Every word Mikel Arteta said on Saka fitness, Tomiyasu Arsenal injury and Erik ten Hag comments

What’s the team news, there was no Tomi and Saka was heavily strapped?

A few doubts that tomorrow we can resolve with another training session. So we’ll have to see.

A few doubts over?

A few doubts over the names that you discussed yes.

How important is Jorginho?

I think there is no question about his contribution to the team. The way he feels about his teammates, about the club, the way we play. He’s somebody that makes everybody else better. He’s still hungry, he still wants to win with us, he’s happy here, his family are happy here, so it’s a really easy decision.

Is there part of him that reminds you of yourself?

He’s a very important player for all coaches I think because his game understanding and the way he communicates and coaches people is excellent. You need those types of players. On top of that as a model it’s very difficult to find someone better than him. When he needs to be at it and serious, he does it, and when he needs to be fun and relaxed in the atmosphere he’s one of the best as well. It’s a good combination.

If someone said you could be in the title race with two games to go at the start of the season, would you have taken it?

I would take that pen and sign it.

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Is there frustration if it doesn’t work out, or belief and joy at the good parts?

My brain tells me when talking to the players that we are lifting the Premier League. That’s what my brain is doing at the moment and I want to follow my brain and my gut. This is the way I want everybody to think as well. Hopefully we can achieve it.

What do you think of the power of team bonding after Fulham’s kite flying?

The power of team bonding, nobody knows what it is, but sometimes you get amazing results with it. I’ve been in teams struggling to win a game and we go out for dinner and then you go on an unbelievable run. I’m positive that that’s what’s gonna happen to Fulham.

What’s your best memory of team bonding?

We’ve done a few. We’ve done trips with David Moyes. He used to take us around the US. It’s one of the best I’ve ever had in my life.

Is it tough to psychologically not be in control of the title outcome?

It leaves you a very clear situation. You have to focus and be determined to do what you have to do. That’s what we are doing.

Do you prepare the players for the situation that it doesn’t work?

No, we have to think that it is going to work and that we’re going to be better than our opponents and beat them. The final outcome will be something else. That’s not in our control.

Does form go out the window in a game like this?

I think every game has a different context. We know the difficulty. It’s in our history when you look at what we’ve done over there. So we’re going to have to be at our best to win the game.

Does your record there make it more challenging to prepare the match?

First of all we have to perform to deserve to win the match. That’s where the focus is.

What are your plans for the City game tomorrow?

We’re gonna be training.

Will you be getting updates?

I don’t know if it’s something we can control. I’m sure people will be connected with it.

What does it say about your team that you can go head to head with a team as good as City in consecutive seasons?

That we are in the journey to try and catch them and be better than them which is the aim. It is an inspiration to have this level of opposition. That’s what makes you better when you have someone challenging you to be better and better.

Klopp winning just one title against them shows how hard it is to do right?

Yeah and the history of City is that before that they were winning trophies. They've been on a great journey in the last 10 or 15 years. We want to change that. We’ll try to do everything we can to improve.

Do you hold Old Trafford on the same level with Anfield?

It is different but obviously the difficulty is there, the quality, the manager. It brings a lot of challenges. We’ve been in very difficult scenarios this season and we’ve done well. Hopefully we can do the same on Sunday.

Do you have any personal memories of difficult times there as a player?

Now we are preparing a game and trying to visualise a game that we have for ourselves on Sunday to put us in a really positive context.

What are your memories of the reverse fixture?

It was a game with a lot of alternatives. Difficult one. There were small margins because they had the goal disallowed. Then we turned the game around and scored two very good goals. That tells you the difficulty to beat them.

Do you sympathise with Ten Hag when it comes to those fine margins given how often he’s brought it up?

For sure. Momentum shifts in relation to an action in the game, sometimes in a season. You need that sometimes to click. Of course I do.

What does Jorginho give you off the pitch?

First of all, as a player on the pitch because he’s phenomenal and he gives us so much. Then for the rest of the qualities he has to bring to the team, to the squad, to our culture, to our club. We are happy to have him.

Is he an infectious character?

Yeah, it’s impossible not to like him. He’s a super special person. A great family man with a lot of experience. He knows how to talk to people and how to drive a team, and he knows very well how to inspire people and be part of a really important team.

How are your emotions now?

Focus, focus on what we have to do. Determined to do what we have to do and at the same time very enthusiastic, excited and enjoying the moment.

If you’re visualising you winning the trophy, where have you visualised City dropping points?

That’s something that’s not in our hands. I’m telling you how I’m feeling, the thoughts that come to my head and what is driving my energy and purpose right now. It’s that ambition, that objective that’s so good.

How do you keep from getting too high or too low emotionally?

Being focused, determining what we have to do. It’s the only thing we can do, which is a lot because there is still a lot to play for against very difficult opponents. We know the turns that can happen in this league, you just have to look at the history of it.

Do you feel like City are like a prime Mike Tyson, that you might not be able to keep up with them?

You have to keep improving and try to be better than them when you face them head to head and in a long, long season with a lot of demands in this league. We know that this season has maybe not been as high as we expected. The league has gone to a different level, something I haven’t seen before. That’s where we are.

Ten Hag has brought up refereeing decisions a lot this season, does that give United more motivation?

I don’t know, I don’t know how they’re feeling about this. We have enough to think about how we’ll beat then and what we have to be to be better than them.

Have you been in touch with Bernd Leno and Willian?

No.

Does the speed of your evolution surprise you?

I don’t know. We move so fast and so many things happen daily that you don’t tend to remember much that happened three or four years ago. It has been an unbelievable journey in every sense with a lot of changes. We have come far from where we were, that’s true, but there’s still a lot to come.

You have used psychological tools before in the big six but when your record is this good do you have to?

Sometimes it’s not related to lead or not lead, it’s about moments, trying to transmit certain ideas or bringing an analogy to a situation that we want to face or provoke. The team now is differently prepared to a few years ago.