Arsenal in the USA: quotes round-up feat. Arteta, Odegaard, Saliba & more

Everywhere Arsenal venture in Washington, D.C., there are journalists keen to get a sound bite from the players and manager.

Here’s a round-up of a few interesting tidbits we’ve seen in the last 48 hours.
__

William Saliba on wanting to emulate Virgil van Dijk…

I still watch him! I really like his quality in one-against-one, his calmness, his composure and his long balls as well. He has everything and, for me, he was a good defender to learn from… I think he was – for two or three years – the best defender in the world. Of course I have the quality [to get to that level], but that means nothing. You have to work hard to go to this level. So I’m not close to this level but I will give everything to maybe one day become the best defender in the world.

Source: Mail Online

__

Eddie Nketiah on playing with Declan Rice, who he’s known since their days in Chelsea’s youth team…

Obviously, I’ve got a good relationship with Dec. We first played together with the under-nines, to under-14s at Chelsea. As you can imagine as kids we played a lot of games together, a lot of travelling. So, me and his dad and my dad were very supportive. We built a bit of a relationship together. We all got released on the same day, as you can imagine it’s very tough to take. So the character that we both have to come back, obviously I went to Arsenal and he went to West Ham. It’s funny how life works, we’re back here and playing for Arsenal and hopefully being able to do well together and achieve. I’m really proud of the progress he’s made. Seeing him as a kid and the man he’s grown into now and I’m really happy to have him here. I’m sure he’s going to help us a lot, but like I said, we all want to win together. Hopefully he can be another piece of the puzzle to hopefully bring us closer to where we want to be.

Source: Arsenal.com (MLS All-Star pre-game press conference)
__

Martin Odegaard on Flo Balogun’s development…

I’m just happy to see him do well. Last year in France had a great season and it’s a big talent. He works hard and is very hungry to improve all the time. So I’m just happy for him and I’m excited to see him again in the games, and hopefully he can do well and score some goals.

Source: Arsenal.com (MLS All-Star pre-game press conference)
__

Jorginho on Arsenal’s US trip so far…

So far it’s been a great trip, we need to keep working hard for the targets we have, as we have been doing. I’m very confident about the whole process, about all the work we’ve been doing, in and out of the pitch, we are on the right path.”

Source: Arsenal.com

__

Martin Odegaard on his experiences playing against Declan Rice …

Every time I played against him I saw the quality. He’s a leader as well so it’s great for me to work together and hopefully, we can help each other a lot. Every time I played him it was a tough one. We had some tough battles so I’m happy to have him on the team and hopefully, we can find a good connection very quickly. I think his presence in the game (stood out). He’s good on the ball, he can take it forward and physically he’s very strong. He’s good in many areas, is physical and is a leader so a lot of areas.

Source: The Athletic
__

Mikel Arteta on what he hopes to take from tonight’s friendly with the MLS All-Stars…

Hopefully, the rhythm won’t be different and our rhythm will be better than theirs. That’s what we are hoping and we always want to play our way, be dominant and it doesn’t matter who we play against, that’s the attitude that we have. It is very early in pre-season and we know that. The teams we’re going to be playing in the next few days are going to be very different. But tomorrow is going to be a challenge. The heat is going to play a part as well, the conditions, but we have to get used to it, to win and play that we want to play under any circumstances. It’s a great test for us.

Source: Arsenal.com (MLS All-Star pre-game press conference)