Mikel Arteta won’t be in the dugout for tomorrow’s clash with Manchester City but the Spaniard still hosted the usual pre-game press conference, albeit from home while he isolates following a second bout of Covid-19.
In this section, he again touched on how he plans to watch the match and how the early season thumping at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s side shaped the side he’s relying on to break a poor run of results against the league leaders.
On how he’ll watch the game…
I will have a special feed and I can watch it the way we normally do all the games that we had.
On having a different camera angle…
Yes. Hopefully, yes we can use that one [higher angle] and give us a proper view.
On watching with his kids…
By myself! I couldn’t have them in the room.
On how his players will cope without his guidance…
Hopefully, really good. Albert and the other coaches will have complete freedom to do what they want to do and what they feel is right to do. I already discussed that with them. It will be down to them. The players are the ones who have to coach themselves. That’s the best way.
On whether there’s any chance he might enjoy the experience of watching at home…
No. It’s nothing like being there. That’s why I decided to become a coach. The best moment of the week is when you are there on the touchline and you’re starting to see what is happening and the way you’ve prepared the team to accomplish what you want to do in the game, whether it’s happening or not and you can change it. There’s no other moment like that.
On the 5-0 at the Etihad being a turning point…
Obviously the start of the season, the first three games, we were low on numbers because of Covid and injuries and because the players that we signed weren’t ready to be with us. It was a really different team [at the Etihad], that is true. But then, I always said there was a turning point in how we reacted as a team, as a group, as a club to that situation and that’s when we started the run. It wasn’t a coincidence in my opinion because the reaction that they all had was only to think in the same direction and to stick together and be united.
On the international break in September giving him a chance to restart…
Yes, it was really tough. Normally you want to play straight away [after a big defeat] to get the feeling out of your stomach but it was impossible, so we used that time to do other things and to try to reframe where we were and to accept our reality because we were bottom of the league at the moment. We had to accept that to try to change that and there was some work to do there.
On it being a gamble to make so many changes so quickly and to trust so many youngsters…
You always question that. But you know when we made a decision to go through that route that we were going to get some inconsistency because they’ve never done it at that level. We had a lot of them [young players] but they’ve proved that they can do it and they’ve been really demanding with themselves and at the same time they’ve handled the difficult situations in a great way.
On Arsenal’s poor record against City and whether it’s psychological…
I don’t know. I hope it doesn’t [play on their minds] but it’s time to change it, that’s for sure. It’s a lot of games [without a win] and another one point is not good enough. Tomorrow we have an opportunity, but it’s about the belief that you have that you can do it. That mental aspect has to be there before stepping and crossing the line tomorrow. Hopefully, we’re going to have [the support of] our people and tomorrow, for me, they are going to be more crucial than ever to create the atmosphere, the energy in difficult moments, stick to the team and give extra energy and passion to the game and lift everybody’s energy as much as possible.
Hope he’s watching from Shockley Park! Might right a few wrongs. Happy new year all!
Yeh he could buy the VAR refs a round at half-time in exchange for a sweet little red card for cancelo or something
The first measure is not securing the points but by being competitive throughout the game. The first 25 minutes against Liverpool was us doing our best in going toe to toe.
Achieving that rather than just 3 points is equally important.
“Special feed” eh?
Mikel? If you’re reading this, would you mind posting a link to the stream just before the match please?
Mikel: “No. That’s the decision we made today”
I liked that too “special feed”. Ie I’m not coughing up for BT Sport. Hahaha
No matter what, Arteta is da man! He makes most players better, he does his job well. The players he has connected with will be thankful their whole lives.
I like this guy! One point is not enough. Bold! Happy new year to all gooners
Happy New Year fellow Gooners! May we secure 3 points today.
COYG!!!
Happy New Year beautiful people. Here’s wishing you all a glorious 2022.
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Whatever happens today we now have a team of lads to be proud of ! And whisper it quietly but maybe more by circumstance than planning I’m starting to warm to the boss ! Happy New Year everyone !!
Somehow this season, some dreaded situations have turned out to be blessings in disguise.
I hope this is one of them. I hope Arteta will be watching from angles that freshen up his perspectives to be better.
I don’t care how anyone sees it. For me, Man City is beatable. I hope they have a bad day and we a good one.
Wooo, so many hopes. COYG!