Arteta: Our duty to stop sensitive information leaking

Four years ago, after news of a training ground bust-up between Dani Ceballos and David Luiz made headlines, Mikel Arteta vowed whoever leaked the information would face consequences.

“I don’t like the fact that that incident comes out at all,” he said. “And I will find out where it is coming from and if that is the case, that goes completely against what I expect from each other, the privacy and the confidentiality that we need, and there will be consequences.”

A few months later, after the departure of a couple of suspects, Arteta confirmed “he had a solid idea” of the guilty party.

Since then, the policy of “what happens behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors” has been closely enforced. Even though the sheer size of the club has meant it’s difficult to police everything that filters out, for the most part, tittle-tattle and, specifically, unofficial medical updates have been few and far between.

While they do still happen – a recent story about a setback for Takehiro Tomiyasu is an example – it’s clear the boss doesn’t want anybody at the club giving a leg up to opponents, or for that matter, those playing Fantasy Premier League.

On team news leaking, he said: “That’s something, I understand. There are a lot of kids that want to do their own teams and obviously, they are managers and picking their positions, but it is our job to protect that [information] as much as possible because you don’t want to give anything away, it’s normal.

On protecting private information, he added: “It’s a big part of our job. We have a lot of information, a lot of sensitive information, a lot of information that a lot of people want to have and share. And it’s our obligation, our duty, to maintain and protect the club and the team in the best possible way.”

Arteta’s priority right now is keeping Liverpool manager Arne Slot guessing ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Reds at the Emirates. While the Dutchman knows the Gunners will be without William Saliba and Martin Odegaard, it’s unclear whether Bukayo Saka (absent from the last two games) will be fit enough to start.

Arteta says his medical team is doing everything it can to get players back but he didn’t sound overly positive about the situation. Whatever team he selects, he knows Arsenal face a big test given Liverpool have won 11 of their 12 games this season under their new manager.

“Obviously, they’re in a really good moment, they’re in a great run,” acknowledged the Spaniard. “You can see the touch that he [Slot] has given to a team that was already very strong, but you can see his fingerprints on that team.

“It’s a team that for nine years has been competing at the highest level in every competition. They know how to compete, they know how to threaten you when the ball is really far, when the ball is in the outside units especially.

“They have the individual quality to damage you. They are good on set pieces. It’s a team that for nine years consistently has been there. That means that they are really good at everything that they do.”

“For me, they are one of the best teams in the last decade, and certainly the history of this Premier League, because they competed against a team [Man City] that was creating record after record, and they were consistent. That shows a lot of relentlessness and a winning mentality to be consistent, even when at some point they could not reach it [the title], so that’s a big credit and the work they’ve done with a clear identity. That’s something remarkable in my opinion.”