Mikel Arteta-Manager | EPL24x7

Gabriel Martinelli was not in the Arsenal squad to face Tottenham Hotspur. This means it is now seven successive Premier League games in which the Brazilian wonderkid has not played a single minute in, although he did make the substitutes bench in the previous six. In fact, Martinelli's last outing for Arsenal came in the Europa League round of 32 first-leg draw against Benfica last month as he got 13 minutes under his belt at the Stadio Olimpico. And his lack of game time in the Premier League has recently prompted concern amongst some Gunners supporters who are keen for manager Mikel Arteta to give the 19-year-old a chance. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles But fans were denied their wish as in a rather surprising decision, Arteta left the teenager at home. It would appear that Martinelli was simply not selected as the north London outfit revealed on their official website that Arteta had a fully fit squad available for selection against Spurs. "There are no health or injury issues to report following Thursday’s match in Athens against Olympiacos," an update reads. "All players in the men’s first-team squad are currently available for selection." Taking Martinelli's place on the bench was captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who was dropped for a disciplinary issue - reportedly for a late arrival ahead of the game, Whether Arteta is keeping the teenager fresh for Thursday's Europa League second leg against Olympiacos remains to be seen Gabriel Martinelli was active on social media before Arsenal took on Tottenham in the North London derby. (Image: Gabriel Martinelli/ Instagram) With that said, Martinelli was active on social media, presumably upon learning of Arteta's decision. Taking to Instagram just over an hour before the Arsenal lineup was announced, the Brazilian uploaded an image of himself at the club's London Colney training base. The post was captioned with one word: Domingo, which in translation means 'Sunday' whilst the temperature at the training ground was also noted. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Since the turn of the year the teenager has played just 53 minutes across two appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal and the reason for his lack of game time has been explained by Arteta. "Everybody has raised the level in recent weeks," Arteta said. "Since Christmas the front players have given us something different. "Laca has given us some really good spells, Nicolas Pepe is the same. I was really pleased with Willian yesterday because of the way he trains and he is starting to produce in games. "Everybody has to step up in games and create big moments because the front players at the end have to be the ones who decide it for us."

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #PierreEmerickAubameyang says little to express #NorthLondonDerby joy after being dropped for Arsenal win #ARSENALFC

By Kanak Chauhan March 15, 2021

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has made his first comments after being dropped for Arsenal's north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners captain was a surprise omission from the starting XI on Sunday afternoon, with manager Mikel Arteta admitting that the 31-year-old was in line to start. However, according to the Athletic, the reason Aubameyang was dropped is because he was late for meeting up with the Arsenal first-team ahead of the north London derby. And speaking to Sky Sports when explaining his team selection against Spurs, Arteta confirmed the decision was disciplinary-related but refused to go into more detail regarding Aubameyang's absence. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "He was going to start the game. We had a disciplinary issue, we have drawn the line and we move on, he’s on the bench," Arteta told Sky Sports. "No, we obviously keep that internal. We have a process we have to respect for every game and that’s it. "It’s a decision made after evaluating everything about what Auba has done and that’s it. "We have other players and we’ve had to change the team recently quite a lot and we have players that are willing to play and deserve the chance, so I am confident with that." In the end, Arteta's decision to take such a stance paid off and without his leading scorer, his side came from behind to seal a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette. With that said, all appears well with the Gunners captain as he has shown his support for his teammates in the aftermath of the north London derby victory. Taking to social media after the game, Aubameyang broke his silence with a seven-word message that Arsenal fans will agree with. "North London is Red and that’s it!!!," he wrote on Instagram. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. All eyes will now be on Thursday's Europa League last-16 second-leg clash with Olympiacos and whether Aubameyang will be recalled or is left out again. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta did suggest that he is ready to move on from the minor indiscretion. "I made what I thought was the right decision," he said. "We draw a line there. Let's move on again. We know how important Auba is for the club. It's been dealt with and let's move on."

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #MikeArteta admits that #ThomasPartey change was meant to change the game for Arsenal #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin March 12, 2021

How much do you feel this result shows you’ve made progress in the last 12 months considering where you were last year. Yes, I’ve been saying that for a while. I can see probably more things as I can see internally, I know the process and what’s happened and how much has changed since we’ve been here a year ago. I think the difference is really big today. We are really pleased with the result, with the goals we scored and the way we played in big moments in the game. As well we have to be very clear with ourselves, we gave three goals to the opponents and they took one and at that level they are going to punish you. So, if we are going to go to the next level we have to stop that and be more ruthless. When you are that dominant and playing that well just kill the games. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel When you see moments that give you a heart attack like tonight does that make you question you conviction to play out from the back? No. It’s just when we have to play. You know they have to play the ball to this player, but when is the difference. It’s now, a second earlier or a second later and that gives the opponent a chance to press or to intercept a pass or not. Obviously the difference is to discriminate the decision making when it has to be done is what it dictates in the next action after whether you are successful or not. But it’s not about encouraging the team or stopping them when we have to play it’s about learning to understand when to do it and that's crucial. If not it creates insecurity and a game that is totally under control brings the team into an insecurity mode because it just brings the opponent into the game with how much we’ve done and the chances that we’ve missed and it’s unnecessary. It’s true though that the reaction after that to score two goals, and probably we should have scored one more, it’s great to see as well. Did you take any of the players off tonight due to injuries or with an eye on Spurs? No it was all tactical decisions, or things that we wanted to change in the game. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles What would you say to people who say Arsenal’s biggest opponent is themselves? Yeah they are not far off. The goals that we have conceded or the chances that we have conceded they are coming from ourselves. That’s really positive because the moment we stop it we’re going to be a lot stronger. But the reality is that we have to stop immediately because if not the games are all the time there to drop points. It’s my responsibility, I make them play the way we want to play. It’s just understanding risks and rewards, where they are and as I said before, when. We have to get better at that because if not it creates tension and insecurity and it creates belief in the opponent and that’s unnecessary. It must make every game tense It does but it’s what it is. Sometime when you go through a progress like this you have to be ready to go through these situations. I’m ready to do that, but again knowing all the time where the risks and the rewards are. And if the rewards are not bigger we should not take the risks. Mikel Arteta looks tense on the touchline during Arsenal's 3-1 win over Olympiacos in the Europa League Round of 16 It’s an excellent result but you sound like you’re not happy with the performance? No, because I want to be much more ruthless because as a team I don’t want to give anything to the opponents. The opponents are good enough by themselves to create problems, to create situations, to change organisational structures, individual quality that they have in this competition. So I want to give zero to the opponents, and whatever we do we have to be on it so much, so I would like the opponent to do the same. So I am happy with the result but I'm not satisfied with how we controlled the game through 95 minutes and that’s something that we have to improve. You said the decision to substituteParteywas tactical. Can you explain why? Because I wanted to change him and to bring somebody else in to try to find some other stuff and change the shape that we were playing inside. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles How crucial was MohamedElneny’sstrike? I don’t know there is still another game to play and in this competition and with this level of opponent anything can happen. So we have to be prepared to take the game as if it’s 0-0 and go and win the game at the Emirates and then we will be through. With Mo in particular and the subs I'm extremely delighted because I know how much they want to play and they are key in this competition. If you want to be successful you need your subs to make an impact. They’ve done it again. Mo in particular because how he’s been training so hard to improve his shooting range with Roundy (assistant manager Steve Round) and he got his reward for the team. Does that show the character of the team to come back like that? Yes, and it has happened in many games already and that has to become a habit. When you are able to react against a team in any circumstances, it doesn’t matter the disappointment, the moment or what happens, individually and collectively you need to know that you can get that response and the team is able to overcome any situation. So that’s really encouraging for the team. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. The only thing that had been missing from Martin Odegaard in recent weeks was a goal wasn’t it? He can do that. He needs to click by doing that. The same with Emile, the same with Willian is that they are there to make things happen and win games. Winning games is decided in the boxes and they have to be more encouraged to attack those situations to take risks, to take shots, to take those opportunities to dribble because that’s there quality. Hopefully that’s going to bring Martin the confidence. We scored two wondergoals from outside of the box and that’s another important way of getting goals and it’s going to be crucial.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta on Arsenal’s finances, transfer plans and #PierreEmerickAubameyang #ARSENALFC

