Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Tuesday’s Champions League game against Sporting CP at Estadio Jose Alvalade (kick-off 20:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Advertisement
On the latest team news, Arteta confirmed defender Gabriel is fit after coming off with a knock in the defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup.
He added Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are available for the game. However, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber have not travelled, but he said: “Hopefully, they’ll be ready for the weekend [against Bournemouth] if everything goes well.”
On whether there is added importance on this game after the back-to-back losses, he responded: “This is the quarter-finals of the Champions League, it doesn’t get much better than that, and we worked so hard throughout this season to be in this position in the competition.”
Arteta said: “We’re going to play an opponent where we know their record, we know about what they’ve done. I’m hungrier than ever, very excited and very, very motivated for tomorrow’s game.”
When asked about people questioning the mentality of his side, Arteta said: “That’s never going to change when you play at this level for this club.
The Spaniard said the expectations mean his players must “live in the present” and “deliver it every day”.
On Viktor Gyokeres’ return to his former club, he said the striker is “very excited” and “full of gratitude” to all those who helped him in Portugal.
Also on Gyokeres’ exploits in the international break, where he scored four goals to help Sweden reach the World Cup, Arteta said: “Those are the experiences you put in your veins”, adding the moments will stick with him “for the rest of his career”.
On facing Sporting: “When you know what they have done at home, the way they have behaved in this Champions League, the opponents they have beaten, we know the difficulties of this match and that is why we want it even more.”
Got a question about Arsenal? Get in touch here and we’ll seek answers from our experts
[BBC]
