Every word from Arteta's pre-Sunderland presser

We head to Sunderland this weekend in our final match before the November international break and Mikel Arteta has been facing the press before the trip.

It's our first visit to the Stadium of Light in just over nine years and before we head north, Mikel has been answering questions on our opponents, player availability and much more.

Read every word from the press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre!

on any injuries:

No, no news. We remain the same and there’s nobody new that can join the squad, so all the same.

on Gabriel Jesus being back in training:

It's about making the steps day-by-day in a different surrounding. He's been doing everything on his own; now he's got players around him, very competitive players around him, and let’s see how he copes with that. But he's full of energy, I love the reaction of all his teammates when he first joined us and great to have him back.

on Odegaard, Havertz, Madueke, Gyokeres & Martinelli not being available for Sunderland:

I cannot confirm all of that, but you are not far off.

on if they could be free after the international break:

Some of them, all of them I don't know. There are a lot of things that have to happen in the next two weeks and everything has to be perfect, but I think we'll be very close with most of them to be in a really strong position.

on his relationship with Granit Xhaka:

I loved every minute that we spent together. When I joined, he was in a special moment in his life and career, and between all of us, we tried to guide him, give him a different perspective, and make him feel loved and valued. He responded in an incredible way. He made me a better coach, he helped us to develop and improve a lot as a football team and as a club, and I will be eternally grateful because I have great memories with him.

on if he wanted Granit to stay in 2023:

I already did it once and we extended his contract and when he came in and explained the reasons, you have to understand the human being, you have to be grateful. It was a unique opportunity for him to go back to Germany, to his family, and there were certain things that he wanted to experience as well. I believe it was the right moment, he was very honest as he always is, very straightforward as he always is, and we will find a way to find a good solution for all of us.

on if Xhaka’s move to Sunderland is one of the signings of the summer:

Well, with the impact he's having, one of the best, I would say. I think what they've done as a football club, as well in the last few years, is very impressive. The management and the decisions that they've taken and how stable they look and how they have started the season, it’s really impressive.

on Pep Guardiola managing his 1000th game this weekend:

What a number, what a career, what an inspiration he's been to everybody in football, I would say in sports as well and especially for me. It's an incredible achievement, it goes down in the history of the very best and the few that could only achieve something like that and again, as I said, I think it will remain in the history of football for years to come.

on if he will be watching Manchester City v Liverpool:

I'm just focused on tomorrow's game. How crucial, how difficult and how tough it's going to be and that's the first step we have to make.

on if he’s surprised by Sunderland’s performances this season:

Not surprised. When you analyse them and see how well-organised they are, how they adjust things, and the spirit they have within the team, I'm not surprised. They fully deserve the position that they have at the moment. We know the type of game that we expect to play tomorrow and where the opportunities are and the things that we have to do very well to beat them and that's what we're going to try to do.

on if we get enough credit for our clean sheet run:

It's not about credit, it's about doing it and once you've done it, do it again and that's what we have to do. Today we train at our best, try to improve, try to give a lot of clarity to the players and understanding of the game that we have to play tomorrow, and tomorrow is execution day again.

on how we continue to improve:

Everything, because you learn from your team every single day, from your players every single day, from the opponents that you play every single time and that's information that is so valuable to us. Tomorrow is going to be a different game to Tuesday, a very different game to Tuesday, and to the week before. We need to read it, we need to understand very early what the game requires, what we have to do to be better than them and hopefully beat them.

on if he aspires to reach 1000 matches as a manager:

I would be extremely happy and proud if one day I'm able to do what he's done in his career because, as you all know, he's probably been the most important person in my football career, and I'm incredibly proud of him and what he's done.

on if Xhaka was underappreciated by supporters:

I don't know. Certainly, internally, he had a lot of appreciation. I'm laughing because I just visualised Granit and it makes me laugh because he was such a character, huge personality, very funny, super professional and one of those guys that can change the dressing room and the spirit of a team and that's a super power to have.

on if we are the only team that can stop ourselves winning the league:

No, I don't agree, I'm sorry, because any team has the capacity and I'm sure the belief as well that they can do it. We are fully aware of that. We know our strength, we know the things that we have to improve as well and we just focus on that.

on if we wants our game against Everton to be moved:

I remain super optimistic that this is not going to be the case because from every angle, from the Premier League, from the EFL, from UEFA, all the time, the only thing that we talk about is the welfare of the players and the supporters. If we want to maintain that principle, we cannot play Sunday and Tuesday. We have very positive talks to the clubs and to the Premier League and hopefully we'll find a way to help as much as possible. I think we need to be very thorough and we cannot allow ourselves to put in that situation.

