At 23:30 on September 28, in the 6th round of the 2025-26 Premier League, Arsenal will play away against Newcastle. Before the game, Gunners coach Arteta attended the press conference and talked about some of the current situation of the team. About...
About Billy Vega's unfortunate death
-I was really shocked to hear the news yesterday, and I immediately thought of his family, how difficult it is to be such a thing. I fully support his family and express my condolences to all of them.
About Odgao
-Odgao will train with us in the next two days, so hopefully he can get back to health.
About Saka
—I have nothing to say, his performance is in line with expectations.
About Maduaike
-Nothing to be updated.
Contract on Saliba
—I hope the whole world will ask this question soon, but it will be left to the club.
Regarding the meaning of this representation
- He clearly expressed his willingness to stay, and we have seen many players willing to stay and think that this is the best choice for them to continue their careers.
About Newcastle
-I have always been praised for Eddie Howe's work, and the atmosphere they created was great. We know that if we want to win there, we have to be more efficient.
Let's talk about Saliba
- it's possible that all players are the same, especially the way we start this relationship. We had different ideas, but we came to the same conclusion in the end.
Saka's Premier League goals have reached 99
- I hope to achieve the 100th, 101st and 102nd participating goals on Sunday! This was completed in less than 200 games and is a very impressive record. This once again illustrates how rare it is to maintain stability in offensive and creative players, especially at his age, which is the talent we have.
There will be news soon on Saka's contract
- I hope so, as far as I know, he is a player who is very happy and proud to be able to play a big role here. Things will go in a natural way and we all know how important Saka is to us, so we hope to be able to agree.
Rukes about Saliba and Real Madrid
- He and I are very direct, you can see those rumors. But when I talked with Saliba, he said, "No, I'm very happy, I want to play football with you."
About Saliba's performance
- Saliba's achievements at his age are impressive, and his stability, progress and maturity as a player and individual have made his role in the team strengthen year by year. He has established a solid partnership with Gabriel, while also setting the best defensive record of the past three years with the backline and goalkeeper, which is key to that achievement.
Regarding whether to have the best defense in the league
- We know that we want to be the best team in the Premier League, and at every stage, the contribution of each player is crucial. Starting from the front line, the pressure and workload they put on the opponent's defense line and goalkeeper is huge. It is a collective effort, and everyone in the team movement has a key role.
Regarding conceding only two goals in seven games
- Yes, one of them is an inevitable free kick, and the other one needs improvement in some ways. But overall, we are performing very consistently and maintaining this level will be key.
Regarding whether Newcastle is different without Isaac
- not exactly that, because he didn't play against Barcelona either. Things may vary in the first 30 to 40 minutes, but we know that Eddie Howe and his coaching team did a great job there, especially creating a very clear style of football at home that makes the game very difficult. We know it will be a test and we have to be more efficient than we were there last time to win the game, and we will work on it for the next two days.
Thoughts on kick-off tactics
- I prefer to send the ball directly into the opponent's net instead of kicking it out of bounds! There are some patterns and methods that have been used in the past, but there are also some trends that are expected from the competition. You expect to avoid stress within a few minutes of the opening game in certain ways. It all depends on preparation.
Regarding whether you will only play out of bounds when you kick off away games?
- it depends on the specific situation. Whether the first half or the second half is lagging behind and there are two minutes left in the game, it depends on the specific situation and results of the game to determine the best action.
Where will consider other kick-off tactics in the future? - maybe.
Regarding whether Saliba exceeded your expectations
- it can be said that it is completely beyond. Especially when we first started working together, we might have different expectations or ideas about how to create the best path to development for him. But in the end we reached a consensus and worked together. Since then, with the help of all the coaches and players, everything has started to flourish because he obviously has the potential, and the key is the timing and creating the right environment and players to support him in reaching his potential.
The biggest challenge on the face of Eddie Howe's team
- against them, you need to dominate a lot of confrontations. Now we need to be prepared because they are very fast and very fast, and it will be a very tense game and we will be prepared for it.
About many players recently renewed their contracts - Very happy that every time I sit down with the players to discuss their intentions, first they will say they want to continue fighting with us, win together, and grow together in this environment. It's a very good thing because it's not always taken for granted, which means the club is doing well and makes the players and staff feel very valuable and happy.
Regarding the changes in the club since you coached
- I think the situation is different, because we moved to Emirates Stadium, and the club had other needs before, so it was difficult to compare. What I can say is that I am so happy that the players are so engaged and willing to continue to be with us because we want to continue to move forward with them because they are excellent for us.
Let's talk about Real Madrid's interest in Saliba
- I don't want to talk about it in detail, but it's obvious that there are a lot of rumors about some clubs. We don’t need to mention too many names, but there are clubs that can take Saliba away. However, he was very honest from the beginning.
About St James Park's atmosphere
- Very wonderful, I think it's one of the best football atmospheres in this country. Whether it’s a player, a fan or a coach, you want to play in this atmosphere. There is a lot of support and the whole city is united, which makes the competition unique and a challenge and opportunity.
On past dialogues with Saliba and how to reach consensus
- there have been several times, and unfortunately, the last time was conducted by phone because it was during the epidemic. I said, listen, I have to be honest, the last thing I want to see is that you are here and can’t play the football I think you should play. The club agreed with this, and then when I saw him and looked him in the eye, I said I think you're ready, what do you think? He said yes, I'm ready. Since then, everything has started to flourish.
about what made him ready for that year - when I saw him in training, showing the basic skills I think I need in this league as a central defender.
About the importance of the first five minutes of the game in a difficult atmosphere
-The first five minutes are the most critical five minutes, then the next five minutes until the referee blew the final whistle. It's all about momentum, trend and how the team feels on the court. But ultimately, you need to be dominant for a long time to win there, and that’s what we’re going to do on Sunday.
The same philosophy on whether we will follow last season's 1-0 home win over Newcastle
- every game will be different, and I don't really like the first few minutes we played against them at Emirates Stadium. I love some of this, but we need to do better in the game at St James Park, especially when we conceded. I think both sides are improving and we need to go all out and if we can do it, we have a good chance to win the game.
Regarding whether Eze would be asked to send more straight passes for Martinelli
—yes, especially when he pulls back and passes, I'll tell him to do this often.
