In the final part of his pre-Brentford press conference, Mikel Arteta was asked about Arsenal’s status as underdogs in the title race, his squad’s recent scoring record and Aaron Ramsdale’s rare opportunity to play.
Here’s what the boss had to say…
On whether he sees Arsenal as outsiders for the title…
We are third at the moment. We are competing with two of the most successful clubs in Europe in the last decade. They have broken every record in the history of this league. They have set the standards somewhere else that no-one else has been capable of doing. I think they merit that recognition and all it has to do is improve and try to be better than them.
On whether he enjoys being an underdog…
What I enjoy is to be fighting for big trophies in this period. And we want to continue to do the same when it gets to May. That’s the objective.
On being in a position to apply pressure…
That’s what we’re going to try to do. It’s very important. Like winning at Sheffield [United] and then going to Manchester and beating Man City. This is not going to stop. The demands and the amount of points that are going to be needed is going to be so high and we know that it’s one step at a time.
On whether he has concerns Ramsdale might try too hard to impress Gareth Southgate in the Brentford game…
I don’t know how Gareth is thinking, but if I put that situation into my eyes and my perspective and how we make a decision, I would judge Aaron not for what he’s done in one day, but what he’s done in the last two or three seasons. And the consistency that he showed, the quality that he showed. It would give me no reason to make another decision.
On whether Ramsdale needs to keep his emotions in check…
A player has to be himself, and one of the biggest qualities of Aaron is his character, his charisma, his enthusiasm, his energy, and he’s contagious with that, and you cannot cut that. That’s him.
On whether his decision to choose Raya over Ramsdale has been vindicated…
No, we try to make every decision to try to play better, to improve the team and that’s it. That’s the only objective and then the players are the ones to make those decisions right or wrong. I don’t like to compare players.
On why Arsenal are suddenly scoring more goals…
Because we’ve been more efficient. In some of the games that we didn’t score goals, we had more shots and more touches in the box than many of the games that we have won with bigger matches. This is the nature of the game and the beauty of the game. Obviously, now we have that confidence and the energy that the ball is going to go in and that’s very difficult to put into a stat.
On whether anything has changed mentally…
Probably, yes…
On whether Arsenal will have to let Ramsdale go in the future…
It’s not going to be any different with any other position in the team. When we make that call to allow somebody to go, or a player that wants to go, that’s something that we will discuss if that moment arrives.
On Ramsdale playing the rest of the season if Raya were to get injured…
Yeah, you never know, if he does really well, you decide something else.
I think it’s really interesting that Liverpool get totally different press to us. When we scraped results, they said we were tiring. When we scored last minute goals, they said we were getting lucky. When we celebrated, they said it was too much. And when we got injuries, we were just making excuses. But now Liverpool do all of those things and it just shows unity and bravery and squad cohesion… Blah blah blah. I don’t really care. But I think a lot of journalists need to look in the mirror and realise their opinions are totally swayed by the… Read more »
That’s always the case when you haven’t won anything compared to a team who has. It colours perceptions, that’s simply how it is. And also who the fuck cares what these people think anyway, does it have a bearing on any of the results? Pundits and journalists have never been that good at prognosticating anything, the best of them are good for analysing games as they happen or after they finish. If you want more accurate and unbiased prognostication you’re better off going to advanced metrics people, and I’m sure most of them are saying now we have at least… Read more »
This is a valid point. If pundits see even a 10% chance that we won’t win it, then they will take the opportunity to highlight what me may struggle with so they can say I told you so down the line. It’s a win win for them as people won’t remember if they were wrong, but they will take every opportunity to point out that they were right if we don’t win the title (*Gary Neville clutches his pearls “they were celebrating like they’d already won the league.) Had we experienced sustained success like the other two teams in the… Read more »
The interviewer is really trying his best to stir things up!
Straight bat from Mikel as usual
Absolutely played with the full face back down the pitch to the bowler!🏏
“Will Ramsdale play if Raya is injured for the rest of the season?”
“No, if that happens we’ll play Karl Hein.”
What did they think he’d say?
Haha 😂
Runar Runarsson is in a good moment
Maybe Ramsdale is to Raya as Best was to Starr
Ramsdale’s a better drummer than Pete Best.
Underdogs eh?
Could be a lot worse, could be under wolves..
Love it
Let’s get this clear, I have no beef with Raya, he’s class. I have no beef with Arteta, he’s doing an incredible job.
But the manager should stop suggesting there is even a degree of an opportunity for Ramsdale to get back in the side. It’s accepted now (blogs was talking about it in his latest arsecast too) that the situation was horribly dealt with. And his comments about subbing keepers was both stupid and ill judged.
Even if Ramsdale plays out of his skin. Saves 5 penalties and scores a hat trick, he still wouldn’t keep his place.
Those are the breaks in top level football, and I’d rather have an Arteta (ruthless) than a Southgate (Maguire). I’ve found the Ramsdale situation very hard to accept – but I also said when we signed Raya that in Jesus we have someone almost as effective as Toney at winning accurate long balls – and that havertz has the potential to replicate this in Jesus’ absence. I actually felt ramsdale is just as effective in his distribution – but I don’t see them play day in day out in training, and Raya has done little to make me doubt Arteta’s… Read more »
I actually agree with a lot you’ve said. For example Raya hasn’t done too much wrong. But please don’t call it ruthless. What he did to Auba was ruthless but it was absolutely justified and needed. What he did to Ramsdale was the complete opposite.
Also, Ramsdale could easily leave for a rival/future rival (the scum, the chavs, manure, geordie twonks) and would definitely make them stronger.
if you take an unpopular decision to make marginal gains, then most would consider it ruthless.
You’re risking your reputation on a decision that people won’t like (and could easily backfire,) and you do it regardless because you think it could make that critical difference
Our remaining opponents collected an average of 35.1 points, the same for Manchester City’s other opponents, 40.1, and Liverpool’s 36.7. And now they will share the 3 point…
I am not following what you are saying?