Every word Mikel Arteta said on Saka and Calafiori injury, Saliba absence, Arsenal vs Liverpool
How are Saka, Calafiori and Timber? Could any of them play?
We’re going to do our very best to somehow have them available. But it’s very, very uncertain.
For all three?
Yes.
Calafiori’s injury looked serious. Is it?
He needs some more tests. Yesterday he had some, today he’s going to have some more. After that we will know. Last time we thought it was really bad and then he ended up playing two days later. So let’s see.
If he’s still doing tests surely he won’t make Sunday?
Like I said, last time it happened. This time it might be different.
Has Saka done any training?
He’s done a bit of training on the grass. How far we can get him before Sunday is another question. We have another day which is a good thing, because this week had an extra day. We will see.
READ MORE: Arne Slot makes major Mohamed Salah decision ahead of Arsenal vs Liverpool Premier League clash
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta provides Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber injury update ahead of Arsenal vs Liverpool
Has Timber trained on the grass?
Timber, it was the first session that he could have some involvement. He’s been out for a while. We expected him to be further along than he is at the moment. Again we will have to see.
How do you cope without Saliba?
We have different options. Players that have played there before. It’s true that partnership has been very stable and he has played every single moment. But he’s not available. We have to find a different solution which as a team we need to be good at as well.
Have you done anything different to re-energise the team?
Yeah after the defeat with 10 men at Bournemouth we had to pick ourselves up. We did that really well in the first half and we should have had a better result. We didn’t and at the end if left you the feeling that it should have been more.
We had a day off to prepare the match which is more than we normally do. And it’s a big match. We are so excited, we love these matches at the Emirates. We know what our people are going to generate.
What are you hoping will give your team the edge against Liverpool?
That things will go our way. That we will play the way we want to play against Liverpool, and play with that belief, with that energy and with that commitment that is necessary in a big match like that.
Have you seen a lot from Arne Slot?
Yes very good. They are in a really good moment, a great run. You can see the touch that he’s put on them, to a team that was already very strong. You can see his fingerprints there on that team.
Where can Liverpool do most damage?
It’s a team that has been competing for nine years at the highest level. They know how to compete, how to threaten you when the ball is really far, when the ball is in the outside units especially. They have the quality to damage you. For nine years consistently it’s been there. That means they’re really good at what they do.
It will be sixth different backline combination of season, how happy are you with strength in depth?
Obviously, we had so much going on, especially in the backline, in the first few months of the season. We had to adapt to that, that’s why we have as well some versatile players that have been really, really helpful. But ideally, we would have other options as well and more consistency, but that’s the situation that we have at the moment.
Do you feel hard done by that had so many injuries at this stage of season as it’s maybe stopped you playing your best football?
This is the game. Obviously we didn’t want to be in that situation, but we are really lucky as well to have the squad that we have, to have the players that we have, to have the attitude that we have. When it comes down to reacting against a difficult situation, we don’t feel sorry for ourselves - face it. We are a team that we know how good we are as well and how difficult we can be for the opponents. And having that ruthless mentality is something that I love.
Will this game require a different mentality with so many key players out?
We are always going to be ourselves in the things, in the identity that we have, in the game that we want to play, in how we are going to approach the game to win it. That’s certainly not going to change. Then, obviously, you adapt and you make certain alterations to feed the quality of the players and put the players in their biggest strengths - which is what we want to do.
Been some positives for Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, is there a possibility they could start the game on Sunday?
They are there. They are in contention. They always give us the option and the possibility to start the game. Myles came on the other night and he did really well. Ethan the same. They are first-team players. They are with us and we treat them and value the same way as any other player.
Could be a game for them to come in and play, got no fear?
Yes, for sure, that is something, that they don’t feel much - especially those two - and that is something really positive. It brings the crowd together as well, it creates energy in the team, that’s something really good. It is about throwing them in the best moment with the right players around them, which is something really important as well.
