In the second part of Thursday’s pre-Crystal Palace press conference, Mikel Arteta revisited the reasons for signing David Raya, Declan Rice’s adaptation period and Roy Hodgson’s longevity in the dugout.
Here’s what the boss had to say.
On Ramsdale’s reaction to Raya’s arrival…
Very positive. The way I see them training, I saw a training session they did the other day, it was fantastic. I think the connection that they have straight away is really good, but this is something that doesn’t surprise me. This is what I expect from players. It’s the same that I expect when I brought Declan. What is their reaction? Hopefully really, really positive because the team wants to be better. If that’s not the reaction, the team doesn’t want to be better, then I will be worried. Then we haven’t created an environment that we want at this club.
On whether it’s a gamble hoping for that kind of reaction from players…
It’s not a gamble, it’s a necessity. There is no other way. Because when we were here last season people were saying about the difference between tier one and what you call tier two players is too big. Then how do you resolve it? We can bring excellent players from the academy. Unfortunately, today we don’t have somebody ready to make that step. Hopefully, we’d have had seven, in the generation that we had in the past we could do that, and then we don’t have to go in the market. But we have to create that environment. It’s not a competition. It’s to raise the level and the demands that we’re going to be facing, and that football is facing. When you see the other squads, we spent on two very good goalkeepers but there are teams that spend £80 million, £60 million, £85 million on goalkeepers. You know, so what does that mean? We want to do it in our own way and I’m extremely happy with the squad we are building. We’re going to keep building a better squad, that’s what the game is going to require. That’s what, primarily, the Champions League is going to require, it’s very simple.
On Roy Hodgson still being a manager in his mid-70s and whether he’ll be doing the same…
Hats off, I told him personally last week when I saw him. It’s not only what he’s done, it’s how he does it. It’s so natural, he’s still so humble and so intelligent and the way he manages the team, the result that he’s having, it’s just excellent. I think it’s somebody to look very, very closely at how he’s done it because it’s amazing what he’s done.
On Hodgson showing he still has the fire to take people on in the dugou and whether Arteta will have to stay in his technical area…
I cannot promise, I will try my best.
On Rice calling for the ball on Saturday and not always receiving it and Arsenal’s players still learning about him and vice versa…
Yes, but I think that’s the willingness that you want from the players, that they have this activity, this demand and they want to really be affecting the game constantly. It is different, our style is different to West Ham’s and what we want from that position is different but I think he’s adapting very well.
On whether Declan Rice could end up being a bargain…
For me, the prize and the award cannot go together, unfortunately! We are really happy to have him. I think we made a huge effort as a club, and I’m very grateful to have him here, and we have to be respectful of that and mindful of that. And then he has many years to prove that he’s going to have the impact that we all believe he will have.
On whether he wants to talk to Roy Hodgson about his longevity…
Yeah, I have spoken to him a few times and if we are invited for sure we will have a drink together because it’s always fascinating to listen to him, as well as to listen to the people that have been alongside him for a long time because they are the ones that know him as well really well, and probably he won’t tell that much on the day. But yeah, if we can, we will spend some time.
On how he keeps his mental health intact over the course of a long season…
It is demanding for everybody, but our physical demands are very different to the players. It’s more, as you said, about keeping fresh and keeping clarity and having the right energy levels for match day, which is really, really important as well. That’s something that I think we managers should all talk about and discuss and try to improve.
Difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 last season was costly….tier 2cost us all the cup competitions…they played like a mid table team at times….Holding,sambi,viera,turner,elneny…..may not get into Brighton’s starting line up…..Doesn’t mean arteta’s ruthlessness doesn’t scare me! On to palace…
Did Tier 1 do better than Tier 2 in the last 8 games of last season? Do Tier 2 players have their contracts renewed and their salaries doubled?
You really think tier2 would have thrived under any scenario? All they needed to provide was a centre back and a 6 to supplement the main team….kiwior and jorginho were January upgrades due to the inadequacies of tier2.
In every Arsenal team I have supported (since 1971) and in most opponent’s teams as well, the centre back IS a 6. Baffled by this new fashion of attribute this number to defensive midfielders. Does anyone know where it came from? The Athletic?
It’s a convention from European football I believe.
Hear hear
Yeah, Adams was 6
You’re right, the better number to use for the position may be the 4. But it’s confusingly muddled beyond any rational system at this point, so 6 is as good as any number for a position that has morphed constantly through the years. The squad numbering system and traditional names like “center half” dates back to the 1930’s and Herbert Chapman’s W M formation. At the base of the vertical lines of the M were the two “full backs” who traditionally had the numbers 2 and 3 because they were closest to the keeper, who was traditionally 1. The middle… Read more »
As Arteta likes players with who can play in multiple positions maybe rice should be 548 and trossard 11109 😂😂😂
We know what we’re going to get from a Hodgson team. Tactical discipline, good spacing defensively, the odd foray forward, but mostly an emphasis on structure and discipline. It works, hence his longevity in the game. However, a Hodgson appointment is also symptomatic of a broader dysfunction. Usually a disciplinarian, back to basics type of coach is brought in as a plan B when plan A has not panned out and the club is desperate to avoid a free fall into the lower tier. That was the case with Palace last season. Their starters are too good to go down,… Read more »
Love reading Arteta pressers, eloquent.