For the last time this season, Mikel Arteta held a pre-match press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre to discuss our Premier League finale against Southampton.
As the curtain comes down on the campaign, he was asked about the latest team news, his thoughts on our season and more.
Here is everything he had to say:
on team news:
Jurrien had surgery on Tuesday morning on his ankle. He's been feeling that discomfort for many, many weeks. He's been navigating through the season with that issue and it needed to be resolved, so he's going to be out for a while. And Saliba, he felt something in his hamstring in the first half [against Newcastle], just before half-time. And again, he's going to be out for a few weeks.
on the timeline for Timber’s injury:
We don't know yet. It will depend how the recovery goes. It will be weeks, but we don't know exactly how much. Hopefully, it will be somewhere near the pre-season, if everything goes well, but we don't know yet.
on Saliba:
A few weeks, yes.
on Havertz’s return:
You could tell how excited he was. He's been working so hard. I think he's done great with the medical staff to get back in the shape and in the form that he is at the moment. He was desperate to contribute and I'm pretty happy to see him back.
on if there is any update on Partey’s future:
There's some question marks on a few of them, so we'll have to wait and see. We still have another Premier League match to play on Sunday and after that, we have some time to sit down and finalise a few things that have to be done. In regards to Thomas, I think consistency-wise it's been his best season. I think the way he's played and performed, his availability has been exceptional and he's a really important player for us.
on if signing Raya was one of the best decisions we’ve made:
We make decisions with that intention, but at the time it was a very unpopular one, there was so much pressure on it not to get it done. But I think we have to feel our gut and we have to be very analytical of what we think is necessary to improve the team, to take the team to a different level. Certainly everybody, I think, at the club, around the team, our supporters are very happy with the way David has been consistently performing at the highest level in the last few seasons.
on how much clarity he’ll have in his mind about next season after enjoying some time off:
I can imagine the moment that you just described, so probably what I would do when I'm done, I pick up the phone, I call you and I tell you exactly how I feel. Now exactly is not the best moment to do it and I don't feel in a way to do it. I have quite a clear picture, but I need a few more things to then have a real clarity and analysis and describe the season with the right words, because I know that that's going to be very, very important.
on the most important thing about getting next season right:
Alignment. Everybody at the end. We all feel the same way, that we feel that we are capable. It's not just a dream or it's not just something you want to do, it's that we have everything that is needed to do that. And even if you do, there are a lot of things that are going to play a part to win. A lot of things, what the performance is going to be, the squad quality, what the availability is going to be, referees, the schedule, who you play, when, in what kind of form they are, how many days you have to recover. And then the randomness of football - I cannot control what can happen in that dressing room to somebody in his personal life that can affect his performance, or that something happens, or competitors do something like in the history of this league. You have cynicism, then boom, they do that and then there is a lot of randomness there. So, things that we can control, I guarantee we will do our very best.
on what Tottenham Hotspur achieved last night:
Just congratulate them. I think they are champions and when you get to that, you have to do a lot of things right. I think they've gone through a season with a lot of obstacles and difficulties and they have in the end managed a beautiful moment. So, you have to congratulate. This is sport and I'm sure they've done everything in their hands to achieve it and they are very happy.
on if we’ve had a better season than them:
I don't like to compare with other teams. I need to analyse my team, that's my job.
on our game at Southampton:
There’s motivation because you want to have as many points as possible. You are always here representing this club to win and to play in the manner that we want to do. We still want to achieve the best defensive record, the Golden Glove is still to play for and finish the season again on a high with a good test and always respecting the competition.
on how he switches off this summer:
You need to reset. In order to do that, there are many parts. You need to rest, then you need to be very convinced and aligned with what you want to do to give yourself the next chance to be where we want to be, and then you need to start to feel that feeling in your tummy that you’re willing to come back here on day one, fully motivated and fully enthusiastic to go again with the group of players and staff that we have.
on how excited he is for next season:
I am excited but now I need to rest a little bit, to calm down and to start to make certain decisions in the most efficient way with the right timing to make sure that I can rest. A big part of the rest is when you start to see things are happening and happening in the right timing and in the right direction.
on Andrea Berta’s role this summer:
I think he’s going to be a big contributor with his experience, and the fact that he’s already won in very difficult contexts and the way he’s built teams, he is exceptional. I think we have to share that responsibility and Andrea is going to be a key part to driving the plans and the ideas we have and try to execute them and we are here to support him.
on how he would summarise the season in one word:
I knew that question was coming! When it finishes, I will do that. If I count one, I might use three.
on being linked with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo:
I wouldn’t like to name a player, but the biggest thing is that, and using the word pride, we have brought the club into a position, into a place that next season you have to win a major trophy. That means that everybody believes that we have the level, that we have shown the consistency and we are an elite team in this country and in Europe and if you don't do that, then what is going to happen? For me that is the biggest statement, that Arsenal is there.
on whether we should be in the conversation when a player like that is on the market:
If you want to win major trophies, you have to be the best in the market. The teams that win have the best players, always, at this level.
on Havertz bulking up:
You saw the difference, yeah?!
on whether Havertz’s return alters the thinking in the transfer market:
What is clear with the amount of injuries we had in the front line is that we need a goal threat, we need the firepower out there, and understanding that the context can change tomorrow. We cannot rely just on the numbers we had before. We have to add goals, we have to add creativity, we have to add numbers and that will be in different positions.
on whether it’s a worry that football is binary in terms of ‘success’ and ‘failure’:
Externally, yes. You're going to only evaluate that, then use those two words and that's it. But then make decisions based on that. So next season, you don't do that, you are out. If you do that, you are here forever. I don't know, what is it? Because last night is a really good example of that. Or the final between Inter and PSG. Because they're going to be judged only if they win it. If not, they're going again like the last 12 years that they have tried it. I have a very different view on that.
on dealing with that with the players:
But where is the joy then? Because then if I have to analyse ourselves, Arsenal Football Clubs, then we have failed the last 20 years in the Premier League and we have failed in all our history in the Champions League?! If you take it there, what? Who are we then? What is our brand? What is our club? What is it that we stand for? What is our value? What is our way of playing? What are the moments that we live together with our people? If we're just going to evaluate that, we have to do a summary. What is it? 20 years of that and a full history of our club in Europe. I wouldn't go that way.
on the Women’s Champions League final on Saturday:
I will be watching, I will be wishing and I think everybody is fully on board, bringing that energy to them. It's going to be an incredible moment for the club, for them. So I wish them all the very best and we will be watching.
on whether their success brings energy throughout the club:
For sure. The women, what we do in the academy, at any level, anything that is very positive for the football club, we are more than happy to do that.
on whether he would like to keep Thomas Partey next season:
Yeah, I said it many times.
on whether he has a number in mind of how many players he wants to bring in:
Yes.
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