Every word Mikel Arteta had to say on Vlahovic transfer, Liverpool COVID and Xhaka availability
The Gunners boss has faced the press ahead of Arsenal's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield on Thursday night
Kaya KaynakArsenal Writer
What reaction have you had to the Nottingham Forest game, and are you going to get the desired response from your players going into the Liverpool game?
We were all extremely disappointed and upset after the game. We analysed what happened, we discussed it, talked about it and hopefully learn from it. After that you have to put that in the bin, take the lesson and move on because the game we have ahead of us tomorrow is too important.
Is there any optimism that you can do the Dusan Vlahovic deal in January?
I'm really sorry to disappoint you but you know I'm not going to be discussing any transfer rumours. I've never done it and obviously we cannot do it.
Are you hopeful you can get what you want this month in terms of players to improve the squad?
What I really want this month is that we have as many players fit and healthy and we do the best and maximum we can with those players. After that we have a strategy of how we want to evolve and improve the team. Whenever that is possible, we are going to try and do it, but we all know this market is extremely difficult.
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In terms of outgoings like Nketiah, Mari and Kolasinac, are you expecting to lose any of them this month?
Again, this is part of the strategy every individual situation is different. There's a lot of factors that contribute to making that decision. But at the moment everybody that is here is fully involved.
What did you make of Nuno Tavares' reaction to being subbed at the weekend and what have you said to him since?
That these things happen in football. I'm there to make the right decisions to try to get the best performance out of the team. It's not pleasant to make those decisions, it leaves you with a bad taste. But at the same time we are here to help our players and we have to help our players in many different ways. Hopefully that's a way because certainly we want to support our players, we want to help them.
The fact that you have to make a decision on the day in my side it gives me even more encouragement to help them because I've been there and I've been substituted after 45 minutes and I've been upset or I've made wrong decisions in my life.
It's part of a process and a development phase in any career and it's part of experiences. Some experiences unfortunately they don't have to be pleasant, but most of those, if you take them in the right way, they are the ones that really help you to progress and to become a better person, or a better player.
What was your reaction when it happened to you?
Upset, and 'the coach is wrong' and 'this is not fair' and this is normally the reaction. With Nuno I didn't get that reaction at all and that's it. For me it's just a moment and we move on and focus on all the good things he's done since he's been here.
Nuno Tavares was taken off after just 34 minutes of Arsenal's FA Cup Third Round defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Have you got any fresh injury concerns or players returning for Liverpool?
It's extremely volatile and uncertain. I don't know what the situation we're gonna have today is, it's different to the situation we had yesterday certainly. Obviously I cannot get into any detail with that but it's what it is. In the last week or so we lost so many players for many reasons and we are trying to adapt to that and use the players that we have and make the most out of it.
Are those mostly injuries or do you have new COVID issues?
There've been different reasons. Some injuries, some COVID and some absence with players that have to be away with the African Cup of Nations. So different reasons.
Is there a chance that you could end up needing to have this game postponed or are you confident that you have enough players?
You can never guarantee anything because you know that this changes dramatically in 10 seconds when the doctor comes through and gives you the news. We have experienced that already twice this season. Our willingness is always to play.
Does the fact that you're now away first and home second change the way you approach this game at Anfield?
The dynamics change because the timing of the games become different. The first leg is in a different place. It's completely uncertain and unpredictable but it's what it is. I don't know how it's going to change, nobody does until we start to go on that pitch to reach the final.
To face Liverpool without Salah or Mane does that give you hope?
I always have hope whenever I play and when I'm competing for any trophy. They have a couple of players out. We certainly have a lot out as well. It is what it is. We're going to try to go there, to win the first match because it's gonna put us in a better position for the second one.
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What did you make of Liverpool having so many false positives?
It's something that is not in our control. EFL is responsible to check every single player's status and then make the decision whether to play or not. The decision was to postpone the match, so I'm sure if that was the case then they have the right arguments to do so.
How do you trust that the testing is reliable as it can possibly be?
Just trusting that those tests are going to be as reliable as possible. There's always going to be a percentage that might be wrong. First of all, you have to trust the people who do it to do it the right way, that we have the best equipment possible and whatever happens after that it's difficult to judge.
When a player comes off like Tavares on Sunday, do you like to see that reaction or would you prefer if he kept it behind closed doors and showed his disappointment in the dressing room?
That's a really personal thing. It's not what you prepare, it's something you certainly don't train for. I think it comes into the emotional moment and the character of that player.
