Mikel Arteta struck a defiant tone in Lisbon on Monday night, insisting Arsenal are “hungrier than ever” for their Champions League quarter-final against Sporting CP despite the disappointment of Saturday’s defeat.
Shortly after arriving in the Portuguese capital, the Arsenal manager faced the media before the first leg and made clear that the response to the weekend setback had already been addressed internally. “Have some perspective, how difficult it is, what we’ve done up to now,” he said.
“And then feel that pain, feel that emotion, and use it to be better and to improve.
“So we were very clear in what happened, the reason why it happened, watching the game two times, we didn’t deserve to lose that match, but this is football and we get punished for things that are related to our identity, and that’s the things that we need to defend in the strongest possible way, because that’s the reason that we are where we are today.”
Arteta said the result had done nothing to diminish the importance of Tuesday’s game. “I think it doesn’t change it, I mean, regardless this is the quarter-finals of the Champions League, it doesn’t get much better than that, and we worked so hard throughout the season to be in this position in the competition.
“We’re going to play an opponent here that we know about, their record and what they’ve done. So we are hungrier than ever, very excited and very, very motivated for tomorrow’s game.”
There was positive news on the fitness front, with Gabriel, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard all available. Asked directly about the trio, Arteta replied: “Yes [they are available].”
There was less certainty around Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber. “No, they’re having trouble, they’re not ready yet. Let’s see, hopefully they’re going to be ready for the weekend, if everything goes well, and that’s a massive boost because in recent days we’ve lost so many important players and that’s something that we need to change immediately.”
The manager also pointed to the mood within the squad after the weekend defeat, saying he had seen the right reaction from his players. “A lot of things. The way they communicate, the way they express their feelings, the conversation that obviously we had after that match.
“I know what it means to them and I know how much they want it and it’s now the moment to show it and we have to do it on that green tomorrow at the highest level.”
On the scrutiny that comes with setbacks at a club of Arsenal’s stature, Arteta was blunt. “That’s in football, from the first game of the season, that’s going to be questioned: What about Arsenal this season? It’s been like this for the last nine months and that’s going to continue, that’s never going to change when you play at this level for this club.
“There’s always going to be a question mark and that’s it. You have to live the present, you have to deliver it every day. You cannot pick the games, you cannot pick the moments or the actions. It’s every action, every game, every moment. That’s the standard that we set and that’s part of identity and it’s part of this football club.”
There was also discussion around Viktor Gyokeres, who returns to face his former club in one of the biggest games of his career. Arteta said: “I think he’s very excited. Obviously, he’s full of gratitude for his time here.
“The way he talks about the club, the players, the staff, everybody around the club. The experience that he had, how important that part of his journey in Sporting has been. And now it’s Arsenal, it’s a quarter-final of the Champions League, he’s never played at this level in the competition and obviously you can imagine what it means to him.”
After Gyokeres scored for Sweden, Arteta suggested the striker would arrive in Portugal carrying even more belief. “Those are experiences that you put in your veins, I would say. It doesn’t get much better than putting your country into a World Cup with a goal that you scored.
“That’s still there and that’s going to be there for the rest of his career, like all the moments that he had here, the moments that he’s creating for us. That’s the story that he’s creating and hopefully tomorrow he’s going to show another very good side of him.”
On Sporting, Arteta acknowledged the scale of the task. “Before we played them as well, when you look at what they’ve done, especially at home, the way they have behaved in this Champions League, the teams that they have beaten, we know the difficulty of the match. That’s why we want it even more.”
He also pointed to the balance between returning experience and fresh faces in the squad. “I think it’s a very good mixture because we had a really good campaign last year in the Champions League and we came into this position when we played Real Madrid as well and we managed to get into the semi-final.
“So that experience, those feelings are there. Tomorrow is going to be a very different game. We know the difficulty of that, but obviously we know what is at stake and what we have to do.”
Arteta dismissed any suggestion that emotion might become an issue. “No. I think when you have the opportunity that we have, that has to be taken through excitement, through preparing yourself in the best possible way to focus on the present and the things that we have to do.
“And especially in our identity, very clear what is taking us on the way to where we are. That’s where we have to focus.”
Pressed on what he meant by identity, he said: “Everything. It’s not philosophical. There are parts and identities created by behaviours, not with words in the world or with things that I want to achieve. We have so many facts in the areas that, in our opinion, make us the team and the club that we are.”
He was equally clear on avoiding panic after two defeats. “I think what we have to be is clear. Instead of panic, understand if that happens, why it happened and bring clarity and when you analyse that and you accept that, be better. That’s it. And that’s the thing that we have to do.”
The manager also reflected on his own role in the response. “First of all, analysing what I’ve done, the decisions that I’ve made, the reason why we lost, what I would have done differently if I had to play that game again or make that selection again or send them certain messages.
“That’s the first thing. And then understand what the players need in this moment and what kind of manager or what kind of message is the best one to perform and to be better the next day. And that’s my only focus about me. It’s about them and trying to help. That’s my job and I’m focused on that.”
He suggested there had already been important internal conversations. “There are a few things that we have discussed internally and hopefully… not hopefully, I’m very convinced that tomorrow we’re going to see them.”
Asked about the day’s training session, Arteta said: “I think a training session has to have different elements and it has to be related to the messages that we send and the compromises and commitments that we’ve done between us.
“I try to have all those messages and commitments as much as possible in as many situations as possible and training was one of them.” When asked to expand, he added: “That stays in the dressing room.”
Arteta also revealed that Gyokeres had been monitored by the club for some time. “Well, he’s been on our radar for years but the most recent moment when we really looked at it as one of the top targets was around December of last year, when we started to really think about, especially with the issue that we have with Kai, what we have to do in our front line and he became one of the main candidates and then the main candidate to be part of our club.”
As for whether the forward had matched expectations in his first season, the manager said: “I think it’s where he is and how successful this season is going to be for us and when we analyse his season, it’s going to be defined in the last seven or eight weeks of the season, that’s clear.”
He also confirmed he had spoken to the striker about Sporting in preparation for the tie. “Of course I did, just to understand the dynamics, the culture here, the things that they have talked about, the things that they have obviously discussed when they play against us.
“And to have more information about them that we can use in our favour. A lot of qualities, obviously what they’re doing is remarkable. The record that they have at home is just incredible. So you need to be very good to maintain that level of performance and consistency.”
On the opposition more broadly, Arteta said their current level made them a serious test. “Every moment of a team is different, obviously they’re in a high moment, especially the way they got into the quarter-finals and the game they played, for example, here against Paris or the recent form in the league.
“That’s it, at the moment the whistle goes, it’s a game, it’s a game that’s going to have different kind of moments and it’s how we’re going to master those moments to take the game where we want and win it.”
He also had warm words for Rui Borges. “Every coach has his own thing. I think he’s connected with the team and the club in a really powerful way and doing a great job.”
And when asked about Sporting’s tactical flexibility, Arteta made clear the threat begins well before the final ball. “Well, a lot because that’s the reason why they are there.
“They have a lot of quality, as you say, a lot of variability within the spaces that a lot of players can occupy in the attacking phase and then they can unbalance the game because they have individual quality and you haven’t mentioned some others as well that they have the capacity to do that.
“Obviously, the phase of play when those players get in those positions starts earlier normally. So the problem starts earlier than sometimes in this moment it’s too late to give the solution. That’s what we’re trying to do.”