By Kanak Chauhan March 11, 2021

The club announced a £47m loss on Friday. How difficult is that going to make your summer transfer business? We don’t know yet because we have so many things to do. We have people on loan, people finishing contracts. There was a lot going on in the last two transfer windows that had to be done the amount of things we had to do which was probably unprecedented and it will be again in the summer. So we are trying to put a plan together to see with the resources that we have to see how much we want to improve, how we’re going to do it and at what cost. That has so many factors attached to it. It’s not just about one thing or about just an amount, it’s about a project that time-wise, how to build it is going to face some effort from everybody. We know that and the challenging moments that we are facing at the moment are making it even harder. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Arsene Wenger clearly felt the financial pressure. Are you the same or can you separate the football and the finances? I am because I want a sustainable club. We all want a club that can be run with our own resources. It’s great that we have a club with the support of our owners and we have had that in the summer when it was much needed because of everything that has happened with COVID and what has happened with the club in the last few years without the Champions League and the heat that that took. But our responsibility and everything that we are planning from the future is that the club can go back to being sustainable on it’s own and being all the time as strong as possible in every department. The financial part of it is crucial as well. How important is European qualification to the amount of money you’re going to be able to spend this summer? It’s another big important factor because that gives us the opportunity again to keep our club involved in Europe whether it’s in the Europa League or Champions League. We know the aim is all the time to be in the Champions League, but at the moment things are looking difficult, but possible. The financial package that is attached to it at the moment is really, really important. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles It was a year ago this week that you caught COVID. How much has the pandemic affected your ability to do your job? I could never imagine that when I got tested and I had the symptoms that – okay, I could be ill – but all these consequences this virus would have with all of us. It’s been really challenging and obviously having a first job, to do that, and being in the job for only three months, in normal conditions, to start to have a completely different context and framework to work has been really challenging but at the same time it’s made us much stronger. We have created a really strong group, a really strong bond with our players, with out fans, with our staff. That’s going to pay some big tributes I think in the future when everything comes to normality and we’re able to work with what is needed, with a bit of stability, I think this project is going to go ‘bang!’ This is where we are. Sometimes it’s difficult to see it in moments now, but I’m sure where we’re going. Will the experience make you a better manager? Yes, because I think we have lived something that, not just young managers like me, even managers who have been in the game 30 years, I talk with them a lot, say ‘listen I don’t know how to manage that, this is a new situation for me, I never experienced that in my life’. It’s been really challenging for all of us and we are trying to navigate through this in the best possible way. Some with many more problems that we already inherited and some others that they were in a different stage of that project. But I think it has effected all of us. Mikel Arteta after Arsenal's shock defeat to Olympiacos (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) Do you need to win this tie against Olympiacos to show that any progress has been made? You need to win convince anybody that you are doing a good job, that the club is taking a good direction. If you are not inside every day and you know exactly what is going on at the club, the only way to convince people is to win. It doesn’t matter how well you play, if you deserve to win every single match, if you don’t win it I’m not going to convince you or any single fan or any single supporter that we are doing a good job. It’s only about wining and that’s the only way to convince people. Aubameyang has nine goals in his last eight starts. Does it feel like we’ve got him back? Yes. Obviously, there are much better stats, stats related to who he is and what he needs to bring to the team. But still I think he could score many more and he can do better in other aspects. He needs to keep having that mentality and he has that mentality. We need players to perform to the maximum. If Auba is in much better place the team will be in a much better place because at the end the games are decided in both boxes and what he can produce in the opponents boxes can have a great impact for our team. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Is the feeling that he is coming into form at the right time? In big moments you need to have big players performing and making a difference because at the end it’s going to define where we finish in the season. It looks like in this moment he’s firing and he’s happy. Physically he’s in a good moment and he’s full of confidence. I think yeah it’s a good moment for the team and him.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta heaps praise on #CalumChambers and #Willian after Burnley clash #ARSENALFC

By Kanak Chauhan March 8, 2021

What did you make of Calum Chambers performance given that it was his first Premier League start since December 2019? I'm extremely happy with him. He deserved completely his chance to start the game because of the recovery he's done, the preparation he's done to get to the level he's at at the moment and the way he trains and behaves every day. I think it was a really good game for him, for the needs that we had on the pitch and I think he had a really good performance. That was Willian's third assist in three games. What did you make of his contribution? It's always a difficult game to play here for the forwards the way they play here, but I thought he had some really good moments in the game. There were some moments where we struggled because we played their game for 25 minutes in the second half which they do that really well to weight the game where they want. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel It's pretty difficult to get out of it when the ball is always stopping, when there are free kicks and goal kicks and throw ins, but it's their game, but the moment we got control and we can use the spaces and he can have short relationships with his teammates I think he's very efficient. The team's heads seemed to drop for about 25 minutes after you conceded that goal. Is that something you can try to address is some way? It can happen individually for the player that made that, but it cannot happen to a team. It's true that in the second half the way they started in the second half the way they were really direct, it stretches the structure that becomes a really open game you don't have any composure in the game, or we didn't have in that moment, and understanding that the pitch was really difficult to play, then is when we lose that. But I didn't have the feeling that they didn't have the belief that we could win the game and I think the answer that they had in the last 15 minutes was the answer, but it wasn't enough to win the game. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. You listed about eight or nine things you wanted to improve on and yet in the game they all seemed to happen. Does it almost feel like the message isn't getting through sometimes? No it is getting through, but sometimes we have just moments in the game. If you compare the game to the game we played a year ago here [at Turf Moor] it's a different world and we completely deserved to win the game and a year ago we probably deserved to lose that game but the results are still the same, but a lot of things are very different. I'm honestly really disappointed that we didn't win the game for the reasons that I already explained.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta ready to accept Arsenal silly mistakes after Burnley draw #ARSENALFC

By Kanak Chauhan March 7, 2021

Playing out from the back succeeds There are plenty of negatives to look at from Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Burnley, so before we get on to them let's focus on the positives. The opening 35 minutes or so was almost sheer domination for the Gunners, capped off by one brilliant move in particular that culminated in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal involving their three best players on the day. The ball began with Bernd Leno, who found Thomas Partey just outside the box. The Ghanaian, who contrary to some of the criticism he has been getting on social media, had a sublime game, then showed exactly why Arsenal bought him through a nifty one-two with Granit Xhaka that had the Arsenal attack away. The ball then found Willian in the middle of the pitch. The Brazilian had another good game building on his display at the King Power and found himself in the inside left spaces where Matt Lowton simply didn't want to go to mark him. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel The 32-year-old turned and then found Aubameyang in the space he had vacated on the left wing where the Gabon striker cut in and fired in a powerful low shot that Nick Pope perhaps should have done better with. It was almost a perfect Mikel Arteta goal, with the ball transitioned from attack to defence in a matter of seconds, as Burnley could not handle the Gunners' quick play. It's a sign of how defined Arteta's commitment to playing out from the back is that his reaction after the ball went in was not to laud the finish of his star striker. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Instead he cupped his hand and began yelling "Bernd! Bernd!" before catching the German's attention and congratulating him with a hearty thumbs up. It was a sign of how, when done correctly playing out from the back can help to turn Arsenal into an efficient attacking side capable of rivalling the Manchester City side that Pep Guardiola's apprentice is trying to replicate at the Emirates. Playing out from the back fails Sadly though it was not a sign of things to come. While Arsenal showed all the good of playing out from the back, it didn't take them long to show the bad and the very ugly too. Leno was again involved, picking the ball up from a Pablo Mari pass with plenty of space inside his six yard box. The German could have switched it right to David Luiz or even gone long given the intensity of the Burnley press, but instead he chose to rifle it at Granit Xhaka who was rushing goalwards with his back to play. Xhaka did not have a good afternoon at Turf Moor (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images) The Swiss international then again had the option to play it first time to Luiz, but instead fired it straight into the hip of Chris Wood, with the ball bouncing in off the New Zealander. Many managers would have been apoplectic with rage after such a costly error, but Arteta was pretty unapologetic in his defence of the team's style of play after the match. "It’s what it is," he said. "It’s the way we play, it’s the way I want to play and we just have to know the risk and the rules that we have in certain areas and the types of balls we have to play. But it is what it is." "It looks easy from the outside but it’s not that easy on here," he went on to add. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "If someone tries to make a mistake because they want to play, I will always support them. If someone is hiding and they don’t want to play and then makes a mistake I’m not going to have that." Xhaka will rightly take the blame for the situation and as Arteta said it is an operational hazard of the style of play he is trying to impress upon his Arsenal side. Perhaps though, it would be more easy to be philosophical about the debacle if it had come during a victory, like the Swiss midfielder's error at Leicester last week, than if it caused the Gunners to drop yet more points in a frustrating league season. Arsenal pay for wasted chances There can be no doubting that Arsenal should have had a penalty in this match. The one they were awarded for a handball on the line by Erik Pieters was rightly overruled, but the Dutch left back's handling of the ball in the box earlier in the match appeared to be much clearer in the eyes of Arteta. Speaking after the game, the Arsenal boss simply couldn't understand how referee Andre Marriner and video assistant referee Kevin Friend had not deemed it worthy of a spot kick. "Absolutely," he said when asked if it was a penalty. Nicolas Pepe strikes the ball into Erik Pieters hand for what should have been a penalty for Arsenal "I think it’s obvious and clear I think there is no debate about that. "If that’s not a penalty I think somebody has to explain what is a penalty in this league." That said though, there is no way that the Gunners should have been needing to rely on a penalty going into the closing stages of the game. Bukayo Saka, usually so clinical since his switch to the right, was probably the most guilty in this department, poking a left footed shot wide of the post on the edge of the six yard box after great link up with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and miscontrolling when played through later by the Gabon striker later in the match. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Nicolas Pepe also miscued when perfectly placed to fire home a Kieran Tierney cut back, while Dani Ceballos hit the post with nearly the last kick of the match. It is the story of Arsenal's season more or less that fine margins have come to define their dropped points due to an inability to be clinical when it counts. On his social media after the game Aubameyang more or less articulated the problems the Gunners have been having perfectly by acknowledging the poor fortune with officiating calls, but placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of himself and his teammates for not having been further in front anyway. "Let’s be honest VAR on the side, in this game when you produce chances as we did today we should [have] won this game," he wrote. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks disappointed after Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Burnley Arteta himself echoed the sentiments of his captain saying that what is separating Arsenal from the top sides is their efficiency in the final third. "We have to be more ruthless," he said. "Because there are open situations that we created, one-vs-one situations, cut backs on the six yard box, we hit the bar, we hit the post, we had a shot blocked when their ‘keeper was beaten, but it is what it is." It has been the story of the Gunners' season, and it was that only more time will be able to re-write. Pressure on Olympiacos Looking ahead for what remains of the season now and it seems as though Arsenal's eggs may officially have to be placed in the Europa League basket. By the end of this weekend it is possible that they will be 10 points off the top six and 12 points off the top four. Yes, the teams above them have been inconsistent, but when it comes to qualifying for Europe through the Premier League, it seems that the jig is well and truly up. Thursday night's round of 16 first leg against Olympiacos was always going to be massive for determining the Gunners fortunes this season, but now it seems more so than ever. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles If Arsenal are looking at the teams remaining in the Europa League this season they really should be backing themselves to go far in the competition, and that starts with a victory in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium this week. Of course Mikel Arteta was not going to admit this in full, but even he was forced to concede slightly after this match that the game in Greece was going to one of the biggest of his managerial career. "We have that pressure," he said. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. "We have the pressure of representing this club and what it means in any competition that we play we have to win it regardless of what we are doing in any other competition. "Obviously, we know that Thursday is a massive game for us." There are no more get out of jail free cards if they want to secure European football next season. Arsenal's season is now pretty much win the Europa League or bust.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #MikelArteta shares his opinion on Burnley defeat and #DavidLuiz leadership #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin March 6, 2021

