“Two or three a game!” | Mikel Arteta reveals Saka goal target & dissects Lewis-Skelly's improvement
Arteta on Arsenal's drive, Saka's goal target and Lewis-Skelly's growth
Mikel Arteta discusses the drive to repeat success, Arsenal's style adapting to what each game demands, Saka playing closer to goal with a two-or-three-goals mindset, and the reasons behind Odegaard's form and Lewis-Skelly's improvement. His conclusion is that Arsenal must be the best version of what the game requires, while players grow through mentality and adaptation.
- Trying to achieve the same objective again is not pressure but huge motivation and will. — He says his love for the game and the demands he places on himself are unchanged, and the desire to repeat success drives him.
- Arsenal want to be the best at everything, and if they do that they will probably win major trophies again. — He stresses focusing on the process and outcome, because that is what sustains success.
- Being criticized for how the team scores is incredible; every goal has the same value, and winning and deserving to win matter most. — He says the manner of a goal does not change its value, and whether you were the better team and had the right to win is what matters most.
- Arsenal's style should not be defined by his personal preference but by the current players and league; they must be the best version of what the game requires. — He says this Arsenal is completely different from seven years ago, with different players and evolved Premier League and Champions League football; being better than the opposition brings sustained deserved wins.
- There is no fixed style detached from the game's context; you must adapt to what the opponent and match present. — He points to the opening stages of Liverpool versus Manchester City and the number of passing sequences, then uses the traffic, Ferrari and German autobahn analogy to say you must be best at what the game demands.
- Saka should play closer to the box and closer to goal, which will increase his goals and impact. — He says shorter distances near the box make the outcome clearer, and generating more of those actions will raise his numbers and contribution to the team.
- Saka's target mindset should be two or three goals per game. — He says if Saka takes that mindset into every match and training session, the end of the season will look good.
- Odegaard's improved form comes from the injuries and setbacks of last season creating a point to prove and a desire to evolve and feel important again. — He says last season's injuries and setbacks stopped him being consistent, but that has created something special, and Odegaard is now impacting the team well.
- Lewis-Skelly's growth is mainly down to mentality rather than position alone. — He says Lewis-Skelly had a very fast and probably premature rise, played left-back for the first time, then had to establish himself, struggled at times, reacted to role changes, did a lot of work, earned his place, and is now carrying that momentum as a midfielder or full-back.
► Subscribe to Sky Sports News: http://bit.ly/SkySportsNewsSub ► Watch Sky Sports with NOW: https://bit.ly/NOWSkySportsYT Roman Kemp sits down with Mikel Arteta to discuss the Gunners' style of play, Bukayo Saka adding more goals to his game and Myles Lewis-Skelly going from strength to strength. 00:00 Drive 01:20 Style of play 03:35 Saka goals 05:15 Skelly mentality football premierleague arsenal ► For the latest developments on this story: https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/topstories ► For the latest transfer news: https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/TransferCentre More from Sky Sports on YouTube: ► Sky Sports: http://bit.ly/SkySportsSub ► Sky Sports Boxing: http://bit.ly/SSBoxingSub ► Sky Sports Cricket: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyCricket ► Sky Sports Darts: https://bit.ly/SubSkySportsDarts ► Sky Sports Football: http://bit.ly/SSFootballSub ► Sky Sports F1: http://bit.ly/SubscribeSkyF1 ► Sky Sports Golf: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsGolf ► Sky Sports Premier League: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsPL ► Sky Sports Retro: http://bit.ly/SkySportsRetroSub ► Sky Sports WSL: https://bit.ly/SubscribeSkySportsWSL ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skysportsnews ► X: https://x.com/SkySportsNews ► Website: https://www.skysports.com ► To enquire about licensing Sky Sports content, you can find out more here: https://www.skysports.com/more-sports/news/31754/11434270/license-sky-sports-footage
Transcript
MueL, lovely to see you. Um, last time I I saw you, it was at the end of the season, the the job had been done for you. Coming into this year, how do you find dealing with that pressure? And how have you felt it so far of of maintaining the trophy? Do you find that tougher or easier than than like it was last year? >> Extremely motivating to try to to accomplish the same objective again. And uh that's what it drives. I think it's is the level of love that we have to what we do and the demands that we put to ourselves. It's exactly at the same. So this is what we want to accomplish and it's not pressure. It's just it's just will. It's just a huge motivation to try to repeat the success. >> And clearly they they're running on a a new mentality maybe this year. Um one thing that that maybe you haven't se Arsenal fans recently is set piece again. Ole Olay, it's been more, you know, open play FC really. I mean, you've got the highest ratio of goals from open play in the league from the other teams. Was that something that that you've purposely set out for or or was that always the plan? >> Well, it's we want to be the best at everything. >> Yeah. >> And and if we do that, probably we're going to become champions of big trophies again. Uh but I mean being criticized for something which is scoring goals is just