Mikel Arteta Prepares Arsenal for Brighton Challenge
Mikel Arteta walked into the media room with eight straight wins in sight and a storm still swirling from Sunderland. He left having batted away talk of power, apologies and Invincibles, while quietly sounding like a manager who knows exactly where his team is heading.
Injury boosts and Brighton respect
First, the news Arsenal fans wanted.
Ben White? “All good.” Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie? All in contention, with one more training session to clear.
“We have another session this afternoon,” Arteta said. “They are willing to be part of it and we have another session to make sure they are fit.”
Brighton await, the fourth away game in a row, and he was quick to underline the scale of the task. The admiration for Fabian and for the club’s work was genuine.
“What Brighton has done as a club is remarkable,” he said. “Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful game to watch, I’m sure.”
Beautiful, but brutal. Win, and Arsenal make it eight wins from eight in all competitions to start the season, something the club say hasn’t happened since 1903.
“We've got a really tough opponent tomorrow so we're going to have to earn the right to win the game,” Arteta said. “But certainly that will be the mindset of the players and the team.”
Sunderland fallout and the ‘Don’ tag
The shadow of Sunderland still hangs over Arsenal’s week. The officiating, the anger, the conversations with Pro Ref – all of it framed by Jamie Carragher’s comparison of Arteta to Sir Alex Ferguson, and the suggestion he now holds similar influence over referees.
Arteta rejected the idea.
“I think I'm here to give my opinion, to defend my club, to give the very best to our players,” he said. “We need to respond in the most direct and fair way. I will make mistakes sometimes, but I will try to be as fair as possible.”
On Pro Ref, he kept the door firmly shut.
“This is a conversation that will remain private as usual and they have to keep that one,” he said.
Manchester United have received an apology for a recent decision. Would he like one too?
“It's not about the apology, it's just agreeing that the decision should have been different or not,” Arteta replied. “Maybe they have a different opinion and try to improve and move forward together.”
The message was clear: less about headlines, more about standards.
Contract calm and a new international break
The contract questions are not going away. Club want him to sign. Fans want him to sign. The media want a date.
Arteta stayed relaxed.
“I think we are all very much aligned,” he said. “Whenever the time is right, we'll get that done. There is nothing to be concerned about.”
Pressed on whether the international break – as it did two years ago – might be the moment, he again played it down.
“We both have the same ambition and the same will,” he said. “Whenever we have time, we'll get that resourced.”
That same break is now longer and reshaped, a new experiment on the calendar. Arteta is reserving judgement.
“Let's see, it's something that we'll have to experience,” he said. Different national teams are using different squad sizes and travel plans, so communication will be key. “It's going to be really important to have good communication with them so they understand where our players are, what we expect, what they expect as well. And work together, that's the best way always.”
Same Arsenal, home or away
Four straight away games could have tested any side’s resolve. Arteta’s team have made it look routine.
“That's one of the challenges of the schedule, and the team has responded so well,” he said. “Playing with such dominance, it doesn't really matter if we play at home or away; we want to be the same team. We want to cause the same kind of problems to the opposition.”
Three of those four are already won. Brighton are the last hurdle.
“We have managed to win the three games, and we've got the last one,” he said. “Against a range of opponents… we will try to do the same.”
Leadership, kids and a split-second decision
One of the most revealing moments of the week didn’t come from a senior star. It came when Gabriel sprinted straight over to 16-year-old Marli Salmon after a mistake in the cup, lifting him rather than leaving him.
“You cannot cause that. You have it, or you don't, because it's a split second,” Arteta said. “It's just a very emotional reaction when you're in the middle of the game, and I absolutely loved it because we've all been there.”
The impact on a teenager is enormous.
“The confidence that it gives to a 16-year-old to go again and deliver in the next action, it's huge,” he added. “It's good to see that bond, that connection within the team to try to help each other.”
That bond is part of a wider club strategy. Arsenal have been aggressive in youth recruitment and retention, with Per Mertesacker moving on, Pascal stepping in, signings like Victor in January and Andria Bartishvili recently announced.
“If we want to constantly maintain this level and have the pathway already in-house, which is the best way, they need to be one of the best in the world at recruiting,” Arteta said. “Recruiting in the country, recruiting abroad, the best talent that we possibly can to give us the best chance to sustain that level.”
He knows the system makes it hard to keep the very best. Players like Chido, Ayden and Nduka have left in recent years, even as Arsenal have tied down Max Dowman and Marli Salmon.
“That is challenging because there are a lot of parties there,” he said. “Sometimes not only what we want to do is what the player or the agent or the family wants to do at times as well. And that's not easy. But we're going to try, for sure, to keep the best talent in-house.”
David Raya’s rise and a ‘tremendous’ signing
Arteta has been quizzed often about David Raya. This time, the story was framed as a journey: non-league to Premier League, Golden Glove contender, arguably the best goalkeeper in the world right now.
“That's a great story,” Arteta said. “For any kid as well to look at trajectories and pathways and how you can reach the highest level in football.”
He pointed to mentality as the decisive factor.
“Obviously, he has tremendous quality, but he has overcome a lot of difficulties and a lot of challenges to reach this point,” he said. “When he reached this point, it wasn't easy at the beginning. He really has to dig in and improve himself.”