Is it realistic for Emile to dream about breaking into the England squad? I think it’s possible. I think if he shows the same determination as Bukayo, be as humble as he is, and play with personality that he’s done I think he’s got a great chance. Emile has got all the attributes and all the qualities, in my opinion, that you need to play for the national team. After that it is about finding the consistency required obviously because that level is as good as it gets. I think he showed that in moments this season what he can do, but now it’s about doing it for longer periods, adding more assists, more goals and working as hard as he’s been doing because I think he’s been phenomenal for us. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Bukayohas been playing in that wing back role so far for England but do you think he’s shown that he’s got the ability to challenge Sterling, Foden and Rashford rather than just as a full back? I don’t know. That’s a decision for the manager to decide his best position. The good thing about Bukayo is his versatility and he adapts very good with every position because he’s a really intelligent player. So they can use him and I'm sure that he will be happy as long as he’s in the team. Next year will be Sean Dyche’s 10thyear in charge of Burnley. Can you see yourself managing one club for 10 years? Of course I can. If you are happy where you are and most importantly they are happy with the job you are doing I think it’s a really strong relationship. I think what he’s done is remarkable and the way he’s kept the team in the Premier League. But in this job I think you have to go almost day by. At Everton andArsenalyou played for managers who had been there a very long time. What kind of advantages do you think that gives the manager? To have stability in football is really complicated. But when you have stability, good leadership, a very clear ownership to take the club where they want and you generate some trust between the big decision makers at the club, I think anything is possible. Because through difficult moments if you are clear that ‘ok this is the route we’re taking and we’re not going to hesitate because of one or two results’ I think at the end really nice things can come out. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles So, for me that’s main advantage, players and the staff and everybody knows that we are where we are and we believe in what we do, and things are not gonna be shaky every time something happens, I think that brings a lot of safety and stability to a football club. When do you think you’ll be at that point with Arsenal or has it already happened? I don’t know, but my aim is not to be there, my aim is to challenge myself every day and I think I need that. I think about tomorrow and how can I do today, to affect tomorrow and be in a better position tomorrow and day by day. The good thing in this profession is that weeks and months go so fast you know. A year ago if you would have told me everything that happened I would have said ‘what are you talking about’ but it’s the reality that a lot has happened so let’s go game by game. How close is the team to being what you visualised as a Mikel Arteta team? Very far. Very, very far. There’s still a lot to improve, a lot of quality to add, much more efficient in decision making, much quicker to open up situations when the advantages are there, many more situations to finish when advantages are obtained, more control of games, more defensive actions in the opponents half, less give aways in our own half, it’s a lot to do, more goals, more creativity, it’s a lot to do. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Are you getting there? Yes, I think I am. When you look at the previous game you played against a team a few months ago and you look where the team is now I think it’s always a good way of seeing the progression and I've seen that. Do you think the fact that UEFA have flipped Spurs’ Europa League fixtures gives them an edge? It does. But unfortunately we're not going to change that. We can raise our voices and we should do that, because we want to have at least two teams that are in equal conditions. But the decision has been made and that's it. I don't want to use one bit of an excuse going towards that game saying 'ah they have an advantage'. So, no probably I will use that to take it into our advantage that’s it. Mikel Arteta celebrates at the Emirates Stadium (Image: James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images) It’s a year since COVID started to bring things to a halt. Has it made it harder not having fans in the stadium? For me I only see negatives. Not having fans around, not having that passion, that energy that is provided by having people supporting and watching your home games and away games, and having that link and that relation, for me it’s all negative. Why we do that is to give joy and happiness to people and the best way to do it is when you are able to provide something and look in somebody’s eyes, just the body language in somebody and that creates something inside you that is beautiful. And if they have to show disappointment, ok you want to see why they are disappointed, because from TV I think everything looks a little bit different. As well the players need really them back and to play for them, which is really what we do. Burnley at home maybe felt like your lowest point this season. How do you think fans would have reacted if they’d been there in greater numbers? That game was very strange. I was looking back on it yesterday and the number of chances that we created. But yeah we went down to ten men, we conceded from a set piece and then it’s a disaster. But these games are like that. When you play four times with ten men with the amount of games that we play, you’re gonna put yourself in a really difficult position, and probably they won’t accept that. But that’s good and they set the standards of the football club and the demands that they have are because there is a history related and they have some expectations. We are here to fulfil them. Your expectations are higher than where you are in the table aren’t they? Absolutely. When you look at the league table it’s not acceptable where we are. We are Arsenal football club and we should be nowhere near here, and if somebody’s happy with that I think they’re at the wrong place. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. What does David Luiz give you as a leader and a character within the dressing room? He seems to have been a really positive influence in the last two weeks. He is. Extremely positive. The professional he is, how he looks after himself, but also how he looks after his teammates. He’s always willing to help, he’s always really positive around it. He’s got huge experience of how to win things, but as well how to manage difficult moments and you need that. And then he gives a lot of composure to the team both with and without the ball. He’s a presence, he’s a leader and someone that is playing really well at the moment. What I want is that he keeps playing like that until the end of the season and we’ll make that decision together.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #MikelArteta thinks Tottenham have an unfair advantage against Arsenal due to changes in fixture dates #ArsenalFC #THFC #NorthLondonDerby

By Premier League Museum Admin March 5, 2021

Here are your Arsenal evening headlines for Thursday, March 4. Arteta makes Spurs admission Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that Spurs will have a slight boost ahead of the North London derby due to Uefa's decision to reverse the date of their Europa League home and away ties against Dinamo Zagreb. The decision means that Spurs will have the added bonus of not having to make a 4,000 mile round trip during midweek before the derby against Arsenal, and Arteta says it does give Jose Mourinho's side an advantage. "It does," he said when asked if it gives Spurs an edge. "But unfortunately we're not going to change that. We can raise our voices and we should do that, because we want to have at least two teams that are in equal conditions. "But the decision has been made and that's it. I don't want to use one bit of an excuse going towards that game saying 'ah they have an advantage'. "So, no probably I will use that to take it into our hands." Read the full story here. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Ibrahima Konate transfer hint Arsenal have already been given a boost in their attempts to sign RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate. The Gunners are one of several clubs across Europe interested in signing the 21-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window. Having offloaded Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis in January, the report states that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could lose several more central defenders in the summer amid talk of David Luiz, Calum Chambers, and Dinos Mavropanos all leaving. Therefore, it would appear he wants to sign Konate in order to increase his options that could include Gabriel Magalhaes, Rob Holding, Pablo Mari, and William Saliba at the start of next season. And the chances of Konate leaving RB Leipzig in the summer seem pretty high after the club's CEO Oliver Mintzlaff revealed in January that their future transfer business hinges on further player sales. Read more on Konate here. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Lacazette replacement Arsenal are understood to be eyeing an exit for Alexandre Lacazette this summer while they can still recoup a fee for the French striker. One replacement that has been linked is Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, but there is already an option at the Gunners who could save them millions should they decide not to go for the 21-year-old. Folarin Balogun is still going through contract negotiations with the club, but a new deal for the young striker would be far cheaper than splashing out the reported £21.5million Celtic are searching for to part ways with Edouard. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. There are reports that Balogun's wage demands are in the region of £40,000 per week, which is very high for a player who is still yet to start a senior game in his career. There is little to suggest any validity to these exorbitant claims football.london understands, but if Arsenal were seen to be offering these sorts of wages to young players then future Hale End graduates would be within their rights to demand similar salaries in contract negotiations going forward. But Arteta admits that keeping young stars is something the club need to be doing to keep traditions alive. "[Edu has] been spending a lot of time and energy to try and make that deal happen because it’s important for us to keep our talent in the house," he said.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Leicester City injuries ‘absolutely normal’ in ‘insane’ season, says #MikelArteta #ArsenalFC #LCFC

