Mikel Arteta was back behind the press conference desk at the Sobha Realty Training Centre the day before we face Tottenham Hotspur to give his thoughts on our home north London derby day.
He was asked to give an update about injuries following the defeat to Manchester United, how they affect transfer plans, his thoughts on Ange Postecoglu and much more.
Here is everything he said to journalists in attendance:
on the latest on Gabriel Jesus’ injury:
We know more now and it's not looking at all. We need to review with one more specialist, so we will probably have better information this afternoon.
on whether it’s an ACL injury:
I don’t want to confirm anything until we’ve had the final report this afternoon. It’s the doctor’s job to do that, but we were very worried straight away after the game and we are very worried today.
on whether it could be a season-ending injury:
Let’s wait until the tests.
on whether any other players could be available:
We have one more training session and there are a few that could be close. But again, this afternoon we’ll have the full info on the squad, who is available and who is not.
on whether Riccardo Calafiori could be fit:
His thing is not much, but again, we need another day or two. We’ve been playing every three days and 24 hours becomes really important because they are not long-term injuries, in that case for example. We will have more understanding this afternoon.
on if Jorginho is OK:
He was cramping when we were playing extra-time, Jurrien [Timber] was exactly the same, so we had a few players struggling to finish the game. He’s fine.
on if Jesus’ injury changes our transfer plans:
My answer doesn't change, it remains the same - we are actively looking in the market to improve the squad, and that’s been the same since day one. It would be naive not to do that because it is always an opportunity to evolve the team and improve the squad, especially with the circumstances. So yes, we are looking and we are trying and let's see what we are able to do.
on transfers not being in our hands:
When you have to recruit a player, there are three parties and you have to agree to that. We have our limitations like any other club, so we can do what we can do. We plan our squad and we have our limits to do what we want to do, and that's it. So the fact that I love our players a lot doesn’t mean we’re doing nothing about improving - I am not that stubborn. We all want the same, so we use every opportunity to improve the squad daily, and when the market comes in and we can do that too, we’ll make sure that we have the best resources and the best capacities to compete in the manner we want.
on the derby:
It’s probably the nicest game of the season to watch because of the atmosphere, because of what it means to our people, what it means to us and everybody involved in the game. This is something that is in our hands, for example. Let’s create the best atmosphere that we have played at the Emirates, that’s our objective. That's something that we control, the players, the staff, and everybody that turns up tomorrow. This is something that we can do, so let's do it.
on the social media abuse directed at our players:
It’s incredible, and we really have to do something about it because accepting that and hiding this I think has terrible consequences. It's something that we really have to eradicate from the game because it’s so simple and so dependent on the result of an action, and there is no other industry like this. On December 27 at home, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored a goal and the whole stadium sang the waka waka song. That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?
We are all responsible, and all means you guys [the media], everybody is responsible for the narrative, everyone is responsible for how we talk. and we cannot look somewhere else. That's a really serious matter, and it affects him, it affects me, it affects everybody in the industry in a way. We can accept it and say that it's our job, yes, but there are certain limits and the line has to drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next, what is next in football, the next in football might be that this is prohibited. It cannot happen - that's it.
on whether this is toughest period with injuries as our boss:
This is a more challenging period that we’ve had, especially as we’ve lost very important players in crucial moments, but I don't know, things happen for a reason in this life. We have to adapt, and with everything that has happened, look how the team performs. OK, we didn’t win the other day, but if you have to go out of a competition, let’s go out like this when you have been infinitely better than the opposition, and on Wednesday we have another one. It’s probably the best time to play, because we know what that game means for all of us. So, let's face it, the circumstances are where they are, let's embrace them and let's get the best out of that because even with all that, look how the team plays.
on if his respect for Ange Postecoglu has grown within his injury crisis:
That's our job, it's very difficult to predict that those things are going to happen, but how we react, it’s something that is in our hands. You can be sorry for yourself and start to find excuses or face it. Ange has done that and last year they had some difficulties as well, and he dealt with it in the same way, so I really respect that.