Every word from Arteta's pre-Leeds United presser

Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the press ahead of our first home match of the season against Leeds United.

The boss answered questions on Kai Havertz, Saturday's opponents and much more at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.

Find out everything that went down by reading our full transcript below!

on Kai Havertz’s injury:

He's certainly not fit for this match. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury. We don’t really know yet the extent of it, I think we need a bit more time and some more tests, and after that we will have more clarity about the next steps.

on if it’s a flare-up of a knee injury:

I prefer not to talk about the specifics, but he’s not fit, as I said. We need to explore that issue a little bit further and decide what we’re going to do.

on what kind of scenario it could be:

I don’t know, the worst scenario is that he cannot play tomorrow, I would love to have him fresh and available, bringing what he brings to the team but unfortunately, that is not going to be possible.

on how Kai is handling it mentally:

Mentally, he’s in a good place because he’s a really strong boy, very committed. He had an incredible recovery from the hamstring surgery. I think he’d never had an injury before; it was the first experience. Now, he’s got a setback, let’s see how bad it is, but I’m sure he’s going to deal with it in the best possible way and, as I said, he’s a joy of a kid and hopefully we’re going to have him soon.

on Ben White and Christian Norgaard's fitness:

Christian won't be in the squad. With Ben, let's see how he reacts and what we decide. Christian will be out for another week or so.

on links to Eberechi Eze:

There's nothing to comment on, I can never talk about anything that's not part of our group or club yet.

on how important it is to get the sense a player wants to be at Arsenal:

That's number one, that they want to be with us, that they feel something special coming to us. Then the person, what personality we're going to bring, and then the rest comes. I think we've done that very, very well in the last few years to create a group of players and the spirit in the team.

on if it’s better if they grew up supporting Arsenal:

The better the feeling, the stronger the feeling. I think the better, always, because it brings a different edge, a different will and emotion to what you do. I think that always brings something extra.

on if it was always the plan for Viktor Gyokeres to play just an hour on his debut:

It depended on how the game developed. Every game brings different challenges, opportunities. I think the game was very demanding physically, became really open for different reasons, and we decided that at that moment, he needed to come off, and we had Kai on the bench to come and change the game.

on if Viktor is ready to go again:

Yes, he is. He's very, very enthusiastic. He trained really well this week, again. He’s had another week under his belt, he looks in a really good place.

on Leeds United:

Very impressed. I've been watching them, what they did in pre-season, what they did on Monday, what they did last year, for sure, in the manner that they did it. Big compliments to the way they play, to the coach. I'm sure they're going to put a really difficult match against us tomorrow.

on being creative from set pieces:

That creativity comes from different angles and in every phase of play, we try to do that. At Old Trafford, we had many situations from open play. As well as that, we should have and we could have exploited the situations much better, to be much more efficient in how we finish actions.

Especially because then they went the other way very quickly. In that sense, especially being the first one, which is really difficult, we all pay a lot of attention to that. That’s a big resource that we have and it brings confidence as well that the team can score goals from any situation.

on creating a big atmosphere at Emirates Stadium:

It’s always very special. I think everybody is very excited for the first game, it builds a different energy around the stadium. I’m sure they missed it, they missed the team. We have certainly missed our supporters and that connection, and tomorrow I’m sure from the first whistle, I think everybody is going to be at it and we’re going to have a good game.

on Leeds United:

Incredible club, incredible history as well. I’ve been here long enough to understand the history of that club. As I said, very special, one big city with just one club. So passionate about what happens when you go there and play. It's great to have them back, wish them all the best, apart from tomorrow.

on Madueke’s potential impact:

Any creative player who can unlock situations from closed situations, creating that uncertainty. More attention as well in and around the ball is going to create space in other places. Having more creativity, more weapons, having the ability to bring different profiles onto the pitch, different stages in the game, something that for sure we’re going to have this season, and that’s great.

on managing injuries to Timber and Jesus:

On Jurrien, we have to manage his load. He’s been out for a long time again and he comes from a long-term injury. We had a long week, we have to manage the load on that, so we have decided to take a little bit of training down, especially that day in the open session.

Gabi is doing super well. I think he looks in a really good place, obviously it’s a massive injury and we need to come from that in a really strong way, but certainly he’s in the right place and with very strong strides.

on making our counter-attacks more effective:

A few things. Understanding the behaviour of the opposition, understanding what kind of runs and where we have to start. The timing of that connection as well, which is something that in every situation is going to be different.

So understanding certain principles, where we want to arrive, and how we want to do it. Then it’s about the execution and being fast as well in those moments to make that decision. When your heart rate is 180, to make that pass is not the same as when you’ve been resting after a set-piece for one minute. So every situation is different, but I’m sure we’re going to improve it. The good thing is the intention of the team has been exceptional. It’s now about making those little margins, those tunes to make it more efficient.

on what it’s been like to work with Andrea Berta this summer:

The great thing is that ownership has always been the same; they've been super supportive. We had a really strong board as well, very well-connected. And then yeah, three very different people. Very grateful to the three of them and enjoy working with all of them. With Andrea now, again, as I expected, is someone who is extremely professional and very thorough, very determined, and brings something different to the table as well. So I enjoy working with him.

on how the team can evolve this season:

A few things, obviously, that I won’t express here. With evolution, make sure that when we're evolving, we are maintaining the great things that we do and just tweaking and making the things that can give us big value. Not spending too much time on them, and that's what we have done and we're going to continue to do. And you will see the evolution that comes from the individuals at the end is about the players. Putting those players with their qualities in those positions as often as possible to express their qualities.

on David Raya’s stature as a goalkeeper:

David is very big and he's very brave. You cannot be the tallest but you have the will and the courage to go for these kinds of balls. That's a massive attribute. And then he's a super athlete. He's someone really athletic, really powerful, really dynamic, really agile. And that's a big advantage because he can time things really well. And on that action especially when there are so many bodies in the box to come out and do that, it shows his courage and personality and his capacity to deal with these kind of situations.

on if we’re sending out a statement with our transfer business:

I think we are showing the ambition that we want to do, that we are here to win major trophies, to keep evolving and improving every single year. And that's going to come with demands and those demands are clear. It's our competitors, what we're doing, where the league is going. And we're going to be in front, not just chasing or acting or behind. We just want to be in front of it. And every decision that we make in every area of the club is to try to achieve that.

on if it brings any extra pressure to him:

The motivation for me is how can we be better? How can we continue to evolve, to win more football matches with bigger margins? How can we bring the people that we have closer to us, more connected? And I think the players that we already have are incredible, the ones that we already signed, I think they are players that are going to connect with our people and make them proud and excited.

on Leandro Trossard’s contract situation:

I prefer not to because it's not my duty. I'm really, really happy with Leo. That situation has been resolved in a really great way and I think he deserves our recognition and we are really happy to have him.

on if there will be a few players leaving:

It might be speculation. The good players always have options to go. Leo was very clear from the beginning that he wanted to go here. The club was very clear. When Leo was here, I was very clear that I wanted him here. So, at the end, good outcome.

on if Kai’s injury has influenced our business:

It was accurate. I think it was very clear when I said that it wasn't done. Obviously, we were very active trying to look at the possibilities that could come. We are not reacting to anything. We've been very prepared and understand what we could do. We have decided that this is the moment to do it.

on if getting one more in will complete the squad:

I don't know. Because to complete the squad, we have to see the in and the out. It's still a long time in the window.

on Zubimendi playing for both teams in open training:

It was an element of that. It was an element as well of load. He missed a couple of training sessions before Man United with illness. Obviously, the game took a lot out of him and we wanted to manage him as well.

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