Arteta highlighted the work of goalkeeping coach Iñaki and Raya’s teammates, then delivered the line that matters to Arsenal fans.
“He has the right to be one of the best now.”
Is he Arteta’s best signing?
“I don't know, he's been a tremendous signing. There's no question about that,” he said. “We are so happy to have him. I think he has elevated the team, the club to a different level and now we need to maintain that level.”
Bruno’s role and midfield flexibility
On Bruno Guimaraes, the question was simple: left, right or central?
Arteta’s answer underlined the Brazilian’s value.
“He can play on the left, on the right, in the middle, he can rotate from there,” he said. “He's such a dynamic, versatile player that he can deliver great moments in any position.”
How he’s used will depend on the day.
“It will be more down to what we need on the day, the relationship that we have with the other midfielders and for sure what the opponent does as well.”
Viktor, confidence and the striker’s equation
Viktor faces one of his former clubs this weekend. His season has yet to ignite in the Premier League, and the questions around confidence were inevitable.
Arteta pushed back.
“Obviously, especially in the Premier League, he hasn't played that many minutes,” he said. “But last week he played in Napoli, and he had a good game. I think that's about moments as well.”
The manager’s stance is clear: support and belief.
“We need to give him all the support and confidence that he needs to deliver because we know the player that we have, the capacity that he has to score goals and what he can give to the team.”
The adaptation is ongoing, and not just for Viktor.
“I think the team is doing certain different things this season as well. It's a bit of both,” Arteta said. “That's a constant evolution, player and team. And for sure our job, especially my job, is to try to fit that in and find those connections and that level of confidence for the player to give his best for the team.”
Graham Potter has suggested a change of environment with Sweden could help. Arteta knows what really changes a striker’s mood.
“Especially for a striker, you know what, they need minutes and they need goals,” he said. “That's what really boosts the energy of them and we have a game tomorrow and hopefully he can deliver that.”
Eze, Tzolis and the left-wing puzzle
With Martinelli and Trossard gone, the left wing has a new look. All of Eze’s minutes this season have come there, and Arteta likes what he sees.
“He's always played there. His biggest moments in his career and the highlights of his career have come,” he said. “I think it's a place that he feels very, very comfortable. He can occupy different spaces through them. But that's the space that generally he has created big moments for previous clubs to win matches.”
He shares the role with Tzolis. So what makes it an Eze game or a Tzolis game?
“If they’re in form, in the opponent, in the relationship that we have within that unit, there are a lot of factors,” Arteta said.
Konsa, Gabriel and an instant partnership
Ezri Konsa’s impact has been swift. Thrown into a physical battle with Brobbey against Sunderland, he impressed alongside Gabriel, and Arteta’s admiration is obvious.
“When you have it daily, you just realise the magnitude of the player that we signed,” he said. “Not only the player, but the person.”
The connection with Gabriel has been striking.
“When you see those two in the corridors talking, the way they interact with each other, it seems like they've been here for a long, long, long time together,” Arteta said. “That's a partnership that, in my opinion, is extremely important on the field.”
His attributes, Arteta added, “really make us better.”
Max Dowman, doors and standards
Max Dowman’s midweek performance at Ipswich Town – two goals, relentless energy – has lit up the academy conversation again. Is he banging on the manager’s door for more minutes?
“That's the best way to knock on the door: to do it on the pitch, not in the office,” Arteta said. “When a player delivers constantly on the pitch every single day in training, that's the best signal for the manager. That's the best signal for his teammates as well. They will demand that player playing.”
He praised not just Max, but the whole supporting cast in that game.
“What Max did the other day, alongside all the players as well, that they haven't played that many minutes, it was really impressive.”
Beyond the goals, Arteta sees a young man being shaped by the environment.
“When you see how those players behave daily, the level of attention they put to any detail, the way they look after themselves, the standard that they set, if you become part of that environment, that's only going to raise your level,” he said. “When that becomes a normality, then you will hit another level… and that's where Max is at the moment.”
Momentum, breaks and the Invincibles question
Seven wins from seven after a World Cup-disrupted pre-season is no small feat. Arteta knows how fragile that kind of run can be.
“We know how complicated it is to win a football match at this level. So to win seven, it tells the story,” he said. “After the World Cup, especially, there were a lot of unknowns about how the players and the team were going to react. We didn't have any time with them to work together.”
The attitude, he insists, has driven the start.
“I said from day one, I think the attitude and what I was seeing, I was really impressed with,” he said. “We had a bit of luck as well, for sure, to win four matches. And we are here. And then we want to make another one for sure tomorrow.”
The new international break format might help clubs build rhythm, but Arteta wants to see the evidence first.
“Let's see how it pans out,” he said. “Some play very locally in Europe, some others have travelled around the world as well for two and a half weeks. So we have to wait and see how this develops.”
And the inevitable question: five league wins from five, could this team be another Invincibles?
Arteta cut it off.
“We just have enough on the plate today to prepare the game against a really good Brighton tomorrow,” he said. “We know how tough that's going to be and then the right to win it, that's it.”
Eight wins on the bounce, a perfect start, a squad humming with competition and youth pushing from below. The records are there, dangling in front of them. The real test now is whether this Arsenal side can keep treating each one like just another game they have to earn.
