Mikel Arteta talked to a group of journalists who had traveled with him after his team’s 1-1 draw with FC Nurnberg in Germany about the summer so far.
Even though we didn’t come away with the win despite Bukayo Saka‘s early goal, the manager was pleased with the effort put in during the match and spoke positively about the game, the incoming and outgoing transfers, and the current state of the team’s fitness and strategy.
Mikel Arteta’s complete postgame comments are as follows:
On whether or not the game delivered what he was hoping to see:
Since some of the lads have only had three training sessions, I think it’s important to give them some extra time and exposure to the things I saw in the first half so that they can go back to understanding and connecting with each other. Even though the game suffered a drop in quality and control with all the adjustments we implemented, I have noticed some really nice things.
Based on the opportunities we made:
Our first-half performance was excellent, and I believe we had the opportunity to score more goals. However, we failed to capitalize on two excellent scoring opportunities in the second half. In sports, as in life, mistakes happen.
Does Mikel Arteta thinks Kai Havertz will play?
To be continued. We need to get to know each other and establish rapport to find out how well he adjusts. Time and the game of football will tell where his strengths lie.
Recent developments in transfer negotiations:
We’re making do for the time being with the players we have on hand. There is currently nothing to announce, but rest assured that you will be the first to know when it is complete.
Reflecting on Granit Xhaka’s exit
There are three aspects to this: his strong desire to relocate, the favorable timing of the relocation, and the substantial opportunities it presented to him. We had that discussion, and we all concluded that this was the best course of action going ahead.
About wounds sustained while at camp:
Both [Martin Odegaard] and [Leo Trossard] are having rough games, and we have a few other players who have picked up injuries this week, so we need to be careful. We’ll take things slow because it’s preseason and some of them have only had two or three training sessions.
on giving some young players a shot in the academy
It’s fantastic, as that’s the chance we hoped to give them, especially in light of all the alterations. It’s tough to play well when you’re not in the ideal setting, but I think they held their own.
