Every word Mikel Arteta said on Leeds United, Eze transfer, Havertz and Timber fitness and more

Mikel Arteta faced the media on Friday afternoonahead of Arsenal’s match with Leeds United in the Premier League. Some attempts were made to coax a response from the manager regarding theimpending transfer of Eberechi Eze.

There were also questions about thelatest team news, especially about Kai Havertz, who has suffered a significant knee problem. Arteta also provided an update on four other players.

The Spaniard was certainly in an upbeat mood ahead of the first match of the season at the Emirates Stadium. You can read every question and every answer in our transcript here:

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta provides Arsenal injury update on Kai Havertz and three more players before Leeds

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta press conference LIVE - Arsenal boss on Eberechi Eze, Kai Havertz and Leeds United

Kai Havertz, what's the latest on his injury?

Well, certainly not fit for this match. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury and we don't really know yet the extent of it. I think we need a bit more time and some more tests and after that we'll have more clarity about the next steps.

Is it like a flare-up of a knee? Did he have something similar during the summer?

I prefer not to talk about the specifics but he's not fit. As I said, we need to explore that issue a little bit further and then decide what we're going to do.

So the best scenario would be weeks, and potentially, sadly, the worst scenario could be worse than that?

I don't know. The bad scenario is that he can't play tomorrow. I would love to have him fresh and available and bring what he brings to the team. Unfortunately, that's not going to be possible.

When he's just back from such a big injury, and obviously he came back really quickly, and now he's picked up this other injury, whether it's as bad or not so bad. Mentally, how is he? How has that affected him?

Well, mentally he's in a good place. He's a really strong boy, very committed. As you said, he had an incredible recovery from the hamstring surgery. I think he never had an injury before, so it was a first experience really. Now he's got a setback. Let's see how bad it is, but I'm sure he's going to deal in the best possible way. As I said, he has the joy of a kid and hopefully we're going to have him soon.

Ben White and Christian Norgaard, when you had your open training this week, weren't present. What's the situation with them?

Yeah, Christian won't be in the squad. With Ben, let's see still how he reacts and what we decide. But Christian will be out for another week or so.

And Ben as well?

Ben, let's see.

Can I, live at the news conference, mention a three-letter word? Eze?

Are you going to say mum?

Eze. Yeah?

Nothing to comment. I can never talk about any player that is not part of our group, our club yet, so no comment on that.

It's a difficult scenario, isn't it, because Oliver Glasner and Steve Parish have both said goodbye to him publicly. Steve Parish says, ‘The king is dead long with the king.’ Oliver Glasner says it was always obvious we were going to lose him. He's all over social media coming to Arsenal, but in your usual way you can't say anything until it's official.

No, I can't, sorry.

Just generally speaking, when you are looking to recruit a player, as well as their qualities on the pitch, how important is it that you get the sense that they want to be at Arsenal, just generally speaking?

That's number one, that they want to be with us, that they feel something special to come to us. Then the person and our personality we're going to bring, and then the rest comes. I think we've done that very, very well in the last few years to create a group of players and the spirit in the team.

And if that unnamed player grew up supporting Arsenal, so much the better.

The better the feeling, the stronger the feeling, I think the better always. Because it brings a different edge, a different will and emotion to what you do. And I think that always brings something extra.

Viktor Gyokeres, was it always the plan to give him just the hour in his first Premier League outing?

Well, depending on how the game developed. And every game brings different challenges, opportunities. I think the game was very demanding physically, became really, really open for different reasons. And we decided that at that moment he did enough. And we had Kai on the bench to come and change the game.

No Kai, of course, this time. So is Viktor ready to go again?

Yeah, he is. He's very, very enthusiastic. He trained really well this week. Again, he had another week under his belt, he looks in a really good place.

And we're here to talk about Leeds. So let me ask you finally about Leeds.

