Every word Mikel Arteta said on Arsenal belief, 115 charges, Spurs vs Man City and contract

Is this one of the biggest weeks of your career?

It’s one of the biggest weeks for sure for many of us. Certainly now is the most important moment. Can’t wait for Sunday to be in front of us. Very optimistic for the possible outcome.

Do you have to remind the players that it’s possible after Spurs lost?

The hope was there and it didn’t happen. Now we have to do our job which is going to be tough because Everton are in a good moment. So we have to prove again that we can be better than the opponent and win the game. We have to wish for the best and wish for West Ham to have a really good day and help us to fulfil our dream.

Have you messaged David Moyes to give you a favour?

No, I don’t think I need to do that. But yeah, he’s been instrumental in my career. Not just as a footballer, but as a person as well. If he could help us to fulfil our dream and my personal dream to win the Premier League, that will be unbelievable and he’ll always be in my memory that’s for sure.

What have you said to the players about dealing with the pressure on Sunday?

The only thing that we discussed is that we have to give ourselves the opportunity to live a beautiful day on Sunday where the dream is still alive and is possible. It’s football and once we’re there we have to live the moment. The moment is to play like every single week, understanding that for the dream to happen we have to win. That’s very certain. Then we have to hope for West Ham to achieve that dream. That part is on us and it’s the only thing we can focus on.

What’s the thing you’re proudest of this season if it doesn’t happen on Sunday?

I can’t think like this. I just think that we’re going to win the game and hopefully something beautiful is going to happen. Let’s wait.

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Do you sense the players are as optimistic as you?

I do. Around the building. Jesus, we are in the last day of the season playing for the Premier League. The Premier League trophy hasn’t been at the Emirates yet and it was built almost 20 years ago. That’s a long, long time. We have to be very optimistic. The trophy is going to be there and it’s possible we have to do our duties and then we wait and see what happens.

History does seem to be against you with the lack of teams that overturned things on the final day…

That’s all gonna change then you mean. That’s a probability! The more something happens the more probably something else can happen. Let’s wish for that to be the case.

City have wobbled on the final day in the past. Does that show the occasion can get to a team even like City?

It’s really difficult to beat any opponent in the Premier League. When something is at stake that task becomes more difficult. But that’s not in our control.

People seemed to suggest it was done after City beat Spurs. Is that disrespectful?

I don’t know. We all know that they are a step closer, because it’s one game less and they have to play at home. They’re going to play a tough opponent. We have suffered in recent seasons against them and it’s really hard to beat them. I’m sure they’re going to be very at it. Hopefully they can help us to achieve our dream.

Has there been any communication between you and Pep?

No, no.

Do you believe that City will lose in your heart of hearts?

Lose or draw. This is what we need that’s for sure.

But you know how hard it can be to stop them when they get on this role of winning games?

If I don’t believe today then imagine how much I could believe in August. Then from August with 38 games against Man City, with what they’ve done in the last 12 or 13 years and what we’ve done in the last 20 years in the Premier League, we have zero chance then. We can’t start like this. We have to believe that’s for sure.

Is it ironic that the people who are involved on Sunday mean so much to you?

That’s the beauty of this industry, with people that you come across, with people that you have experiences in your life, that they’ve been super important to you personally. Now you need something from them. Hopefully it will happen.

Has this season been a success regardless of what happens this season?

We are here to win. That’s my aim and that’s the only thing I’m thinking of.

What are your thoughts on the vote to ban VAR?

I haven't’ been part of those meetings. I want to have a meeting with the club next week and understand where these points are coming across, what happened in the last few weeks to get to this position. And then we’ll decide what our position is as a club and see what happens.

Do you want to put your position to the club before they vote?

First of all I want to understand because I haven’t been part of those meetings. They will explain to us what has happened, the points that have been discussed and what the general feeling is as well. From there we’ll make a decision.

Were you disappointed with Spurs’ players’ application against City?

No. I will never. You can never complain about the opponent. I can complain about what we haven’t done to get 91, or 93, or 95 points. That’s the only thing that we can do.

Will you have someone monitoring the City score on Sunday?

I think 60,000 people. Plus the staff, the assistant coaches and all the families behind their phones. I think that’s enough.

How will you prepare the players for that atmosphere?

It will be different. I lived it as a player on certain times. There will be some reactions to what is happening, that’s for sure. But we have to sit focused on what we have to do.

Do you plan to sit down with the club to discuss your contract situation?

That’s something that after the season, or whenever the right time is, we will talk and sit down.

Important to get that done early in the summer?

What is important is to win now, to keep believing that we can continue to win. That’s the important thing.

Will Sunday change how you feel about the club going into those talks?

No. Everything is relevant. Whatever happens, it will be very emotional on the day. It’s probably not the right moment to make any conclusions but afterwards we will have time to reflect. You have to go through the season we have to come to the point we have done and try to understand why. We have to find the ‘why’ and ‘how’ we are going to do the next bit. That’s more important.

Is there any frustration that City’s 115 charges haven’t been sorted yet?

That’s something for the authorities to manage. It’s not for us. If they’re playing that means they can play and they are entitled to play. That’s it.

You said you wanted to recognise what went wrong last year but not accept it. Where does that thought process come from?

I need a few weeks to assess that question. Pre-season will probably be a better time to do that. We have to evolve, to be better, to understand why the good things that happen are happening, who is involved, how we make those decisions and try to understand continuously understand how we can get better. It’s really important to find the alignment first in why it happened and then how we’re going to move forward.

When did you feel your team had the belief?

I think it’s something that happened gradually. You see the signs that we have a lot of stability from ownership and the board. Then you have to make a lot of strategic decisions in relation to the squad. Then to the staff. Then you see how people work every day and how much they want it. Then you start to believe something special is happening here. Then you have to evolve the squad, you sign a few players and that’s contagious. You get excited because he’s in the building, you have to get better and it’s like a snowball and it starts to get bigger and bigger. You start to win and you realise the gap is not that big. On top of that we have the supporters behind us every single day and that generates belief as a club.

Was there one moment where you felt things change?

It was probably last season. When you see yourselves, especially in the first part of the season, where you take off. The way you’re playing, you say 'yeah we can reach that level'. Now it’s about sustaining it for 10 games, for 38 games, for two seasons, for three seasons. Can we actually win it. That’s something we have to do.

Are you confident you can sustain this next season regardless of the result?

Yeah I think that assessment has to be done this season. Understand where we are and then you have to look at the picture, put it and say ‘yeah I feel it’. If you go there and *mimes a sense of doubt* then you have to put a few things and move things and players or whatever it is. You really need to have that feeling. We all had the feeling from pre-season, bringing the players early, that we have a chance here.

How important is it to go again in the market this summer regardless of what happens on Sunday?

That’s the ideal scenario. Every club wants that, we want that as coaches and for the players especially. Then for the team and for the environment. When you do that something clicks there and it’s really important because it starts to give you momentum. But there are Euros this season and Copa America, so it might be a different summer.

Are you saying that to the board?

It’s something that we all know. If we’re given the choice, it’s something that we all want to do. It’s not only the manager or the coach.