Mikel Arteta discusses Arsenal’s strategy and pays tribute to Jose Antonio Reyes in Sevilla press conference
In his pre-match press conference, Mikel Arteta laid out Arsenal‘s tactical approach for the upcoming Champions League fixture against Sevilla.
He touched upon various aspects including goalkeeping selections, the role of young players in the team, and lessons learned from past games.
In addition, Arteta took time to honour the memory of Jose Antonio Reyes, who had a distinguished career at both Arsenal and Sevilla.
After landing in Spain for Arsenal‘s upcoming match, Mikel Arteta went directly to Sevilla’s Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan for a pre-match press conference.
The manager discussed a variety of topics including his goalkeeping choices, Bukayo Saka‘s leadership role, and lessons from the Lens result.
He also paid tribute to Jose Antonio Reyes, who played for both Arsenal and Sevilla.
Arteta was asked if Kai Havertz, who has had success in this competition before, would be at his best. He responded: “That’s certainly one of the reasons, plus quality and the number of things he has already done in his career at his age, and then to improve the starting XI as well because he has tremendous quality, and that is going to help us to be better.”
When questioned about whether it is unrealistic for people to expect frequent changes in his goalkeeper lineup, Arteta said, “I don’t know, it depends on where that is coming from.
“Is it someone from football when errors are part of football and mistakes happen from defenders, for strikers and for goalkeepers? For sure, no.”
He also confirmed that he has not observed David Raya struggling under the spotlight.
On the subject of the pressures that come with playing for a big club, Arteta noted: “There is a pressure of playing for big clubs where you have to win and you have to be at your best, and you have someone next to you that is pushing you every single day.
“But we can go player by player or position by position – you will tell me what’s happening with the left-back, the holding midfielder – you’ve asked Jorginho a question already – and Gabriel Jesus is here and there’s another question on that.”
Regarding young players like Bukayo Saka being part of the leadership group, the manager said: “I think is really important for them because the role that they have in our way of playing, in our team and in our club has to be mirrored with the leadership level that they should have around the team to make it grow.”
He also confirmed that Aaron Ramsdale is part of the squad for the upcoming match after missing the game against Chelsea due to the birth of his child.
Arteta was also asked about concerns over potential racist abuse following incidents in Sevilla’s last home game. “Sevilla reacted in a really strong and quick way – great. Let’s enjoy a beautiful football atmosphere, it doesn’t get much better than here and I’m just hopeful that we can only talk about football and enjoy that atmosphere tomorrow,” he said.
Discussing what Arsenal learned from their last Champions League away game with Lens, Arteta noted: “There were a few from that game, especially that in the Champions League you cannot give anything away. Both boxes are tremendously important to have control of the game, and there are going to be moments that can get away very quickly.”
Lastly, Arteta remembered his former teammate Jose Antonio Reyes: “I have great memories. He was my roommate and we spent quite a lot of time together. He was a fantastic character with a very special personality and had an incredible football talent.”
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