on what Gabriel Jesus brings to our team:

Well again, a player that is very unpredictable, full of energy, super competitive. A player who comes from a context of difficulty in the last few seasons, due to various nasty injuries, so the level of hunger and desire that he is going to bring to the team is going to be amazing. So I’m thrilled to have him, I think he’s going to add something extra to the team that we don’t have, and make sure that very soon we see him on that pitch making an impact for the team.

on if he sees Jesus staying for the long-term:

Yes, because we haven’t had [our forwards] and now we don’t have Viktor and we haven’t had Kai again for three months or other forwards. Unfortunately, that’s becoming something that consistently is happening, so we need those options and what an option to have with Gabi.

on the use of AI in football:

I don’t know enough to make a decision, but I think it is a tool that is super powerful if you use it in the right way and if you ask the right questions. It’s in use already for many things and many processes that can help not just a team but an organisation as well. I think it will improve and it will give us good insights or things at least to think about.

on if we use AI at the club:

I’m not the most expert on that to comment but it’s a valuable tool. We have developed certain things that, in our opinion, can help us, especially to understand ourselves better and what we do, and to evaluate what we do and what we can improve and then I think it will extend to many other areas of the club.

on managing Xhaka’s absence from the club:

It wasn’t an easy decision because I knew the impact that he could still have at the club and on the team. But then when you have one of those leaders as well, you need to have them in the right frame of mind and fully committed and him feeling that this is the best place for him, and Granit, when he expressed his idea, the reasons why he believed he was better now or the right timing after everything we went through together, to take another challenge, and take that journey somewhere else, it really made me think whether it was the right thing again to try to persuade him to stay if he was having already such a deep feeling about it.

on players stepping up once Xhaka left:

For sure, when you have such a character there as well, other players are taking different roles and when that person is not there or that role is not there, some other people have to step in, whether players are already there or players that we identify that we want to recruit as well that could provide something different because it’s always going to be different, it was a good exercise to do.

on the importance of our match against Sunderland:

Well as you said, every weekend is crucial. There are weekends for other possible results or for other games, maybe they are a little bit more important. But at the end, you need to just conquer a certain amount of points if you want to achieve our goals and three points against Sunderland tomorrow is going to be really tough and we’re going to have to really earn them.

on if Xhaka had been used in the wrong position before Arteta’s arrival:

No, because when we signed him, it was for the right reason, because he was playing a different role. But he was excellent, when you see him playing for the national team and with Leverkusen in a deeper role he did very well, as well as the necessity of the team or the understanding of the manager or the coach about a player or the chemistry that he can create around other players as well, and we believed that Granit’s position had to be modified. It brought him a challenge as well, but I think that was quite positive for him to say” ‘I’m going to show everyone that I can do it,’ and Granit needs that as well in his personality.

on Declan Rice’s form:

He’s been super consistent and playing at such a level and now we see him impacting the games in various ways, in different areas of pitch, in differen

t phases of the game and this is exactly what we want. I think his role is growing at the club, in the team, naturally as well, in a really organic way and he needs to maintain that because he’s been exceptional.

on if he needs to have a word with Myles after not making the England squad:

Yes, for sure. I think we are here to support and help each other to give a good perspective of the situation. In the case of Myles, when you look at his age, what he’s already done, he’s just remarkable. So don’t look at the one moment what is happening for you, because maybe it happens for the right reason and today you cannot see it.

on if he needs to be cautious for when Kai Havertz returns:

Let’s see how he absorbs the load first when he starts to train with us and when he’s done that, obviously we’re going to have to be, especially in the first few weeks, keep an eye on him to manage the amount of minutes and when we play him. But when you look at his record and what he’s done in his career, he’s played every single game, he’s almost never been injured and now he has this issue with his knee. But it will be resolved and hopefully he will be back to his best.

on if he will play Mikel Merino up front in the future:

Well it’s always easy when we have players of that quality. We have found a way to play Mikel in three different roles already this season, and he has performed in all of them. He had a massive contribution the other night with his goals, especially with Viktor out, which is great to have.

on what Merino brings to our game as a striker:

It’s not natural because he hasn’t played there before in his career, but he’s such an intelligent and competitive player that he can adapt to any position, because first of all, he’s so willing to do his very best, to understand what he needs to do. He’s always asking questions and he’s a winner. Wherever he plays, the only thing he wants is to win, to contribute to the team, and when you have that mindset, things normally go well for you.

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