After Saturday’s 4-2 win against Leicester City, Mikel Arteta he returned to the media to talk about the Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain scheduled for tomorrow at 9pm. Below are the main statements from the Arsenal manager.
On injuries: “There’s nothing new, we have a training session in the afternoon and we need to see some players again.”
On the first Champions League match at home this season: “We can’t wait. These are the evenings that we want to experience and that we want to experience against an incredible opponent. We are ready for this.”
On the fact that we have shown different ways of achieving results during this period: “We had very different ones! Against Manchester City we had to play a very different game in the second half and in the end we lost two points in the last minute. We did the complete opposite playing against a low block like against City, but looking back at the match and the amount of things we generated, I was very happy with the team.”
On the physical condition of Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori: “These are the two players who are in contention and who we need to evaluate today. We didn’t train yesterday, Riccardo was a bit emotional after the match, let’s see how he is today.”
On his time at PSG as a player: “It was my first professional experience. It was an incredible time. I will always be grateful to the club and to Luis Fernandez because he was the one who believed in me when I was 17-18 years old. I played professional football and from there it was a platform to share an experience in a club of that size and in a city that is probably the most beautiful in Europe. It was an experience that will remain with me forever, with teammates who helped me and who shaped me who I wanted to be as a player, igniting in me the desire to become a coach in the future. There were very important people in that part of my career.”
On the victory against Leicester: “It shapes the character and physique of the team, which has the certainty of being able to win in any context and adapt to very different contexts during matches. The Champions League requires this, you can pretend to play against this type of opponent and dominate for 95 minutes, but it doesn’t happen at this level, so you have to be very good in other phases too: staying in the game, being at ease and in any case always having the conviction and intention to win.”
On Champions League nights at the Emirates Stadium: “Everyone is looking forward to it. We’ve missed it for several years, and last year was the first in many years. The group stage is a little different this season and the opponent we face tomorrow is probably at highest level that can be played in European football, honestly, it’s a good opportunity for us to see how we deal with these nights, how prepared we are and how we can impose ourselves in this type of context.”
On her relationship with Luis Enrique: “I have a smile on my face! I am a great admirer of his. An incredible personality, a huge character, a huge energy, always very supportive of the young players. What I like about him is that wherever he has been, as a player or as manager, his imprints have remained. The way his players behave, the way they want to attack and dominate the matches, make you understand that it is his team, the energy they have, his power incredible with all the clubs he has been in, with the Spanish national team. And then his approach to life, to the profession is something to really observe and I have learned many things from him.”
On his estimate for PSG: “They are really tough. They are exceptional and dominate every phase of the game. They have a very clear intention of how they want to dominate the game through the ball and when they don’t have it, they want it back straight away. They are very aggressive and they tackle you.”
On the importance of the match and facing Enrique: “Obviously we want to win the match and we know that after the draw with Atalanta, given the number of games we have left, it will be very important. Nothing will be decided tomorrow. As for Luis and me, we want to do the best for our team club. Luis has won practically every competition you can imagine in his career, he has transformed a club that has a very clear identity. It is a great test for all of us.”
On what struck him about Calafiori: “His availability. As soon as I spoke to him on the phone for the first time, he wanted to come here. He immediately understood what we wanted and felt that here would be perfect and so it was. He landed with the biggest smile on his face .He has an energy and an aura about him. He is very nice, he is a fighter, a player who wants to play the way we want and who will do anything for the team. When you have these qualities, many things have to go crooked so that you don’t succeed.”