Wouldn’t be scared to do it?
No. Well, we did it in a Champions League game the other day, so.
Liverpool on a par with City as being championship contenders every year?
For me, they are one of the best teams in the last decade and certainly the history of this Premier League, because they competed against a team that was creating record after record and they were consistently there. That shows a lot of relentless and winning mentality to consistently believe, even if it some people you feel you could not reach it. So that’s a big credit to them and with the work they have done with a clear identity, so that’s something remarkable in my opinion.
This your biggest test for two or three seasons as Arsenal manager given injuries and suspension?
I need to go on the hard drive! But I think we have very, very difficult moments or challenging moments, I don’t think this is one of them. We are so energised. We play Liverpool at home. We really want to play. We have a magnificent squad, the atmosphere is going to be tremendous and we are really looking forward to the game.
If you were to lose this game you would be seven points -
If we were to win it! I don’t think about it.
To early to think about it?
I never think about: ‘What if we lose it?’ Everything that we do is to win, so in my preparation I don’t spend one second [thinking]: ‘If we lose it’. It’s about, if we win it, how convinced we are that we are going to win it and how we are going to feel afterwards.
Do you think about the title race at all?
When we won against Aston Villa everybody was already saying if you lose this game, second game of the season, what’s next? Then you go to City and have this or that. We cannot think like this in October.
How important is it to keep information inside the club?
Team news, yeah? That’s something I understand. A lot of kids want to do their own things — it is our job to protect that as much as possible. You don’t want to give anything away.
Was it something you focused on?
It’s a big part of our job. We have a lot of information, a lot of sensitive information a lot of people want to have and share. It’s our obligation, our duty to maintain the team in the best possible way.
Do you have any understanding as to why the injuries are happening?
In a lot of cases it has been very bad luck. We have certain difficult knee injuries, certain traumatic injuries, three injuries with the national team. It’s difficult to control. Luck, I don’t know why you call it luck. What happened with Ricky the other day, what happened before with Tomiyasu. It can happen, it’s about how we react to that. We’re not going to change it.
Are you surprised how well Slot has started?
No because of the team, the infrastructure that they have, the individuals that they have. He’s a really good manager, he’s inherited a team that is successful and given it his touch to maintain and evolve in the direction he believes is the right way to do it. From the beginning when you look at that squad you think they’re going to be right in the mix.
Do you know your team?
Till tomorrow, no.
Could you talk us through the next 48 hours
A lot of drawing. A lot of possibilities, a lot of ifs. Probably the team that we start won’t be the team that finishes the game. It happens every week. I have to prepare for the scenarios: what happens if, what contexts the game throws at you and how prepared we are after to make the changes we need to do. Who’s available to play 90 minutes, who is not? That’s always the case.
You worked hard last season to keep players fit for so long, do you feel you’re prepared for this?
Not that early in the season, knowing the manner it has happened with a few players. Having the rest in the best possible physical and mental condition is something we put a lot of work into. It’s key. You need the team prepared. When you lose your captain, that’s a big thing. When you lose your central defender, a full back, another full back, a striker, a winger: the team has to have the resources. First of all mentally to adapt to that and then maintain the same belief that even like this we’re a great team.
It seems a lot of luck has broken against you this season - what have you learned about the character of the team and what has it learned about itself?
I love watching individuals and teams react to that. It is a [down] look? I hate it. I haven’t seen it in the staff, I haven’t seen it upstairs, I haven’t seen anyone talk about it. Get on with it. Get on with it. Show your teeth. Show how much you want it. This means opportunities for other people, opportunities for us as a team to rebel against certain situations. We need the crowd more, on Sunday even more. Let’s keep going.
How do you stop yourself feeling negative?
It gives me zero for the next moment, the next day, the next preparation. It just takes things out of me. If it takes things out of me, it takes things out of the staff because they are close to me. If it takes things out of the staff, it’s then the players. Then your belief? Throw it away.