Well, very impressed. I'm watching them, what they've done in pre-season, what they did on Monday, what they did last year for sure as well, and the manner that they did it as well. Big compliments to the way they play, to the coach. And, yeah, I'm sure they're going to put a really difficult match against us tomorrow.

Can I please ask you about set-pieces, an area you know very well. You've been using it so well for quite a while. Worked well at Old Trafford. When your position is trying to carry on challenging, and you carry on being successful, how much as a coach do you have to evolve and be creative to carry on getting the result?

Yeah, that creativity comes from different angles. And in every phase of play, we try to do that. At Old Trafford, we have many situations from open play as well that we should have, and we could have exploited the situation much better to be much more efficient in how we finish actions. And especially because then they went the other way very quickly. And in that sense, especially being the first one, which is really difficult because we all pay a lot of attention to that. That's a big resource that we have, and it brings confidence as well that the team can score goals from any situation.

First home match of the season in the Premier League against the Emirates this weekend. How important is it to have the fans on board this weekend to create a great atmosphere and be part of the journey for the whole season?

It's always very special. Everybody's very excited for the first game. It builds a different energy around the stadium. I'm sure they missed it. They missed the team. We have certainly missed our supporters and that connection. And tomorrow, I'm sure from the first whistle, I think everybody's going to be at it, and we're going to have a good game.

Leeds this weekend. In the last couple of years, we saw the three promoted sides got relegated after just one season. When you look at the size of the club, Leeds United, their history and the result against Everton a few days ago, how confident do you think they will be this weekend?

Incredible club, incredible history as well. I've been here long enough to understand the history of that football club. As I said, very special. One big city, just one club. So passionate about what they do. You know what happens when you go there and play. Great to have them back. I wish them all the best apart from tomorrow, obviously.

When you're trying to break down those teams that sit deep, it's been an issue in the past. How important do you think the arrival of Noni [Madueke] could be for that when you look at what he does in tight spaces in terms of a dribbler?

Yeah, any creative player that can unlock situations and from closed situations becomes an open situation, creating that uncertainty, more attention as well in and around the ball is going to create a space in other places. So, yeah, having more creativity, more weapons, having the ability to bring different profiles on the pitch, different stages in the game, something that for sure we're going to have this season. And that's great.

Can I just ask you one quick one on injuries? On that session on Wednesday, we saw Jurrien, I think, start the session but left. Is he okay? And also just on Gabriel Jesus, have you got any more timeline of when he might be back, particularly obviously with the situation with Kai?

So on Jurrien, we have to manage his load. Obviously, he's been out for a long time again, and he comes from a long-term injury. So we had a long week. We have to manage the load on that. So we have decided to take a little bit of training down, especially that day in the open session. And Gabi is doing super well. I think he looks in a really good place. Obviously, it's a massive injury, and we need to come back from there in a really strong way. But certainly he's in the right place and with very strong strides, I think.

We spoke on the United game about the turnovers and the chances that weren’t necessarily created. You mentioned seven or eight moments. Went back and re-watched it. There were 12 times, I think, in the game where there were turnovers and counter-attacks that didn't lead to a major chance. What for you needs to click and change for those moments to create that big chance?

Well, a few things. Understanding the behaviour of the opposition. Understanding what kind of runs and where we have to start. The timing of that connection as well, which is something that in every situation is going to be different. Understanding certain principles, where we want to arrive, how we want to do it. And then it's about the execution and being fresh as well on those moments to make that decision. Because when your heart rate is 180, to make that pass is not the same as when you've been resting after a set-piece for one minute. So, every situation is different, but I'm sure we're going to improve it. The good thing is the intention that the team has were exceptional. It's now about making those little margins, those tunes, to make it more efficient.

And just on the transfer window as well, this is your third recruitment head in terms of someone you've worked with that's led the transfers. You've worked with Raul, you've worked with Edu, and now Andrea Berta. What differences have you noticed this summer working with someone new? Has anything seemed different this summer in how things have gone?

