Every word from Mikel's pre-Brentford presser

48 hours before our clash against Brentford at Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta held his pre-match press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre to tackle questions from the media.

He was asked about Aaron Ramsdale returning in goal, our form since our Dubai trip, rotating his players and a huge weekend in the title race among many other topics.

Here is everything he had to say:

on team news: 
Not much, we got some players back last Monday, and then we had Martinelli and Bukayo with little issues but we are pretty positive that hopefully they can be part of that but we’ll have to wait and see how they are tomorrow.

on Aaron Ramsdale’s game time this season ahead of Brentford:
It is what it is, he is fully prepared, he trains really well every day. He is desperate to play like the rest of the boys who haven’t had that many opportunities and Saturday is a great day for him.

on Aaron’s attitude this season:
He’s been brilliant, he’s been really good, really supportive, really pushing everything in training like I expected and it’s a joy to have two top goalkeepers in the team.

on why our trip to Dubai has been so successful:
It was necessary, we had a really tough period before that. We played so many games and had some defeats especially not deserving to lose matches, but I think [the trip] was something that was probably necessary to keep improving, keep demanding from ourselves, and the weather, the temperature. Some of the things we had time to work on to improve as a team as well and everything clicked. We won and we’re playing good and that helps.

on whether the trip can be a turning point in our season:
It was really good, it was the perfect timing for us. What we built there, the chemistry, the energy that was around the place, the amount of time we had to spend together and enjoy that part. It was a really positive trip.

on being motivated to face Brentford after the home game last season:
Every point that we left, or we left this season hurts, and that’s still there. We have a lot to play for, the difficulty of the match is always really tough. We’ve played them twice already and we suffered, we always suffer against Brentford. On Saturday I expect a really similar match.

on focusing on Brentford and not thinking about Liverpool v Man City:
That's the only thing we can control - perform well, play better than them and earn the right to win the game. Let’s do that and if we do that then on Sunday it's a beautiful game to watch for any football supporter, and I will certainly be watching it.

on if he cares about the result of that game: 
I can't control it. I will enjoy a magnificent game of football between two of the best teams in Europe in the last decade and let’s see what that brings, but the focus is on us and Brentford.

on if he has a preference for who wins privately:
Privately and publicly I have the same [answer] because it's nothing to do with me.

on if there is any news on new contracts for our players:
Not really and I leave that more to Edu and the club to announce those things when the time is right.

on the message our recent results are sending to our title rivals:
It's great because it shows the quality and the consistency that the team is showing. The way that we have scored those goals as well, not only the manner but as well the personnel is a really positive thing to see. Then there’s the fact that we are conceding very little defensively so those ingredients together are very powerful to get results and consistency and we want more.

on the pressure us moving into top spot would put on our rivals:
We know the demands that we have and the demands that Brentford are going to ask us to win the match and identify that. We are still not [top of the league] and we want to be better than where we are at the moment, and the other two are, so we have to continue to win.

on if he’s secretly hoping Liverpool and Man City draw:
Honestly, it is nothing to do with me. I will sit down with my kids and enjoy the match.

on if this is the best title race in Premier League history:
I can imagine that for a lot of people it is very interesting and we want to make it very interesting, especially for us, so we have to keep going.

on the impact Kai Havertz is having:
It shows his character as well and how he has dealt with all those question marks. The attitude he showed all the time when things were not that good in certain phases of the game, but he continued to work hard and that's why he's loved by everybody here. And then we can see his quality and intelligence on the pitch and the contribution he's having to the team, so we’re very happy with him.

on Declan Rice wanting more goal involvements being contagious:
That's something that is amongst the team that they want to keep improving. They all believe that they have another gear or two to go and that's the level that we want to push them to. We are achieving it with the majority of the players and we have to continue to do it.

on if we are playing how Mikel envisaged we would when he took over:
It's very difficult to do it if you don't know the players that you have. You have to adapt to the players and the qualities they have in order to play and achieve what you want to do. But I'm really satisfied with the way the team plays.

on what has changed about the team this season:
Experience is a factor. They have played more together as well, and understand the system better. They understand the way we have to compete and the demands that we have to put on ourselves better, and then the confidence grows when results go their way and the performance is good as well. 

on how key Havertz is to the way we want to play and press from the front:
Yeah and his ability to occupy a space as well as in transition moments to exploit them. The aggression that he has in high presses is really, really good. He has the physical qualities to play very different kinds of games and that's an attribute that we felt was going to be very positive for us. 

on Thierry Henry seeing similarities between Rice and Yaya Toure:
A very good player to get compared to because Yaya was an incredible player. What he did in this league was outstanding, and Declan wants more so that's a good sign.

on how big Aaron’s personality has been:
One of the toughest things to deal with is for players who don’t have the amount of time that they deserve. Not only Aaron, but with many of those, but we have an unbelievable group of players. We try to be straight and explain things and be close to them and give them the support that we want and then, when they have the opportunity, at the end they want to contribute to the team the best possible way and that’s what Aaron will try to do on Saturday.

on if he prefers building momentum in a short period of time between games rather than having periods of rest:
Well we had a really strange schedule lately because we had a long period after Newcastle and the same happened a week or two ago. We have adapted and we have to have the capacity to adapt to that. It’s true that now we’re going to have two games very close to each other and then we’re going to have a big gap again after the international break to Man City, so try to prepare in the right way to maximise the time that we get.

on Eddie, Reiss and Emile not playing against Sheffield United:
We discussed things and we cannot play every player in every game. Those players played a few games ago against Newcastle and they had opportunities to do that. Now we have five subs, before we had only three, so we have another two players happy. That’s the way I take it, but you always have players who want to be involved and play, but unfortunately it is impossible. It’s not in our hands, it’s impossible to achieve that so they know that.

on if he has pulled them aside to discuss their minutes:
You cannot really promise anything. You never know what is going to happen in a three weeks time or seven days. Just I think we have to show the compassion and they need to feel that we are next to them and we understand where they are, but the reality as well is that this is football. This is a team sport and you have to understand and fulfil the role that you have in the moment and it might be very different in three weeks time.

on if he will be watching Liverpool v Man City with his coaching staff:
I didn’t think about that, you gave me an idea! But the idea was to watch it with my kids, but I don’t know what I’m going to do.

on if Aaron can adapt to what he wants from a goalkeeper:
Not only can he adapt, he has proven that he can perform really well to what I want and what we want.

on if he has a chance of keeping his place:
We don’t have that kind of conversation with players, not with Aaron or any other players. You feel you play today and you have a chance to play next week, that doesn’t happen.

on if he can rule out a move for Ivan Toney in the summer:
I don’t talk about any other player because if not I have to be ruling out every player in the market because we are linked with a lot of players. That’s it.

on if our goalscoring form changes his thinking about whether we need a forward in the summer:
No, the plans that we have for the summer are very clear and were done almost at the start of the season, understanding what we can have, the contract situations that we have with some players and how we want to improve and maintain the level of the team. This certainly has not changed anything.