Odegaard:
Yes, because we didn’t know how many days [he’d be out for]. It depends on certain things and at the end he got more delayed than we wanted. But we have to protect the player.
on Gabriel Jesus’ fitness:
He’s available. He played 96 minutes in a really competitive match. We have another session. They had a long flight and I have to see the condition of every single player to make the final call on the lineup.
on Ben White’s fitness:
Again, hopefully if he’s available to train today, he will be available to play. It’s a question mark to be resolved in the next few hours.
on if Aaron Ramsdale will start in goal:
Yes.
on if there’s a difference in Ramsdale’s mood when he knows he’s starting:
No, I think every player is willing to play. They’re all excited to play. They’re always expecting to play. Sometimes there’s disappointment the day before or a few hours before the match, but every player is willing to play.
on whether Ramsdale will play on Wednesday if he has ‘an amazing game and saves a couple of penalties’:
Hopefully he doesn’t need to stop two penalties and he does have an amazing game.
on Jurrien Timber’s integration into the club and how he is around the place:
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. If you talk to anyone in that building, everybody gets close to him [will tell you] he’s a really special guy. We were really impressed when we signed him. Sometimes, when you see the player live in your environment playing and training, we went ‘wow, we have an incredible player’. He’s had a big setback and a difficult moment to go through and he’s been really special in the way he has handled the situation, really special.
on if we will see Timber on the grass soon:
Well I hope so. He’s been for a few walks out on the field. He’s still a bit far from competing but he’s in a good place.
on if the club have sent observations from Anthony Gordon’s goal against Arsenal to the FA:
Yes, we have. We tried to give our points and the reasons why. There’s not a lot more I can comment on.
on how the process has been handled:
There is a process and when you get asked to give your observation and explain yourself, you have to do it in the right way. We have a mechanism and the processes in place to do that. Let’s see what happens.
on managing his 200th game as Arsenal boss tomorrow:
I’m really proud to reach that number. At a big club, it’s always difficult - you have to win a lot of games. Hopefully a lot more positive things will come.
on if there will be another 200 matches:
Or 300, or whatever. The most important one in our job is tomorrow - that’s the only thing that matters.
on why Arteta has got a decent record at Brentford:
It depends on how you look at it because two years ago we had a really tough start to the campaign. We learned from that. They’re a really tough opponent - it’s a really difficult place to be. You look at their start and [the record of] other clubs going there. They make it extremely difficult. They are really effective, really well-coached and it will be a tough, tough match tomorrow.
on if he’ll watch the Man City v Liverpool game:
We watch the games, for sure, because we’re interested in the league. We always [want to be] on top of everything. But we have to focus on us.
on what Thomas Frank has created at Brentford:
With Thomas, with the coaching staff, with the club, for me they are one of the best-run clubs in the league. I’ve followed them for many years and the things they do, the structure, the processes they have in place, the vision they have… it’s incredible what they’ve done with the resources they have. Huge credit to them, not only to achieve and to get to this level, but the way they’ve maintained it with so many changes and the environment that this league demands as well.
on if the club will contest the FA charge:
We’ve been asked to give our observations, our opinions and to run through everything that happened on the day. That’s it.
on if he would say what he said at the end of the Newcastle match if he could turn the clock back:
That’s not possible - it’s like in the game, I give the lineup and then if we don’t win, and you ask me ‘would you pick the same one’… it’s easy, isn't it? I’d [like it] if we could do that, stop and rewind and say ‘give the ball to him instead of him’. We cannot do that, unfortunately. Things go really fast. You have to do that and that’s it. You learn from everything, that’s for sure.
on Tomiyasu’s position at the club:
I really want him to stay. I value the player a lot, I really like him. I think he's loved and respected by everybody at the club. He's getting a lot of minutes now, he's getting his availability to the level that we need for him to make an impact in the team and I think he will continue to be with us.
on if there is an advantage not playing the early game after an international break:
Obviously all the managers would like to play on Sunday probably better than a Saturday or Monday if possible, especially the ones who have had a lot of internationals flying around the world and have played two games. As well, as we have certain commitments and don't have much to say in terms of the fixture list. We have to adapt to it.
on how to convince Aaron that he will be in the plans of the national team:
My job is to try to help every single player in the best possible way every single day to make them better, to give them the best possible chance to fulfil their potential in their career and get to the highest level they possibly can, with no exception in any position or player.
on Edu winning the Best Sporting Director award:
I'm really grateful for him, for the club, for the setup that we have and the enjoyment that we have working together. I think he fully deserves it. I think he's been instrumental in the way that we have changed recruiting in the last few years and hopefully we can get awards in terms of titles now, which is the next step as well.
on Everton’s 10-point deduction:
I feel very connected to the club. It's a very difficult moment that obviously puts the club in a difficult position but they've been in many other difficult positions and always find a way to get out. If there is a quality that I think describes the club, it's the courage, determination and the fight and they will fight against anything and I wish them the best.
on the scale of the punishment:
The news took me by surprise and it's a big one. I don't know the whole story inside it so it's difficult for me to comment
on if managers are being put in an unfair position for sharing their thoughts on officials:
I think it's good that we are communicating. We want to improve the game, all of us, referees, managers, officials, owners, sporting directors, you guys, we all want a better game, that's it. To have a better game we have to have freedom of speech, respectfully, in a constructive way, but we have to promote that. If not, you don't get better. That's for sure. It's good that they are talking in front of the media and explaining the situation because it brings clarity.
on if he will learn his punishment before Brentford:
I don't think so. I think it will be after.
on his duty to speak out and be honest:
You have to be yourself. As a leader, you have to be authentic. You cannot be someone you are not and this is who I am here, when I'm on the pitch, when I'm there, and I want to think that we have to talk to make things better. We have meetings and I talk in a really straightforward way two days before about certain opinions that I had in the face. When I have to talk about myself and be critical about myself, I'm the first one to do it. I want to be very positive and that's what people expect. At the end we have a role with a lot of responsibility and we have to stand for our actions and the way we are.
on his favourite of the 200 games:
The first one because it was a special moment to have the possibility to become the Arsenal manager. For me it was a dream come true and, looking back to that first game, it's really special.
on his pride of reaching 200 games:
I'm very proud, I'm very grateful. So many people around have contributed in a massive way to be here almost for four years, so a big thank-you to all of them because they've been instrumental to believe in me through the difficult moments, to inspire me, to make me better, to give me support and so much joy every single day to be working with them.
on the option to extend Jorginho's stay at the club:
You know I don't discuss these things here, but I'm really happy with Jorgi, I think we all are. He contributes to make the team better, let's see.
on when a decision will be made on that:
That's a question for Edu or somebody else!
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