Mikel Arteta on Arsenal team news vs Newcastle, Jesus’ return, Smith Rowe’s injury and White contract talks
Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Newcastle on Saturday.
The Gunners go into the game looking to bounce back from their disappointing 3-1 midweek defeat at West Ham in the Carabao Cup.
Arteta answered questions on several topics during his pre-match press conference, below is a selection of what he had to say.
On Arsenal team news – Any injured players back for Saturday?
“We have another training session so there is a possibility, but I don’t know.”
On Emile Smith Rowe’s injury
“He will be out for weeks. How many will determine how he progresses in the first few weeks especially. Big blow because he was getting some momentum and minutes. We decided to get the Emile that we needed, but unfortunately he will be out again.”
On Martin Odegaard’s fitness
“We have tried to offload him a little bit because he had a little issue that he was struggling with. He felt much better in the last few days, we gave him a few minutes against West Ham, which was good to see, His contribution was really good. He will train today and if he’s fine, he will be ready.”
On Newcastle – how big a test?
“A big one. One of the toughest places to go and win, We’ve done it. There’s nothing new to it, we know what to expect. It’s very, very clear what they do, what their strengths are and what the opportunities are for us. We will try to take the game where we want.”
On how Ben White has evolved since signing
“He’s progressed in the right way. He had a little bit of a difficult start, but he showed a lot of determination and courage to overcome that. He has a big personality, he copes with pressure really well. He has a lot of quality, can play different positions and has been a key player for us.”
On whether White will soon get a new contract
“Yeah, we are always trying to keep the squad in a healthy position in any way and the club and Edu especially are working on that.”
On Gabriel Jesus – back after the international break?
“I cannot guarantee that. We are trying to get that recovery as quick as possible. I said that it would be weeks, but it’s very difficult to put a timeframe right now.”
On Kai Havertz’s performance against West Ham
“I am not going to put [it] on an individual, as you would expect. We are a team and we play at our best as a team. When they don’t I am the man responsible for that. We all need to try and improve every day. That’s the aim.”
On Granit Xhaka doing well in Germany and how the Arsenal midfield has evolved since he left
“Granit was a key player, he played almost every game for us. We knew that it was going to take some time, like he did, especially when I changed his role. There were a lot of questions about it and then he evolved in a great way and here it will happen the same.”