By Kanak Chauhan March 1, 2021

The injuries being suffered by Leicester City and around the Premier League are…

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Arsenal boss #MikelArteta admits some players are tired ahead of Foxes clash #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 28, 2021

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta appears to have dropped a team selection hint ahead…

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta has injury boost with #RobHolding fit ahead of Leicester City clash #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 28, 2021

Centre-back Rob Holding is fit and available for Arsenal's trip to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Sunday lunchtime, the Gunners have confirmed. The former Bolton Wanderers man, who signed a new deal at the Emirates Stadium last month, missed Thursday evening's UEFA Europa League triumph over Benfica in Athens after sustaining a head injury in last Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League. The Gunners made Premier League history by being the first ever club to use the newly-introduced concussion substitution to take Holding off. That incident ruled him out of the Gunners' Europa League round of 32 second-leg victory over Benfica, with the defender having to follow strict ruling in regards to concussion injuries. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel However, Holding has been given the green light to return to the squad for the clash with Brendan Rodgers' high flying Foxes. In an update issued by Arsenal, the club said: "Rob is available for selection following the successful completion of concussion protocol. "Since being substituted last Sunday, Rob has been feeling well at all times and has been closely monitored by our medical team every day at London Colney, where he completed his return to play assessments. "Rob returned to full training with the squad on Saturday." Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. That news will be a big boost to Mikel Arteta's plans for the trip to the Midlands, as the Spaniard could be forced into making changes to contend with the fatigue that is likely to have crept into the squad after only playing on Thursday and taking into account the long journey back across Europe. Whether Holding will, of course, be thrown straight back into the starting line-up remains to be seen. Elsewhere, goalkeeper Runar Alex Runarsson remains sidelined with a knee injury. "Following a strain to his knee in training, Alex is undergoing further assessments and continues to be unavailable," the Gunners confirmed in their statement.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta happy for #DaniCeballos after Arsenal go through in #EuropaLeague #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 26, 2021

Mikel Arteta says he is happy for Dani Ceballos after Arsenal scored a late winner to beat Benfica in the Europa League round of 32 second leg clash. The Spaniard was culpable for both of Benfica's goals on Thursday night and Arteta says the uncharacteristic mistakes would have affected the midfielder if the Gunners were knocked out of the tournament. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's late winner spared Arsenal's blushes as they secured their place in the round of 16 with the draw to be made on Friday afternoon. "I'm especially happy for him because he really loves this game and he does everything in the right way to be as prepared as possible," said Arteta. This is football and you can always learn and make up for your errors! Up to the next round! Thank goodness! Let's go Gunners! Thanks @Aubameyang7 @Arsenal #EuropaLeague #VamosGunners #NextRound #ArsenalVsBenfica pic.twitter.com/VLbg0JCR6x — Daniel Ceballos (@DaniCeballos46) February 25, 2021 "You can see how he celebrates every single goal. He doesn’t have a ten-year contract at the club, he’s on loan, and still feels and defends this club in the best possible way. "I think someone like him deserves good things to happen to him in football." Ceballos himself responded immediately after the game to apologies and thank his captain for bailing him out. "When he made that mistake, if that would have cost the team and gone out of the competition that would have been mentally really tough. "That is when you need the players in the team like the ones we have with Auba, Bukayo [Saka] creating the situations, Kieran scoring the goal to save him and out of a difficult situation we created a really nice moment."

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta backs #GranitXhaka and highlights #EuropaLeague importance #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 25, 2021

How important is the Europa League for this generation and the football club? Well huge, because the club has to be represented in Europe, that’s 100%. And ideally obviously in the Champions League. The thing is that the competition in this league now it’s so big that a few teams who took this for granted for many, many years it’s not the case anymore. So now the Europa League becomes a huge competition. If you see how the competition has evolved in the last four or five years with the teams involved, you will say that it’s another Champions League competition even if people doesn’t treat it that way. For us it’s vital. We want to carry on playing in the competition. It’s a trophy and we’re gonna go for it. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Arsenal in terms of prestige have to be in Europe don’t they? Absolutely, yes. How important is Granit Xhaka to the team and why do you think some fans have never really appreciated him? I think it’s more related, at least since I’ve been here and I know more about what happened in the past about the incidents you are talking about that have left some people disappointed or expecting a different reaction or not liking what happened. We talk about what happened this season in terms of performances and consistency. I think he’s even better than last season. Certainly after the Burnley game I think he made another step forward and he’s played because he deserves to play. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles In terms of your style is he unique with what he brings to the team? Well on that left side he gives you something that he has unique qualities to do that, considering as well the qualities we have in our left back position with Kieran. And it’s good because they compliment each other really, really well. We can tweak it and do it in different ways but it’s not only about his qualities as a player but the character and the personality that he brings to the team every time he steps in. How difficult is to convince fans, given the club’s Champions League history, that the Europa League is a competition worth being in? I think it’s impossible to convince them that the Europa League is the Champions League because it’s not and the history of this club is about being successful and winning the Premier League and winning the Champions League. But knowing the past and the difficulty we’ve been through in the last few years this becomes a really important competition for us. We all start to realise, maybe it’s still too early, but if we manage to do something in this competition, we are going to be happy about it definitely. We try to convince them with the performances and reaching the levels that we want. Granit Xhaka has taken on the mantle of Arsenal's midfield lynchpin in recent games. Next season there will be two places in the Europa League and then there’s the Europa Conference League for the third team, are you worried about being in that one next season? Well I'm worried because we still have a lot of work to do in the league to get close to those positions. It’s still mathematically possible but we need to be much more consistent to do that so I'm worried about tomorrow first and then let’s go to Leicester and try to win and let’s see how we can finish the season. It seems that after 2024 we might see more of the bigger clubs guaranteed places in the Champions League by coefficients. Do you think that’s a healthy direction for the league to go? I don’t know we need to know more detail and more explanation about what the final idea is. We need to maintain some detail of the merits that you have to achieve to enter the competition. But as well obviously with this pandemic and the evolution of the industry, it probably needs some changes as well to make it sustainable and attractive again. It’s like everything, probably in a few years’ time we will talk about something very normal with the teams with the changes that happen in May. But hopefully we can click the right button and nail it. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. What would you change if you could? Certainly the fixtures at the moment. The amount of games that the players have to play with very little rest and then the pressure they have to deal with as well with the national teams and the competitions it’s too condensed at the moment. I think we are risking the players and the quality of the game so in my opinion that should be the priority.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta’s shares plan for Arsenal to sign #DanniCeballos and #MartinOdegaard permanently #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 24, 2021

Real Madrid's plans in regards to signing a long-term replacement for Karim Benzema could have an effect on Arsenal. Finding a successor to the Frenchman won't be easy, but two names who have been heavily linked with moves to the Santiago Bernabeu are Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. However, due to the financial impacts of COVID-19 and financial fair play rules money is very tight for Los Blancos who would have to stump a fee of well over £100m to secure a deal for at least one this summer. And this is where Arsenal could play a huge role in helping the La Liga giants complete one of their transfer missions. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Currently on loan at the Emirates Stadium from Real Madrid are Martin Odegaard and Dani Ceballos. And it just so happens that recent reports have suggested that Gunners manager Mikel Arteta would like to keep both of them in his squad for next season, with technical director Edu currently working on deals to make their moves permanent in the summer. Arteta has made no secret of his admiration for Ceballos and suggested last week that plans are in place to discuss Odegaard's long-term future will take place at the end of the season. "He is a young leader," Arteta said as quoted by Sky Sports. "He has been here a very short time but he has adapted very quickly. He is getting more and more respect from the players and the staff and his weight on the team will increase with every week. "We have Martin for a few months from Real Madrid and first of all we have to maximise this time with him to try to bring to the team all the qualities he has. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "At the end of the season we will sit together and decide where we can take that relationship forward. "At the moment it doesn't just depend on us." Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. If Arsenal were able to secure transfers for both Odegaard and Ceballos this would go a long way to helping Real Madrid fund a move for Haaland or Mbappe this summer. Furthermore, if reports are to be believed, signing the aforementioned players would complete Arteta's dream midfield wish. In a potential financial boost for the Gunners, according to transfermarkt' s valutions, deals for both midfielders may not be too expensive. Ceballos is valued at £28.8m , with Odegaard slightly higher at £36m , so a £60m double bid may be enough to sign the two players permanently and also boost Real Madrid's budget to seal a deal for Haaland or Mbappe.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta explains secret behind #IlkayGundogan improvement at Manchester City #ArsenalFC #MCFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 21, 2021

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hailed Ilkay Gundogan as 'tremendous' ahead of his…

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta hails #IlkayGundogan and his bigger role in Manchester City performance #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 20, 2021

