Arsenal's Arteta Demands United Front to Neutralise Chelsea Threat

Mikel Arteta, the gaffer for Arsenal, has stressed the crucial need for a united team effort to effectively nullify Chelsea's attacking prowess in the upcoming London derby this Sunday. Ahead of the Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta, during his pre-match briefing on Friday, clarified that thwarting Chelsea's formidable frontline would extend beyond the back four. When questioned specifically about “banking” the opposition's attack, he stated, “Banking will be the responsibility, obviously a team responsibility, more than a defensive one.”

The Gunners' coach also shared varying updates regarding his squad's fitness. He disclosed that Bruno is currently undergoing assessment following a knock sustained in their last fixture against Aston Villa. Arteta remarked, “He had a knock against Villa in the previous game and he’s being assessed. Hopefully, tomorrow he will be okay for training.” Regarding Cristhian Mosquera, who was substituted as a precautionary measure, Arteta noted, “It was more precaution than anything else, so we’ll have to see in the session tomorrow how he feels.”

In more positive news, Ezri Konsa has been declared fit and available for selection. There's also potential for Jurrien Timber's return, as he has shown significant progress in recent training sessions. Speaking about Konsa, Arteta confirmed, “He’s certainly available in the squad, so we’ll see when we make our selection.” For Timber, he added, “He’s in really good condition at the moment, he’s been a few weeks on the pitch and has been training with us, so he’s in a really good place.” When pressed on Timber's availability for the Chelsea clash, Arteta responded, “We will decide again tomorrow after training.”

However, the situation surrounding William Saliba's return remains less clear, as Arteta refrained from providing a specific timeframe for the defender's recovery. He elaborated, “We don’t really know the number of weeks he’s going to be out because it’s about a healing process and everything is a bit different – we know we have to respect certain timings. The progression has been really positive in the last few weeks, but we need to wait and see how that one reacts when we start to put some load into it.” Despite the uncertainty, Saliba has been listed in Arsenal's Champions League squad. When asked about this inclusion, Arteta confirmed, “Yes it was, and we had the space to do it as well.”

With the recent closure of the transfer window, Arteta urged a shift in focus towards the current squad members, rather than lamenting any unfulfilled transfer aspirations, such as the failure to acquire an additional winger. He stated, “I don’t know, these are just opinions. The window is closed and I prefer to look at all the incredible things that we have in this squad and not to spend any more time on the things that are not part of us right now. That’s it and that’s my main responsibility.” The manager maintained that Arsenal's transfer dealings aligned with their original objectives, even if the final results sometimes diverged from initial hopes. He affirmed, “Yeah, 100% ticked. The outcome after can be different to what you expect, but the intention is certainly there, which is, in my opinion, what I value the most.”

The Spanish tactician also voiced his support for Arsenal's existing attacking lineup, despite some reservations about the depth in forward positions. Arteta explained, “I understand the point of view as well, but we have to understand as well the amount of minutes that those players played and the ones that were injured last year, especially in the first six months, and the data shows something completely different. But it is what it is. It is what we have, and as I said before, we already have some very, very good players.” Furthermore, he conveyed strong confidence in winger Bukayo Saka, highlighting his “very reliable” performances in the initial weeks of the season. “He’s been very reliable so far in the first two weeks, I don’t know how many weeks there are to go!” Arteta enthused.

Arteta anticipates that Chelsea, now under the stewardship of his former colleague Xabi Alonso, will employ diverse tactical approaches in the upcoming fixture. He noted, “That would depend on a lot of factors and game state is a massive one, especially because the two games that they played, they scored very, very early and that changes the momentum and the shift of the game. But they are capable and he’s capable of playing in various ways. That’s been a really successful match so far.” Reflecting on his past association with Alonso, Arteta expressed delight at seeing his erstwhile colleague managing Chelsea. He remarked, “I spoke to him before that. But yes, really happy for him, as I said. It’s incredible because obviously we have the history that we have together, the same with Andoni [Iraola] and to be facing each other at such a level and with the responsibility we have managing some of the top clubs in the country is a really beautiful thing to experience.” The Arsenal manager also commended Chelsea's acquisition of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, a player he is familiar with from their shared time.