already incredible uh in the manner of it. Uh we want to be on YouTube every day and with some fantastic goals but the value of the goal is exactly the same. I think the value of the win and whether you were the better team and you have the right to win that's what is the most important for us and and just focus on that uh process and outcome because uh that's what is going to sustain the success for us. >> Yeah. I you you played under obviously Arson Wenger at this club and there was always that term Wenger ball. Um you know that that fast breaks, fast passing, you know, people used to say that we would pass the ball into the net. Um you know for Arsenal fans when you think about your you know tenure at Arsenal and and what I guess you'd want people to say about Mikuel Artetta style of play, >> what does that look like to you and what would you want it to be? I guess >> it's not what I want. It's what we are as a team and we are a completely different team that we were seven years ago >> because we have completely different protagonist which are the players and then a league that has evolved. >> You see the Champions League games and the Premier League games, they're completely different. >> So what is it that we are the best version of what the game requires? >> Yeah, >> this is what I went this Arsenal was the best. The game required that we were the best at that game. Yeah, that's what because if we are that we're going to be a team that constantly is winning and deserving to win because he's better than than the opposition. >> Is it all about adaptation about knowing that that next side and how do you adapt your squad around it? >> There is a style of play in relation to what? >> Well, I guess in terms of >> but again I think that goes manto man. What is the style of play that you want to have? >> Did you see the Liverpool Man City game the first 16 minutes? How many rest of plays and sequences of more than four passes? >> Go and have a look. That's the style of play because this is what the game and the two teams are provoking. Yeah. >> You know, if you are in the motorway and there is an accident. Yeah. But I have a Ferrari. Yeah. But I cannot go 200 km an hour because there is a lock here, my friend. >> You got to go around. >> If you go to Germany, maybe there's no speed limit. [laughter] Then you can go. So what is the game requiring this? Be the best at this. Have the best satnav so you can prevent that traffic. Go somewhere else and arrive on time. That's what we have to do. >> Very good. Very good. Well, look, I you know, some of the the players especially this year, you know, I I I really enjoyed your your quotes on Bicario Saka, you'd almost say set a goal for him to to go and get more goals this season. Is that is that what what you really want for him more, you know, in the box play for him? >> 100%. The closer he's in around the box, shorter distances, closer to the goal. We know the outcome of that and generating volume of these kind of actions is going to only increase his numbers and the impact on the team. >> Yeah. Where do you see his goal tally? Do do you set him a number and do you or is that do you leave that down to him to almost go how far do you think you can take it? >> Two or three per game and the contribution has to be that you go with that mindset every time to the pitch or in training. I think you're going to going to like at the end of the season what happens. >> Martin Odigard as well is is another player you know go through some of these players because I think there has been a step up definitely Martin seems like a new player after the World Cup. A lot of fans have picked up on that. I mean, it certainly looks that way given his form. Why do you think that was? Maybe is it was it the World Cup itself and the success of that? Well, last year obviously he had a a season that he had um a lot of injuries and a lot of setbacks and it didn't allow him to have the consistency that he needed and uh and I think that has created something special point to prove and and a desire to to evolve to impact the team and to feel very very important again in the team and he's doing that the season really well. >> The last player I want to bring up today is Miles Lelli. >> Mhm. It it just seems like there was a point in last season where he got into that midfield role and he he came into his own. He felt like a new player um almost, you know, watching him at me as an Arsenal fan, you know, seeing him, it felt like he he had a different type of confidence. Do do you put his kind of, you know, growth maybe over the last like six months, let's say, do you say that's down to a mentality thing or is it positional? >> Mentality. >> Mentality. >> Mhm. What what types of things have you noticed? >> Because when you are when your role started to to change in the football club and and his race was very very far and premature probably for what he did before. >> Yeah. >> Uh he played in a position that never played before as a left back. He did extremely well because surprised everybody. Then you need to establish yourself there and that's difficult to do. And then you have periods where okay you struggle a little bit. then you need to react to that or your role changing because when your role changes for the good is easy when it changes to something that you don't like that much that's why you get tested a lot and he had a period where um there were things that have to be fixed uh we did a lot of work within then he gave us all the reason to start to put him in the team we did as a midfielder because that was where we had some necessities at the time he did exceptionally well and now he's carrying that momentum playing or as an attacking midfielder or on the base or as a fullback. And that's the play that we need because he can do it. >> All right. Well, MueL, good luck for Sunday. Thank you so much. Thanks, man. Good to see you.