How impressed have you been with City's unbeaten run and is the title race over? I think they are the best team in Europe at the moment. The way they are performing, the football they are playing and the consistency of the results take all that it an it makes them the best team. So we have a big but as well a very exciting challenge ahead of us on Sunday. What are their main strengths this season, do they have any weaknesses? What they have done is react to a difficult moment and a big team has to do that so when everyone doubting their ability to compete again and be the team that they are, they reacted in a a really convincing way, all united and doing what they do best – being very consistent and winning games very comfortably. Weakness-wise, they have weaknesses like every team but at the moment teams have struggled a lot to find any of that because I think first of all defensively they have been really, really strong. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Are the upcoming games against teams above you (Leicester and Spurs) a chance to close the gap to the top four? Absolutely. That's going to define our season. If we are able to close the gaps to them but it's gonna create momentum for us if we can get closer to them. We know the margin for error is minimal with the season that we have had in previous months so we need to kick on. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles You worked with Ilkay Gundogan at Manchester City. Has his recent form surprised even you? Well I think now he's playing a higher role in the team. He's always had the ability to arrive in the box and has great timing and great qualities to finish the actions. Before he played a deeper role and he had the license to do that. He's a tremendous player and he's doing really, really well this season. Could any team other than City put together this type of run without the likes of Aguero, De Bruyne etc.? Well that doesn't happen overnight. That's been built over the last years. Recruiting really good, recruiting the players that can take the next challenge when someone tries to get in the twilight phase of their career. That evolution has been done in a really nice way so credit to everybody that makes the decision on there because they have all the time kept the vision of what were the immediate needs but what as well was needed for the future. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. How important was it to have Pep to talk to during that difficult time before Christmas, especially with the social media abuse you spoke about? We've been in contact a lot since I've been here. In good moments, in bad moments, when he was having some difficult moments, now that he's having some great moments, the relationship doesn't change. Obviously it's great to have some advice and some support at any moment in your career, because you need people as much as possible that have lived these situations. And then obviously the advice is much more concrete and useful. Does that apply on and off the pitch? Absolutely.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLSeason- #PepGuardiola believes Arsenal could soon challenge for title #MCFC #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 20, 2021

Pep Guardiola has seen enough from Arsenal's recent performances to believe they can…

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta on #PierreEmerickAubameyang missed chances after draw with Benfica #ARSENALFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 19, 2021

Frustrating with the chances you had but an all-round dominant performance. How do you sum up the game? Yes exactly that. I think we had to leave the stadium today with much more than what we have right now. Everything is completely open till next Thursday. We have some positives to take from the game because we dominated the game and we had patches of really good moments where we created some big chances. We weren’t ruthless enough in the opponents’ box and the disappointing thing obviously is the way we concede the goal. Auba scored a hattrick on Sunday but missed some big chances tonight. What do you put that down to? Well, these thing happen. He was at the end of the biggest chances that we had tonight. He was a real threat again that’s why we played him today against this opponent with the line that they proposed all the time. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel He was unlucky not to score two or three tonight because in normal circumstances that would be the case. BukayoSaka is becoming more important and stepped up while everyone else is struggling to find the net? I think he’s in a great moment, he’s full of confidence, he’s been really important in recent results. His form is the highest probably since I’ve been here and he’s been really consistent. He needs to keep going and doing what he’s doing because at the moment he’s a really important part of the team. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles How much of a challenge is it balancing the fact that Saka is a really important player with the reality that he is a teenager? I think we have to protect him and keep expectations where they should be. But I'm not gonna put a break in his development or what he can do week in week out. I think we have to support him, give him the best possible advice all the time and then manage his minutes so he can maintain this level. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Is it hard to manage his minutes when you know your team is better with Bukayo on the pitch? It is at the moment because he’s been a real threat, he’s involved in a lot of goals all the time and the consistency of the performances makes him a starter obviously. It’s a fine balance, but at the same time when he is 19-years-old we have to protect him.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #MikelArteta considers Leeds United as the most relentless team #ArsenalFC

By Kanak Chauhan February 15, 2021

Mikel Arteta has revealed that he told his Arsenal players at half-time to…

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- #MikelArteta concerned by Arsenal’s lack of killer instinct in the final third #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin February 8, 2021

Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal’s lack of efficiency and consistent threat in the final third is a big concern for him following a second straight Premier League defeat. Arsenal lost 1-0 at Aston Villa and despite dominating possession with 66.4% were unable to translate time on the ball with pressure in the penalty area. Former Gunners goalkeeper Emi Martinez faced just three shots on target from Arsenal’s 14 attempts and two of those were from outside the penalty area. Arteta is blessed with some outstanding attacking talent, at least on reputation, in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Lacazette, Willian and Nicolas Pepe plus young stars Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel But Arsenal remain an inconsistent offensive side, scoring just once in their last three games which has slowed down their momentum gathered following a positive run from Christmas into New Year. Aubameyang and Willian’s form remains concerning, even if Lacazette and Pepe have improved following a poor start to the season but the Arsenal head coach knows they won’t win enough matches without greater execution in the final third. “I’m not really interested in the possession – it’s the positions that we take with that possession, the spaces we attack and how many open situations we create," Arteta said. “It’s about the final pass, the final move, the one-on-one situations where of course you have to hit the target, the cut-backs, the deliveries into the box. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles “All those things we have to improve because with the numbers we produce in the final third, we have to be hitting the target at least 10 or 12 times. “And then the fact that Villa had more shots on target as well is because we gave them – apart from the goal – another three or four big situations where they were open to shoot on target.” Nicolas Pepe during Arsenal's defeat against Aston Villa (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images) Arsenal attempted 243 passes in the final third, almost double Villa’s number of 131 but that didn’t translate into enough good chances created. Martinez saved Granit Xhaka’s free-kick, Pepe found encouraging positions but didn't test Villa's keeper amid some impressive defending and substitute Martin Odegaard fired over late on. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Arteta’s side rank 11th in the Premier League for shots (11.9), 12th for shots on target (4.0) and are over-performing their expected goals for the season by 3.04. Leeds are their next opponents with a Premier League visit to Emirates Stadium on February 14. That break in play, due to their FA Cup elimination at the hands of Southampton, should give Arteta much-needed time on the training ground to work on his attacking system and patterns.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- #MikelArteta clarifies why #AinsleyMaitlandNiles was sent on loan to West Brom #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin February 7, 2021

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has explained the decision to let West Brom loanee…

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- #MikelArteta wants answers from referees as Aston Villa expose Arsenal’s weakness #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin February 7, 2021

