Mikel Arteta spoke to the press about the upcoming Bournemouth game, Timber’s availability, and key players within the Arsenal squad.
on the latest team news:
Yes, everybody is fit and available so now it’s a headache to make the right selection. Good headache.
on playing first on Saturday:
It’s what it is. We played in many different scenarios this season and our job is clear. We have to win our game and wait. The only thing we can focus on is that.
on the job Andoni Iraola has done at Bournemouth:
Fantastic job. To come into the Premier League and do what’s he’s done, huge credit to him, the coaching staff, and the players obviously. They had difficult start, they kept going with what they believed in and huge credit to him. It’s unbelievable what they’ve done in the manner that they’ve done it as well which is, in my opinion, very important as well. Congratulations because it’s a fantastic achievement.
on Reiss Nelson’s 97th minute winner against Bournemouth last season:
I had a great memory because the game ended in a really beautiful way and it was one of the highlights of the season, so we know we’re going to have to earn it tomorrow again. It’s going to be a really tough match but the team is ready.
on treating Bournemouth with the same respect that we did Tottenham:
The first thing that we did was try to read where the spirit was and the energy, and they were talking about it already, almost as if it’s going to be even more important, now we have momentum, now we have to keep going. They know what is at stake.
on hoping for a more boring game than the 3-2 last season:
I have a different game in my head tomorrow, but we are going to have to perform really well tomorrow and be our best. If we do that, we have a really good chance of winning the game.
on whether Timber will be playing for the under-21s again:
He won’t be playing the game tonight.
on where Timber will be ready to make an impact:
We’re not going to know until we throw him in. It’s tricky because it’s only three games to go and he’s missed eight months of football. He’s played only 150 minutes of football with the under-21s, so it’s a question that has to be resolved only by throwing him on the pitch and seeing what happens. We have to try to nail that decision.
on the lift to the squad to have Timber back:
It does because it increases the quality of the training sessions. You see how commanding he is, his leadership and his quality, and the rest have to lift it up. They start to demand more from each other and they look at each other and say: “I better be good because I want to keep playing.” These are very positive for the squad.
on how we’d have done if Partey and Timber had played more this season:
Do you have a coin? Ping! I have no clue. We have missed them, because when you have them around the team is more competitive, there’s more quality there, more leadership there, that’s for sure. To be honest as well, the players that have played in their position have been exceptional so let’s see. Now probably your question in three or six months time when they have played hopefully a lot of games, I can be more concrete.
on whether David Raya’s loan will be made permanent:
Those conversations are for after the season. We will review where we are and obviously we are really happy with David and everything he has brought to the club and the team. There’s no question about it but all those decisions have to be made between all of us at the club and we will see.
on the areas that Martin Odegaard has improved in:
When you mature, you mature in everything personally and professionally. His role in the team is very different to the one he had when he joined us on loan. He’s our captain now and has been for a while and he’s a really respected player that keeps performing in a way that not many can do at this level.
on what Odegaard, Saka and White are like off the pitch:
They are very close; they spend a lot of time together off the field as well and that’s something really important. You can tell in the way they communicate and the way they look at each other that there is something special there.
on reports the club will listen to offers for Gabriel Jesus:
I don’t know where this is coming from.
on Jorghino:
I would love to keep him. He knows that. The club is fully supportive of that. HE’s a really important player with us on and off the field and he makes us better so I want him to stay.
on whether the 12:30pm Saturday kick-off slot should be removed:
We probably discussed that slot relating more after Champions League fixtures then the recovery time. I think that slot is a slot within the culture of this country and the Premier League and it’s important to have it. I think there are other big issues in my opinion.
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