#PLStories- Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Jesus return, Kieran Tierney mood and squad rotation #ARSENALFC
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Mikel Arteta Arsenal
Is Jesus in contention?
News on the squad will be tomorrow. We have brought a few players and you will see tomorrow who is available.
What about Nketiah, Trossard and Tierney?
Let’s see how they evolve. Obviously we’ve had a few issues in the last few days and I am trying to accommodate everybody and get everyone in the best possible condition for tomorrow.
What do you make of Sporting CP?
Their strength is the idea of the manager which is very clear. He has been very successful over the past years. We watched many of their matches vs Tottenham and vs the big teams in Portugal. They are a very competitive team with a clear game plan. We need to be at our best to win this match.
Are Arsenal favourites?
It will be a tough match for both teams. Both very competitive, we have a very clear idea. Be a very tough match in this stadium vs team with a big tradition, but we want to win.
You haven’t rotated much this season in the Europa. Why is that?
Because we have one team and we have to play the games with the best possible players to win it. There have been moments where we have made eight changes. We try to accommodate. Players have moments throughout the season, players are available and not available throughout the season. For sure we will try to put the best team to win the game.
Does that mean you risk a few of the players getting frustrated
Yeah of course everyone wants to play. It’s true as well when we’ve wanted to rotate players they’ve been injured and unavailable. Tomorrow that may be the case. Sometimes it’s been difficult and players have to deserve to play the minutes. Being fair in football is very difficult. You have to be really good at communicating your decisions to help players understand what you do, but all the time you have to think for the best of the team. We want everybody to feel important and we are going to try to make them feel like that.
Is there a risk of illness spreading?
These things happen throughout the season. Sometimes happens four days before the match, sometimes the day before the match. We deal with that and tomorrow everybody will be in the best possible condition to compete.
Do you have to approach this game differently now you’re in a title race?
Our priority is the two competitions. We have to earn the right in that competition to continue as far as we want. Tomorrow we’re going to face a really difficult opponent. The best way to prepare any competition is to win the previous match and having that confidence and that proper emotion to approach the next game. Tomorrow we will if we play well and are able to win the game, for sure we’ll be able to prepare better for the next game.
There has been reports linking you to Real Madrid. Is this speculation now inevitable and can you ignore it?
It’s things that managers or players can’t control what is written. What I can tell is that I’m fully focused on what I’m doing here and extremely proud and grateful to do what I’m doing in this football club. That’s it.
Are you confident Martinelli can step up as a centre forward?
We have different options obviously with different qualities and different profiles to play in that position, with the absence of Eddie especially and Leandro. We have to see and adapt in relation to what the opponents do and their relationship on the pitch – what is the best thing to do?
How excited are you to see Bellerin back?
Regarding Hector: absolutely love the person, love the player; he was a really important player for our club – he left something beyond just his career but as a person in our football club. It will be great to see him tomorrow. And I’m sure the boys and the staff are going to be really happy to see him again.
How hard is it to resist the urge to rush Jesus back?
We will try not to rush him back, we will try to make a fair assessment between what he needs and when is comfortable and as well giving the team a boost that it’s going to need in the next few weeks for sure. Everything is going well, he needs time as well to get himself that confidence and that physical state that is necessary to compete with a free mind and once he’s free to do that, we will throw him in.
How has Tierney reacted to being left out for so long?
Very good because we talked and we discussed the situation and we had a very similar opinion about that. He knows his role – under me he’s played a lot, more than any other player probably compared to the previous players at the club in the last three years and he understands the situation and he needs to challenge the situation.
Do you consider the relationships players have with those who can play multiple positions?
We have to as well. We have certain players where we don’t know if they are going to last 70 or 90 minutes. We have to be really good at maintaining the quality, maintaining as well the balance of the team, the strength of the team to be as competitive as we can in the 95th and 96th minute.
How is Smith Rowe?
He is fine. He has trained really well. He was extremely happy that his team won. And on to the next one.
Is Fabio is here and ok?
Fabio is ok.
Did you speak to him about Sporting?
For sure. It was the first thing we did because it is great to have the knowledge and understanding of someone from the country that knows the manager, knows the team-mates. It is always very useful and he spoke really highly.
Can you win next two games and win the competition and how important will togetherness be to that?
Togetherness always helps. But to win tomorrow we are going to be at our best and play really well, compete really well and understand the game and manage the game really well.
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