It was another disappointing defeat for Arsenal on the road today as Mikel Arteta's Gunners lost out against Aston Villa. Ollie Watkins' second minute strike sealed all three points for Dean Smith's men at Villa Park as Arsenal failed to break down a stubborn Villa side. It was a result that left Arsenal in tenth place in the table and nine points behind Liverpool in fourth, having played one game more than the Reds. As a result, Arsenal are facing a battle to try and qualify for European football via the Premier League this season, with Arteta's Gunners losing ten of their 23 league games so far this season. Below, we look at the talking points from the game. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel New signings impress for Arsenal There weren't many for Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime so it makes sense to start with the positives. The Gunners were relatively active in the transfer window, shipping several players out but also bringing a couple in. The first of them was Mat Ryan on loan from Brighton who made his debut for the club he supported as a boy in the absence of the suspended Bernd Leno. Things didn't exactly start off to plan for the Australian who conceded before even getting a touch on the ball as Cedric's weak pass and Rob Holding's slack marking allowed Ollie Watkins to give Aston Villa an early lead. From that point on though Ryan was faultless. The 28-year-old pulled off splendid stops from Watkins, Jack Grealish and Bertrand Traore to bail out the Gunners defenders in front of him on several occasions. His form, especially when compared to the shaky displays of Runar Alex Runarsson between the sticks this season, was another example of how important it is to have a top quality back up goalkeeper for a team at Arsenal's level. BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 06: Mat Ryan of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at Villa Park on February 06, 2021 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) This may well be his only chance in a Gunners shirt with Leno set to return next week, but if that is the case he's done plenty to suggest a permanent move come the summer might not be the worst piece of business. Further upfield it was a second appearance from fellow loanee Martin Odegaard that also really caught the eye. The Norwegian drifted all over the pitch looking to play balls forward and penetrate the Villa defence through the middle in a way that Arsenal had struggled to do a bit before his introduction. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Odegaard also showed off his ability to dovetail with Emile Smith Rowe as the two combined well to create some decent chances. The only downer on his cameo was that he missed arguably the Gunners' best chance of the match, blazing over the top from just inside the box after a Bukayo Saka pull back. Despite the result the performances of both indicated that strength in depth is no longer an issue for Arsenal in the goalkeeping and attacking midfield positions. Full backs react It was a day to forget for both of Arsenal's full backs. Cedric was at fault for the first goal as a weak pass to Gabriel was seized upon by allowing Villa to take the lead. The 29-year-old was visibly angry after the error and was captured on camera gesticulating angrily and lambasting himself for ultimately proved to be a game-deciding error. It did not get much better for the Portuguese defender after that, as he was careless in possession and given the run around by a winger named Traore for the second time in as many matches. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Cedric is playing out of position in all fairness to him, but it was no surprise to see him hooked at half time. Having just praised Arsenal's business in January it is worth just tempering that by asking what might have been if they had been able to bring in a left back. Retrospectively Junior Firpo of Barcelona has been linked and it's safe to say the Spaniard would have been a better signing than Patrick van Aanholt or Ryan Bertrand. But with Kieran Tierney still out the Gunners will have to soldier on without a specialist in the position. Mikel Arteta said himself that the club "could not do everything" in the transfer window, but it's looking like they may have missed a trick here. ST ALBANS, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 27: Hector Bellerin and Cedric of Arsenal during a training session at London Colney on September 27, 2020 in St Albans, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) Over on the other side Hector Bellerin, who once again skippered the side in the starting absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, was not much better. The Spaniard has actually been much improved this season and has faced some harsh stick as the team around him has failed to pick up points. But on Saturday there was no hiding for Bellerin, whose attacking output was simply not of the standard required. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Consistently poor crosses and pull backs were compounded by consistently giving the ball away. Again the disappointment with his own performance was clear as the 25-year-old could be seen hopping around in frustration at his inability to play a simple ball to Nicolas Pepe when the Gunners looked to counter. The question may seem harsh but it does have to be asked if Bellerin would be starting were Tierney fit. Cedric may have had a poor performance today, but the Spaniard's underwhelming displays are becoming something of a worrying trend for the Gunners. Old habits die hard The press conference after the game was a strange one as Mikel Arteta began by refusing to open up on what he had said to referee Chris Kavanagh at the full time whistle (more on that later). Stranger still though was the Spaniard's assessment of a highly underwhelming display from his side. "Really strong performance again today," said Arteta. "We completely dominated the game, we dominated every department and we should have won the game. "But, in the Premier League when you just give a goal to opponents, and we gave them another three opportunities to be fair ourselves, we gifted it to them, and then you are not ruthless in the box, you cannot win these games. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "The rest, the way the team played, the energy that they showed, the quality that they showed, the amount of chances and situations that we created, how quickly we regained the ball, how we controlled long balls second balls, how aggressive we were, just incredible." Having seen his side struggle to break down a Villa who were probably the better team on that day it was difficult to argue that Arteta's analysis really rang true. Instead it felt like Arsenal were returning to some of the more concerning characteristics seen in the winless November and December run. A dejected Emile Smith Rowe after Arsenal concede against Villa. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images) Despite having 67% of the possession and nearly double the number of passes, the Gunners ended up with less than half of the number of shots of their opponents. The attacking talents of Aubameyang, Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Pepe and Willian were all on the pitch by the end of the game, but at no point did Arsenal ever really look like they were going to score. Of course he will try and put a positive spin on things to the press after, but it will be a worry for Arteta, that his side are showing signs of what he has worked so hard to move them away from. More refereeing controversy Going into the game the sense of injustice around Arsenal was already pretty palpable. The FA's decision to uphold the red card of David Luiz but overrule that of Southampton defender Jan Bednarek was something Mikel Arteta was openly questioning in his pre-match interview. "We put a case and hoped it would be overturned," he told BT Sport. "It didn’t surprisingly, but it did with the Southampton boy. But we have to accept it." What happened in the game will have done little to make the Spaniard think that his team were getting the rub of the green when it came to refereeing decisions. Mikel Arteta interacts with Referee, Chris Kavanagh after Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa. (Image: Nick Potts - Pool/Getty Images) Ezri Konsa was only booked for hauling down Bukayo Saka when it seemed as though the England international was clear on goal, while VAR chose not to deem Emi Martinez's shirt pull on Alexandre Lacazette worthy of a penalty on closer inspection. After the game Arteta marched towards the centre circle in order to remonstrate with Chris Kavanagh and his refereeing team. On camera the Spaniard could be heard saying "I am speaking to you with respect," but the officials simply had no interest in engaging. It is tiresome to write about referees and in reality if the decisions had gone Arsenal's way it would have been harsh on Aston Villa, who were deserved winners on the day. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles But decisions haven't fallen for the Gunners in recent games, something which Arteta was keen to point out after the game. "No," he said when asked if there was consistency in the decisions referees have been making in the Premier League this season. "As you can see me, I was really animated for a few decisions and one big decision that I will not discuss here as well what happened." Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. In fairness to the Gunners boss he was intent on refusing to use the perceived injustice as an excuse. "But it’s what it is," he added. "It’s not an excuse. Regardless of those decisions we have to win the game. It’s as simple as that." But the reality is that his side do not appear to have luck on there side at the moment, which even the greatest need to succeed.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- What #MlkelArteta said on #GranitXhaka, #ThomasPartey, #NicolasPepe, #AinsleyMaitlandNiles and Aston Villa #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin February 6, 2021

What have you made of Xhaka's improved form and the relationship he has with Thomas Partey in midfield? I thought he was excellent the other night against Wolves. He's been really consistent and improving game by game. His partnership with Thomas is getting stronger, they haven't played much together and that chemistry has to flourish. They make eachother better and we have a good balance between left and right footers in those spaces. His leadership level as well, I think he's matured a lot as a player and has a big importance in that dressing room. On the pitch I think he's doing much better than before as well. Read More Related Articles How impressed are you that he's bounced back from that Burnley game? It's not just the Burnley game. He's had two big episodes. We can overcome one of those but the second time it shocks you and you say 'I don't want to go through that again'. This is why we're here to try and support our players. I think the club was exceptional trying to give him all that support, we tried to do the same, his team-mates did the same and now he's getting a lot of praise for how he's playing. It's down to his character and to how much he wants to succeed at the club. Does he have a long term future at this club? He's a really important player for us. Since I've been in he's played almost every game and there's no better way to show how much you like and value a player than to give him minutes on the pitch. What does Pepe need to do to sustain what he's been doing the past few games? If you ask me personally what I think about his overall performances in all the phases of the game I think this is the best he's played. His contributions to those aspects is the best he's done and he needs to sustain that. When you have momentum in football you cannot lose it and in order to do that you have to keep the basics right and keep doing what you're doing, if not you know somebody is going to be knocking on your door. How much does he need guidance from you? I don't know how much he wants but he needs guidance and clarity in what he wants to do. Then he needs the discipline on the pitch to do what he wants to do and obviously he needs the freedom in certain moments to express himself as a player and you can't restrict that for sure. Nicolas Pepe celebrates scoring against Southampton (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) What do Nelson, Maitland-Niles and Willock need to get back into the team? Joe's situation was very clear for me. We talked in the summer about a possible loan. I said to him I wasn't comfortable with that because I wanted to give him minutes. He was going to play in different competitions and in my opinion it was the right thing to do for his development. I think he's played 17 or 18 games in this period which is a lot. He's played to a big level and now we have less competition and I thought he was going to have less time and I thought another 14 or 16 games in the Premier League would be a really positive thing. He completely agreed, we found the right club, the right manager and coaching staff to do that so hopefully it's going to be a really successful period for him. With Ainsley he's in a different phase of his development. He's 24, he's an England international and he just wanted to start football games and wanted that guaranteed. In my position it was really difficult to do that. He was willing to experience something else, he's never been alone like Joe and I decided to allow him to do that. He can play in different positions, he might have the possibility to play in midfield which for him is important. When a player's main will is not financial and just to play football it's really difficult to stand in his way when you don't feel like he's going to start many games. Do you expect Maitland-Niles to come back and be a starter for you? I expect all the loans to come back and we'll make a decision in the summer. How difficult has this period for Aubameyang? I think it shows the spirit around the dressing room and how much we care for eachother. When things are difficult you need to see 'are you thinking of me?' 'are they supporting me?' and the answer is a big yes. He's a player who is very much liked because of his character and what he's done at the club. He totally deserved that support. Individually for him it's been tough because when you see a member of your family suffer and go through a difficult period emotionally it drains you. He did the right thing to be next to them. Has he shown his qualities this week? Yes it was difficult because he wants to be here, he wants to be training and win football matches. He doesn't want to miss football matches and wants to play every single competition. He was having the responsibility to be there but at the same time wanted to be here, he was training on his own and I think he's managed that really well. His qualities are up there with the best? I think you touched on the key word. Every player needs that confidence to produce the moments and score the goals. It's unique and he's got that ability. Partey dominated the game against Wolves. He's going to be an important player for you? Yeah obviously, that's the reason we signed him because we believed that we needed a player like him to impose himself in games, to give us that steel and dominance that he brings to the team. We have to see more of him. More minutes, more games and slowly get partnerships and chemistry around the team. He needs to be one of our leaders. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Does Partey remind you of anyone? Does he need to shoot a bit more? He had a shot the other night when he should have passed the ball! He needs to shoot when it's the right moment to shoot. He's got that ability to get in the opponents box, run forwards with or without the ball and have that pressing. At Atletico Madrid he scored a few really good goals and that's something he needs to do more. Does he remind you of anyone? I wouldn't like to compare him with anyone, sorry.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- #OleGunnarSolskjaer agrees with #MikelArteta over #DavidLuiz decision #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin February 4, 2021

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has delivered his verdict on David Luiz's red card against Wolves. Luiz was sent off during Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Tuesday night, initially receiving a yellow card before Craig Pawson reviewed the incident on the VAR monitor and upgraded it to a red card. The decision proved pivotal with the Gunners 1-0 up at the time, going on to lose 2-1, and goalkeeper Bernd Leno was also sent off, coming out of his box and pushing a through ball away with his arm in the second half. Fans were left furious with Luiz's red card, and many pundits agreed, the Arsenal defender doing his best to pull away from Willian Jose whose trailing leg seemed to cause the tangle. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Manchester United boss Solskjaer was another who disagreed with the call having watched the game before his side thrashed Southampton 9-0 at Old Trafford later in the evening. "Funnily enough, I had a discussion with referees before the game and just asked them about David Luiz sending off, because I didn’t think he should’ve been sent off and Bednarek definitely shouldn't have been sent off," he told the Manchester Evening News. Mikel Arteta, of course, agreed, saying: "If there's any contact it's him with David. Again, I don't know if they have a different angle what they have or you have. "That's where the disappointment is coming from. It's hard enough to win football games in the league and those big decisions are like that but it's nothing we can change at the moment." Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. It has since been confirmed that Arsenal will appeal the Luiz red card decision and if successful, the centre-back will be able to play against Aston Villa on Saturday. If not, the Gunners will be without him for one game, though they should be able to manage given Gabriel Magalhaes impressed after coming into the fray against Wolves. Arsenal will not appeal the Leno call and he will serve a one-game suspension.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- #MikelArteta hints that #AinsleyMaitlandNiles has a future at Arsenal #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin February 2, 2021