Well, the great thing is, the common thing, is that ownership has always been the same. They've been super supportive. We had a really strong board as well, very well connected. And then, yeah, three very different people. Very grateful to the three of them and enjoy to work with all of them. With Andrea now, again, as I expected, someone extremely professional, very thorough, very determined, and bringing something different to the table as well. So I enjoy a lot working with him.

A few weeks ago you mentioned evolution, and I think you mentioned it again a week after in a presser. When you mentioned that you spoke about creating spaces inside quite a bit, I was just wondering, when you were thinking about how the team can evolve, how big a role was that in what you were looking forward to this season?

Well, a few things I want to express here. With evolution, make sure that when we're evolving, we are maintaining the great things that we do and just tweaking and making things that can give us big value, not spending too much time on them. And that's what we have done, and we're going to continue to do. And you will see that evolution, as well, comes from the individuals at the end. It's about the players, putting those players with their qualities in those positions as often as possible to express their qualities. And

I was just going to ask about David Raya as well, because I thought at the weekend there was a moment where basically the ball came into the box and he punched it out through bodies. He's quite a short goalkeeper by most standards, but at that point, it didn't seem like his height mattered. So I was just wondering what you thought about his stature as a goalkeeper, kind of defying what most people expect.

David is very big here, and he's very brave. You cannot be the tallest, but you have the will and the courage to go for this kind of balls. That's a massive attribute. And then he's a super athlete. He's someone really athletic, really powerful, really dynamic, really agile. And that's a big advantage, because he can time things really well. And on that action especially, when there are so many bodies in the box, to come out and do that, it shows his courage and personality, and his capacity to deal with these kind of situations.

In terms of Arsenal's transfer activity so far this summer, and possibly with another big name on the way, do you think the club is really sending out a statement to its rivals, that Arsenal aren't messing around and that Arsenal are here to win this year?

I think we are showing the ambition that we want to do, that we are here to win major trophies, to keep evolving and improving every single year. And that's going to come with demands, and those demands are clear. It's our competitors, what we're doing, where the league is going. And we're going to be in front, not just chasing or acting or behind. We just want to be in front of it, and every decision that we make in every area of the club is to try to achieve that.

Is that bringing extra pressure to you at all?

The motivation for me is how can we be better, how can we continue to evolve, to win more matches with bigger margins, how can we bring the people that we have closer to us, more connected, and I think the players that we already have are incredible, the players that we already signed, I think they are players that are going to connect with our people and make them proud and excited.

Can you tell us a little bit about Leandro Trossard and his new contract situation?

Well, I prefer not to because you know my duty, I'm really, really happy with Leo. That situation has been resolved in a really great way, and I think he deserves our recognition and we are very happy to have him.

There was speculation he might be one of the players to leave this summer, clearly not now. Do you think we will be seeing a few players leaving between now and the end of the month?

Well, there might be speculation, the good players always have options to go. Leo was very clear from the beginning that he wanted to be here, the club was very clear, I wanted Leo here, I was very clear that I wanted him here, so at the end, good outcome.

There is a suggestion that you stepped up in the market this week in response to Kai's injury. Is that accurate or were you always thinking about trying to do one more?

I was accurate, I think it was very clear what I said that it wasn't done. Obviously we were very active trying to look at the possibilities that could come. We are not reacting to anything, we've been very prepared and understanding what we could do, and we have decided this is the moment to do it.

If you do get one more in, will that complete the squad in your eyes?

I don't know, because to complete the squad we have to see the ins and the outs and it's still a long time in the window.

Just watching open training midweek, that game you played where Martin Zubimendi was playing for both teams, is that a specific way that you look to integrate him into your style of play or am I reading too much into one drill?

He has an element of that, he has an element as well of load because he missed a couple of training sessions before Man Utd with illness, and obviously that game took a lot out of him, and we wanted to manage him as well.