Home GeneralArteta on team news, quadruple talk and Havertz's 'tough period'

Arteta on team news, quadruple talk and Havertz's 'tough period'

by Luna
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg against Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena (kick-off 17:45 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

  • Arteta confirmed Marin Odegaard is out for the match, but Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard are both a "possibility", while William Saliba, Gabriel, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi are all available.
  • On if he feels the team are in a different place now and belong at this level: "I believe so. This is football and you have to show it on Wednesday night. I know that you have to be so clear what the team is going to demand. You need to perform on the day. Champions League is about the day. Within that day, there are moments. You have to be better than the opponent."
  • Asked about fans discussing the possibility of a 'quadruple' after the FA Cup draw, the Arsenal boss responded: "No, I don't use that phrase, don't talk about it. I don't know what they [the players] talk about when I'm not there. We all know the difficulty of every competition. It starts tomorrow. We are changing from competition to competition every three days. So far, we've done so well, and we need to continue to do that."
  • After his injury struggles, striker Kai Havertz now has "total consistency in terms of training, preparation and game time" and they will "continue to roll with that" because they know "how Kai can impact the team".
  • Arteta added: "It's been something new for him. When you look at his injury record, it's just blank. He never had a muscle injury, and last year he had his hamstring injury that required the surgery and then the knee injury. So it's been a tough period. But as well, a lot of great things happened in his private life as well. When you talk about a 15-20 year career, you're going to have to go through these moments."
  • On Myles Lewis-Skelly's campaign and minutes: "Every season is different. He had very good moments in this season. He had other moments that he hasn't played in that much. Obviously, a few days ago, in the FA Cup, he was suspended and he could not play. So, there are various reasons. Sometimes, as well, the good form of your team-mates. There's a lot of factors that contribute to that. But he's doing well."

Listen to full commentary of Bayern Leverkusen v Arsenal on Wednesday from 17:45 GMT on BBC Sounds

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[BBC]

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