Do you think that stadiums being open again means clubs will spend more money in January?
I don't know the financial and position of other clubs. You hear a lot of rumours – like you hear about us – some of them can be possible, some others are not even considered. Clubs are always willing to try and improve. There are some clubs in England now where we know that they have the possibility to buy players in January, some have already done. I'm expecting more activity than last January because clubs are in a better position, but I don't know how far we've come still in this pandemic.
Is it realistic for Arsenal to be linked with players like Vlahovic when you're not in Europe with the finances involved in those kind of deals?
I don't know. Historically this club has always been targeting the best players in the world and the best players in the world were always interested to come here. I can say that hasn't changed. Every time I've spoken to any player, they were so willing to come. I haven't faced any other situation. That's one of our biggest powers and our capacity to get the attention of people to come and join our club is something that's a big advantage for us.
Dusan Vlahovic of Fiorentina. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) (Image: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
Have you had to talk to Emile Smith Rowe about why he lost his starting place recently, and what does he have to do to get back in the team when he's fit?
The reason that happened is because he wasn't fit. Nothing else. His performances when they've been fit have been extraordinary. I think the importance he has in the team is without a doubt really positive. But he's had an issue he's been carrying which has affected his ability to train, his ability to compete, the amount of minutes we can give him, and we are trying to get that situation resolved as quick as possible because we need the best version of Emile for us to be successful.
You've said he needed to change his lifestyle a bit in the past. Since then, he's gone to play for England and become a regular scorer for Arsenal. Are you happy with that reaction?
Yeah, but that takes the demands in every area, in every aspect to a completely different level. The moment you have more exposure media-wise, expectation-wise, you play with the national team, you go to the national team and you score, you are scoring frequently, then the demands, the loads, the stress, everything is higher and you have to cope with that.
People think that is easy to do but it's not easy to do. And then you have to start playing 60, 70 games and playing (that many games) pain-free, it just doesn't happen in elite sport and you have to start to live with that.
Was there any thinking that you could postpone Ainsley Maitland-Niles' move to Roma till the end of the window to have him available for these games, or was that not possible?
We talked about all the possibilities. When you are finalising a deal, there are certain things you cannot miss out if you want to complete that deal. Again, I said the interest of the player was that clear after what happened in the summer that we felt it was the right thing to do. Then it was a matter of a day or two where we tried to do that.
But as well you have to have the player in the right mindset to compete knowing he's going to leave the next day. I don't think we can make a decision that's going to have an impact for the next 12 or 18 months just for the next day or two. I don't think it's logical.
If you can't convince Eddie Nketiah to stay, would you rather keep him and let him leave for free?
The situation is that Eddie is our player and he's going to stay here with us.
So he won't be going anywhere in January?
He's our player and he's under contract so he will stay with us.
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When will you know if Granit Xhaka is available to play or not?
Hopefully today. Not tomorrow, hopefully today.
Is he physically well enough to take part if he comes back negative?
That's the argument that we are having. After having COVID they are going through that illness in a different way. Some players having symptoms, sometimes it's affecting them, some players after training, or the first few training sessions they are struggling and some are completely fine. So whenever we have the option to train Granit with the team, we will see where he is at. I don't know where he'll be physically, but I know where he'll be mentally, which is that he is going to be fully committed to play the next minute that he has the clearance.
Does the Forest defeat have any impact on your selection? Now you've only got two games in February, is it a question of playing the players as much as possible and giving them a rest then with how important these games are?
We know the impact that those matches are going have on our season. We knew before Forest and we didn't have a lot of options. We had 10 players that could not start that game for different reasons - that's half of the team. So, it was a big lesson. We know that we didn't perform at the level, it wasn't good enough. Now we have to move on and look at what's ahead of us because the next games are far too important.
Did you think about asking to have that match postponed against Forest?
No, we didn't. Everything occurred pretty quickly. I'm gonna repeat myself, we are willing to play football matches, we don't want to keep postponing football matches. That's how we are going to approach every single game. If something happens we will see.
Are you in favour of switching the Carabao Cup semi-final to just a one leg game?
Well with the look of our fixture list for the next few years, it's something that we have talked about between managers and with the Premier League as well. Something has to be done. Probably it wasn't possible to do it this season because the commitments were already arranged, but it's something that, in my opinion, needs to be discussed yeah.
Is there a danger that the League Cup could disappear from the fixture list entirely in the coming years?
From my side we haven't reached those conversations yet.
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