Every word from Arteta's post-Bournemouth presser | Press ...
For the first time this season, Mikel Arteta held a post-match press conference following our 1-1 draw against Bournemouth in Los Angeles.
The journalists in attendance threw him questions about the game, his youngsters, transfers and much more.
Here is everything he had to say:
on his thoughts on the game:I'm very pleased to be fair . We have a very different context today with so many young players, most of them making their debuts for us so I’m really pleased to see them. Just looking at their faces, and the energy that they had before the game, understanding that they were going to be involved. The senior players had a good game, it was a really competitive match as we expected against Bournemouth. They are a little bit ahead of us in terms of the time they had to prepare but [it was] a good competitive match with a lot of things to take forward.
on Emile Smith Rowe not being involved:There are things happening in the background at the moment and we decided the best thing to do was keep him away from the game today.
on our youngsters receiving minutes:They have impressed us in a really positive way, that’s the thing. It’s not easy to come up to the level and the standards that we are putting ourselves into right now, and they’re really getting there, very close. They’re a joy to work with every day.
on Karl Hein’s penalty heroics:I'm very happy for him, obviously he had to be really patient and wait for his opportunity. He came back from his holidays really sharp and prepared; he knew that he had big games ahead of him and he started tonight, and I think he had a really good performance.
on whether Hein needs to leave on loan:That’s a conversation that we are having at the moment. Obviously, David and Aaron are away at the moment and we’re really short in the position. We want to develop our players, especially a player like Karl with a big potential and a big future ahead of him. He needs to play games, so we’re going to explore that option as well.
on potential incoming transfers:No, there’s no update. As soon as we have something to say, we’ll be the first ones to say. You know that I don’t like talking about any external players, but this is the situation at the moment.
on Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah being linked to moves away:A lot of players have been linked with potential moves; one way or the other, it’s normal. We are in that moment in the market. What I really like are the players that we have, with the level that they are showing and especially the commitment that you can see in those two, just the way they have performed.
on not having as many senior players available early on this pre-season:It’s a different context that we have to adapt and find ways, having less or more limited time, and be better and this is what we have prepared for. It’s true as well that they have spent another year together, so that chemistry, those relationships are already really strong. I think it will click as soon as they get together again.
on where he would like to see more growth next season:In a lot of [areas], we want to improve in every area in the attacking and defending metrics, restarts, set-pieces with the amount of minutes that we shared around the team. I think that’s an area that we can still improve [in], and having a bit more variability and versatility in certain moments with players that we have.
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