Mikel Arteta has suggested that Ainsley Maitland-Niles could still have a future at Arsenal. The 23-year-old confirmed his loan move from the Gunners to West Brom for the remainder of the season with minutes remaining of transfer deadline day. The reason for the move is his joint dissatisfaction at a lack of playing time and at being played almost anywhere except his preferred position. But speaking after the signing was confirmed Arteta hinted that the youngster could still have a part to play going forward at the Emirates if the move goes well. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel "Ainsley is a very talented player and we are proud of his hard work and development with us," he told Arsenal.com. "This decision to go on loan to West Bromwich Albion for the rest of this season is to support Ainsley and his growth further. "He will be working at a very good club in the Premier League and we all wish him the best of luck during his time at the Hawthorns.” The fact that he's being made with a view to supporting his growth would seem to suggest that Arteta wants the player to come back and be part of his squad at Arsenal next season. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Maitland-Niles came close to joining Wolves permanently last summer but was convinced to stay by the Gunners boss who looks like he still wants him around. Technical director Edu echoed Arteta's sentiments suggesting that there is still scope for Maitland-Niles to make it as a regular first teamer at the Emirates. The Brazilian also highlighted how important the England international's desire for game time with a view to the upcoming Euros had been in influencing the decision. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. “We wish Ainsley the best of luck for his time with West Bromwich Albion," he said. "He deserves the opportunity to play consistently, which is what he needs for his club and international career ambitions and we fully support him with that.” For all the latest news as it happens around Arsenal on deadline day follow our live blog here.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- #MikelArteta and #Edu send message to Newcastle as #JoeWillock completes loan move to Newcastle United #NUFC #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin February 2, 2021

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu have sent Joe Willock to Newcastle to enable him to play more first-team minutes and hope that the Magpies fulfil their side of the loan deal. Willock has made two Premier League starts this season but has become an increasingly peripheral player under Arteta following the first-team emergence of Emile Smith Rowe, and Martin Odegaard’s arrival on loan only compounds that scenario. At Newcastle, Willock joins a struggling team in the Premier League who rank 17th for shots, joint 15th for goals and 18th for chance creation, meaning he will be tasked at bringing some extra creativity to Steve Bruce’s side. As Arsenal and Newcastle confirmed the transfer at 11pm on deadline day, just as the window shut, Arteta and Edu made a point of emphasising what they want to see from Willock and Newcastle for the rest of 2020/21. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel “Joe is a talented young player and an important member of our first-team squad,” Edu said. “This can be seen in the number of appearances he has made for us in recent seasons. "At this stage of his career, we have decided together with Joe, that it will benefit his development greatly to enjoy a loan period playing regular first-team football. “We thank our counterparts at Newcastle United for their collaboration and we wish Joe all the best with his loan move.” Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Bruce has favoured a 4-4-2 for much of this season with Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden his preferred midfield partnership, although the latter has also been used in defence, with Jeff Hendrick and Sean and Matty Longstaff the other orthodox central options. Willock has played both as an attacking midfielder and in a deeper role for Arsenal under Arteta. He hasn't been signed in time to be eligible for Newcastle's Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Tuesday but could be in contention to play against Southampton on Saturday. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. “Joe is a young player with great ability who is progressing very well and we are happy with his continued development,” Arteta said. “At this moment in his career, Joe needs to be playing regularly. At Newcastle United, he is going to a very good club with a top quality manager and staff. “We all wish Joe the very best at Newcastle until the end of the season.”

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PL Stories- Every word #MikelArteta said on #PierreEmericAubameyang, his absence and more #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin January 31, 2021

Does that feel like a point gained or two dropped? Well, I thought it was a fair result. I think both managers probably think that we should have won it. I think it was a big game. I think we played face to face against each other. I think both teams wanted to win it. None of us scored a goal so it’s impossible to win. The fact that we had three of our best players out probably has an impact. But I’m really happy with the players who played today. How we tried, but most importantly in the second half we were so dominant and created some big chances to win. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Can you clarify the situation with Auba and why he is in quarantine? We have to follow the rules and the protocols right now. And the protocols says that he cannot be involved at the moment. We have to respect that and the doctor is managing the situation currently. Is that because he’s been in a particular country or because he’s been exposed to COVID? It’s because he had a family issue that he had to attend to. And these are the consequences to that moment. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Why do you feel that you improved so much in the second half? Well, we made some changes with a few things that we had to tweak. Be much more efficient, be much closer to them and be more effective in our high press so we could regain the ball. And then we had a better structure to attack, we were more of a threat and we stopped basically giving the ball back to the opponent when we won it and we had so many spaces to run which is something that against United that can punish you. In the first half we didn’t do that well enough. How pleased were you with Emile Smith Rowe’s contribution? Yes. I think he played a really good game. In the first half when got involved I think he made a real difference. I think he increases the pace and the rhythm of the team when he’s around the ball. And defensively I think he’s working so hard as well so overall again I think he had a really strong performance. Emile Smith Rowe pressures Harry Maguire for Arsenal against Manchester United (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images) There have been various rumours. Mustafi has been linked to Liverpool. Anything happening with potential outgoings like Nelson, Maitland-Niles, Willock and Chambers? Well, there are some conversations at the moment going on. I spoke with all of the players about their own situation because they are all aware of the minutes that they are playing and they want to improve their situation. I am willing to help them. Some of them the club is willing to help them and we will try to find a solution at the end. But I don’t know whether it’s going to be the case or not. David Luiz said after the game you’re taking a real team atmosphere where can that take you? Well I don’t know but we’re gonna give it a real go. I think the team is in a really good moment. I think we are moving in the right direction. All the players are so willing to contribute to the team, to contribute to the project that we have in place, and they seem excited. So when that’s the case I have to push them inch by inch and make them believe that we can finish the season in a really strong way. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles David Luiz celebrated heading Bruno Fernandes’s free kick over the bar like a goal. Is that the kind of defensive intensity you’re trying to get in the team? Yes because you have to put your body on the line. And when you have to defend your box you have to be ruthless, you have to be even more aggressive when you are attacking the opponents one because every goal it makes a huge impact on the results. I think in those situations everybody is defending those situations with their lives, which is what I ask them to do. And when that’s the case you are obviously harder to beat and you get the amount of clean sheets that we are getting at the moment. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. How many more daysofquarantine does he have left? I don’t know. I cannot give you an exact answer. We are working with the Premier League and the government about it. And we’ll see what they say. But it’s a process at the moment. But it’s right to say he’s abroad and that’s why he’s in quarantine? He’s been looking after his family and now he’s in quarantine.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PremierLeagueStories – #MikelArteta reveals how #GranitXhaka has revived his Arsenal Career #AFC

By Saumil Dave January 17, 2021

Mikel Arteta has described Granit Xhaka's resurgence in the Arsenal midfield as 'phenomenal' and believes there's more to come from the Swiss international. The 28-year-old put in a solid performance at the heart of the Gunners' midfield as they drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace on Saturday. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Xhaka was shown a straight red card in a match against Burnley last month after he grabbed Ashley Westwood by the throat, but his recent performances have been improved and the defensive side of his game has also received praise. In our player ratings from the Palace game, Xhaka was given a seven, with Arsenal writer Kaya Kaynak saying: "The Swiss international is often maligned for his defensive capabilities, but there were several occasions when Xhaka did well to stop Palace counter attacks with a few nifty interceptions. Was assured on the ball as well and had a solid game overall." Speaking ahead of another Premier League clash on Monday night against Newcastle, an enthusiastic Arteta lauded Xhaka's leadership skills and praised his improvement over the past few weeks. "After the red card with the history he had he was in a difficult place," he said. "We had to try to bring him back where we believed he can be and should be, which is being one of the leaders in the team. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. "And as you mentioned giving us this stability and presence that he can provide to the team and the club. "I think since he's been back he's been phenomenal, he's playing really, really well. He's still a player who can evolve and it's great for us to have him back."

