Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Southampton (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
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Defender Oleksandr Zinchenko will probably be back after the international break “if everything goes well” but it is “difficult to give a timeline” on midfielder Martin Odegaard.
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Arteta said his side has had to “be different” without captain Odegaard because the impact he has is too big to try to replicate with one player. “We have found a way but we still miss him a lot because he is one of the most important players for us.”
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Aaron Ramsdale will return to Emirates Stadium for the first time since joining Southampton in the summer and Arteta was full of praise for his former goalkeeper: “I was very grateful for what he did. When we signed him, there was a lot of noise around him. We helped him to create the environment that he needed because we believed in his potential. He showed it, he won the respect and admiration of all of us. Then the circumstances change and this can happen. It was difficult to deal with that situation in a natural way and we decided to part ways and hopefully he is grateful as well.”
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On Southampton: “From what I have seen, they deserve much more than what they have already. This is the Premier League and the small details are so important to get results.”
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Arsenal could become just the second club after Manchester United to secure 400 home wins in the competition with victory. Arteta spoke on what it means to manage at the Emirates: “Huge privilege every time I am sitting there and surrounded by the players, our supporters and being part of that incredible atmosphere. It makes me proud that we have built something special here that our people feel proud of, that the players enjoy what they do and hopefully we can continue to win football matches.”
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On his side being on a 15-game unbeaten run: “The team has built that consistency and that capacity to win matches because the 11 players are so committed in every phase of play and they have this hunger and desire to compete for every ball.”
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