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #MikelArteta believes its not just #PierreEmerickAubameyang but Arsenal squad that has to improve !! #ArsenalFC

By Premier League Museum Admin January 16, 2021

Auba scored in the cup, but do he and some of the other senior players need to do more in games against Palace and a similar one that you'll face against Newcastle alongside the youngsters who have done so well? Yeah but not about individuals, but as a collective we have to do more. And then for sure when you look at the way these games are won there are individual actions rather than collective actions. It's a moment of spark that has to open the game up and then the game becomes much easier to get what you want. But we missed that [against Palace]. It's not just Auba, it's other players. A lot of simple balls that we gave away without any real pressure that allowed Palace to run in transition. But for me it was more than anything a little bit lack of freshness. It's a lot of fixtures a lot of games, but we cannot use that as an excuse. I think we have to do better. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel There's been talk that it would have been good to have a a circuit breaker and have a break. Would you have supported that? No. I think I prefer to play. I think we all prefer to play. We are on it, we all made big efforts and tried to contribute the best possible way to make things work and happen. I feel really lucky that we are still playing. And it's still safe and the right thing to do then let's keep doing it. With Newcastle it took 114 minutes to break them down last time in the FA Cup game. What do you need to do to break them down inside the 90 minutes? Well we did a lot of good things there, but we didn't have the capacity to put the ball in the net in our situations that we created. Against them, be ruthless in front of goal. The moment we created the chances, the mindset to attack them as much as possible, hit the target as many times as we possibly can, and we'll be fine. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles As a former playmaker how difficult is it on the touchline when you have a goalless draw? You saw me out there. I think you are there trying to push the team. This is, in my opinion, where we are missing the fans so much because it's another big element that pushes you, that drives you, that is forcing you all the time to attack and attack. But you need the right structure and organisation to attack these type of blocks and you need the quality, the freshness, the timing and the cohesion to finish the actions better than we've done [against Palace]. But overall I think it was a fair result. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Are these games where you need your more experience players to come up with the guile? For me it doesn't make a lot of difference between old and youth. They are squad players, they are contributing in the same way. Or they should contribute in the same way. Because they are young they don't have less responsibility. If they are picked to play in the starting 11 it's because they deserve it more than somebody else on the bench. So I don't make the difference. Everybody has to have the approach to the game that I am here and I am going to win it for the team.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PremierLeagueStories – Disappointed #MikelArteta accepts that Arsenal lacked quality against Palace #AFC

By Saumil Dave January 15, 2021

How do you sum thingsup.Are you a bit disappointed? A bit frustrated? I am disappointed because we wanted to win the game. But I think a draw is a fair result, because we lacked some freshness and some quality in the final third to win this match. I want to ask you about a joint statement from the Premier League and the EFL that says if football sets the rightexamplewe can finish the season in May. Is there a danger that if football doesn’t do the right thing that we might not finish the season? Well, I don’t know the answer to that question. What we can control and what we are really trying hard to do is to follow all the guidelines and the rules. But sometimes it becomes difficult because there are a lot of emotions involved in the game. And obviously it’s good not to be first bumping but there are 25 actions that we have to grab eachother in the box in every set piece. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel So we are getting tested every three days we are trying to do the right things. Sometimes it makes sense to be all the time demanding but at the same time there are things that are pretty complicated to control. Fenerbahce say Ozil is closer than ever to joining. Is he closer than ever to leaving Arsenal and are there any other clubs involved? Well I don’t know how close he’s been before. There are some conversations going with Edu and the club at the moment, but nothing concrete yet. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles You mentioned that Kieran Tierney will be going for an MRI. How long are you thinking he might be out for? We don’t know. We’ll probably know more tomorrow after testing him and having the evolution of the injury and how long he’s gonna be out for. Certainly it was a big disappointment just on the day of the match to lose him. Hopefully he can be with us very quickly. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. How much of a challenged is it to adapt the way you’re playing when Kieran has so quickly become so important? Well, it is a challenge when you created a game plan for the day and just a few hours before the game he has to pull out. But that’s why we have other players to do it and they have to step in. Kieran’s progression in the last few months has been incredible and now it’s for another player to step in and do that he does.

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PremierLeagueStories – #MikelArteta tells #DavidLuiz his performances can earn new Arsenal contract #AFC

By Saumil Dave January 14, 2021

David Luiz, like a number of players at Arsenal, is out of contract this summer. The 33-year-old is free to talk to clubs from other countries to sign a pre-contract agreement ahead of a free transfer in the summer. But he could also earn a new deal to remain at the Emirates Stadium. Luiz initially joined the Gunners on a one-year deal in August 2019 and earned a one-year extension last season. And there is a chance for him to make it a third year with the Gunners, as manager Mikel Arteta has outlined, telling the veteran centre-back how he can remain a part of the Arsenal set-up into the 2021/22 season. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Arteta said: "We will see what happens [with his contract]. There's a lot of things happening around the club, lots of decisions to make and I don't want to rush any decisions, I just want the players to be focused, they know they have six months, eight months left, some of them a year, we cannot change all the contracts right now. "We have been in a difficult period in the last few weeks and I want people to focus on football, if you do what you have to do on the football pitch you will deserve the chance to stay with us if this is what you want." Luiz has been in and out of the team due to injuries this season and he returned from his latest setback in the FA Cup win over Newcastle on Saturday, playing 120 minutes of football. Arteta was impressed with what he saw. He added: "David has had a really difficult season, he had three different things that have kept him away from training and games, that's unusual for him because he's normally available, so he's had to deal with that and then he had to play the other day 120 minutes and I think he was exceptional. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. "The way he handled the game against a difficult number nine like Andy Carroll and to play 120 minutes, at his age, with not much training, I really liked what he did." And Arteta likes what he sees from Luiz off the pitch too, with a number of young players being blooded into the first team at the Emirates. "He's fantastic, one of the leaders in the dressing room," Arteta admitted. "He's one of the most experienced players, he's won everything in the game, he's so good with the young kids, when you look at people who can help and be a role model, he's always with them, supporting them, giving them confidence and advice, it's great to have him around."

2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PremierLeagueStories – #MikelArteta on #ThomasPartey’s injury troubles & Arsenal’s top 4 credentials #AFC

By Saumil Dave January 14, 2021

Thomas Partey has only played the full 90 twice, did you see enough in those appearances to see that he could change the dynamic of the team and the way you play as a group? Absolutely and because obviously we are able to watch him in training. And who he is as well. I think he's got a different presence. I think he brings something different to the team. It's not just about his talent it's not, about his physicality, it's who he is as a person. He makes players better around him and that's a big quality. It's incredible that we are in January, we signed him in the summer and we only played him twice. So, we haven't really seen the impact that we believe he could have on the team. Obviously, we have missed him. On the other hand we've seen players stepping in as well. When that happens they give us some really positive news as well. But I think it's going to be a big bonus if we can keep him fit. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel It's obviously a difficult time to move country and move clubs and try and settle in somewhere. Have you had to manage him psychologically as well as his injury and that side of things? Yes, because when you are injured you feel first of all the responsibility, when the club has made the effort that we made to sign him. He was so willing for months to be joining us. He really wants to be a part, he knows how much he can help. And then he had to deal with the injuries and the lockdown and moving into a new place, and that's been tough for him. That's why sometimes he was rushing and he wanted to do everything straight away because he's so willing to come back. He doesn't want to be alone at home. He's in a really good place to be fair. He settled really well in the dressing room, around the staff. He's a special character and hopefully we can see him on the pitch finally. You mentioned he tested negative for COVID was there a COVID issue with Thomas? No there wasn't no. Thomas Partey in action for Arsenal (Image: Richard Calver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Shkodran Mustafi has hardly played in the league this season and his contract expires at the end of the season. Do you expect him to leave this season or will you keep him as back up till the end? Well Musti came back from a really difficult injury when he got injured at the end of last season. After that period he was doing really well. I think his performances were increasing and getting better and better. And when he came back that's when we had seven or eight central defenders. So he had to get his performance level up. I think physically he still needed some time. Then he started to play some games in Europe which I think he did well as well. And now it's about, yeah, when do you make the next step to be the starter? And the reality is that we have to change that for different reasons, use different personnel. He's been very close in a few games. But now we've found as well a partnership that is giving us clean sheets, and sometimes when you do that it's difficult to change. But he's still in contention. And as for his future what do you think will happen with that? His future right now is here. Trying to help. We have Papa that probably is going to leave the club this window, we have William that has already gone on loan. So we don't have that many right now. Gabi has been out for a period, David has been injured, so the situation is completely different to before. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Looking at the league table the title race is closer than it has been in the past. Why do you think that is? Is it because of the special circumstances of the fixture list this season? I think so. I think the teams are not as consistent because everything around is not as consistent. We have to change everything, all the protocols. For example, to start our season with a pre-season, it didn't exist. We had two training sessions before we play the Community Shield, and then we started to play the league. The squads that we have to manage this year are bigger than ever. The restrictions we have for training to preparation they are stranger. There is no crowds. There is a lot going on. And maybe you can sustain that for a few months, but when it goes down to 10, 12 months it's more complicated. And you see it in other leagues as well. You see the league table in other leagues, and there is not any precedent in football like this. So it has to be something. We can imagine that there to that Nick, but it's difficult to say it's exactly that because it's the first time it happened. But something is going on that's for sure. Two weeks ago people were talking about you being in a relegation battle. Now you are looking at the top four. Is that an unrealistic target at the moment? Well today it's not because we haven't won those games. But that we know we've got the capacity to win those games, we're going to be looking at the season a completely different way. And this is where the motivation and now the positivity has to keep going to really go for it. Do you take heart from someone like Ole Gunar Solskjaer? When you beat them people were talking about him being sacked and now suddenly they are top of the league. This industry works like that. We are just based on results. And if you are guided by that, a game that is a very low score game it's a very dangerous thing to do, because the margins to win or lose is one goal. In other sports it doesn't happen. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Have you sensed a change of mood around the club because of winning four games? Yes, because as we talked in previous weeks I think winning brings you something, even when not playing well, everything is so positive and fluid and energy's good. And losing is just a devastating thing to have around the place. And it is what it is.