Every word Mikel Arteta said on Real Madrid, Ben White, Arsenal atmosphere and Carlo Ancelotti

Mikel Arteta struck an inspired and determined figure ahead of his Arsenal side’s clash in the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid. He was clear that he hopes his side’s fans will put on quite the display as they take on the behemoth of Spanish football.

The good news is there are no issues from Everton with positive updates provided on both Ben White and Bukayo Saka. Arteta also hinted at what he is looking to do against Los Blancos without the presence of Gabriel Magalhaes.

Here is every word from Arteta’s pre-match press conference:

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Could we just start with a fitness update, please, after the game on Saturday and ahead of the match tomorrow? Is everyone available?

Yeah, it looks like it. We have another training session this afternoon, but Ben finished the game. We had to sub him at half-time because he hasn't played much football, but he was fine after the game. And with the rest, they all went through the game and they were able to do some bits yesterday and we're ready to train today.

Have you decided what you're going to do to fill that void left by Gabriel at centre-back with all the defenders available to you?

Yes, I've decided.

Are you going to tell us who that is?

No.

What do you need from your team to take on Real Madrid tomorrow night? A huge occasion, you rested some of your key players. Is that an indication that you think you need a special effort to get the result you want?

Be super convinced. 8pm tomorrow night, 11 players, 60,000 people, really super convinced that we are ready to win and to beat them. That's the mindset that I want. The rest beat the team that we beat over the last quarter of the season. With all the ups and downs and things that we have to deal with, continue to do that because that's our super strength.

And finally, Bukayo Saka came on at half-time, building up his minutes after coming back from injury. Is he fit enough to start the match tomorrow?

He's in a much better place. Gradually we have built his minutes in the last six or seven days. He's coped with that really well and he's in a good place to be able to be used.

You can feel it. We can feel it. This press conference room is packed. You guys must feel it. What a night, Real Madrid in the Champions League. Is this why you came into football?

That's why I came into football, that's why I came into management and especially to this football club. It's been 20 years since we had this type of game and for us, it's a great opportunity to build our own story and this is what we're here for.

You describe it as the beautiful part of the season. Is it one of the biggest nights, if not the biggest night, in management for you personally?

100 per cent. It's a joy. To prepare the game, to look at them, just to look at the reaction of people and how we feel about ourselves coming to a game of that magnitude. The excitement around the club, the people. This is the stage we want to be at, where Arsenal has to be consistently. We are very proud to be there and now be very ready tomorrow to deliver.

This is proper now, the latter stages with proper teams in the competition. You need a lot to win the Champions League. You also need some luck. Real Madrid have had luck this season. Arsenal haven't really had any luck in anything this season. Are you due a bit?

I think we deserve it, but we have to earn it and we have to earn it again tomorrow evening. But we're going to put all the ingredients, everything that is in our hands, to play the game that we want and to take the game in the direction that we want. In order to achieve that, we're going to need our people playing every single ball with us. That's going to make a huge difference because that's something that is really needed. At these stages, you need your home stadium to create a very special atmosphere to generate momentum. I encourage everybody to go there tomorrow to play the game with us. Not to be there watching it, but to play the game with us.

You've got a team full of experienced players, but how do you convince them tomorrow to play the game and not the occasion?

I think they are convinced. If I have to convince them, I think we have a problem. It's the level of conviction, regardless of what happens and any context that we have to play throughout this time. They know exactly what they have to do.

When you're playing a team with so many household names, your team has also got household names, how much do you try to impress upon your players not to worry about who's in the white shirt opposite you? Don't worry that it's Mbappe or Bellingham or whoever, just worry about yourselves and show them how good you are.

There are things that we cannot control, which is what they are going to prepare and what they can do. We have to focus and our energy has to be on that, understanding what pushes in our strengths and we put it in our weakness and the direction that we want to play in the game.

Finally from me, obviously two legs, so this is the first half, second half is away, how important is it that you go to Madrid with a lead? I mean, tomorrow you don't want to lose, obviously, but how important is it that you actually win tomorrow and win well so you're set up for the second half?

Very important, but it will be just the first legs, as you mentioned, so obviously the intention of the team is very clear, we want to achieve tomorrow and we're going to go for it.

August 2021, Martin Odegaard committed to a long-term contract with Arsenal after a loan spell from Real Madrid, how important has he been to shaping Mikel Arteta's mentality and leading your team through this period?

Well, I think it's very important for the football club because we recruited a player that fits every quality to deliver performances and the demands that we want and then the person that is an exceptional representative of the values of this football club, our history, and obviously people too, from where we were to where we are, the role that he's played and how much he has contributed to be playing where we are at the moment.

You grew up for three long years here, the vast region where you come from, is this the key test for you, is this one of the biggest matches of your coaching career, the mantle of Real Madrid?

Well, it is one of the most special things, it's a competition that we've waited for many, many years, the fact that we've only been twice at this stage in 15 years with the size of Arsenal football club, the difficulty of that, and we're going to, as I said, create our own story and go even further and tomorrow is a beautiful opportunity for all of us.

I wanted to ask you about Jurrien Timber, is he fit enough to start, and you've placed him in so many different positions this season, what does it say about him as a player and how great is it for you that he is so multifunctional?

Incredible, I mean, probably nobody realised the player that we signed until he stepped through that door and started to show every quality that he has on the human side again because he's a leader. He had a really tough start, having a really difficult injury, almost a year out, and then to do what he's been doing this season is just remarkable. As you mentioned, different position, with different demands, always so consistent, and hopefully tomorrow he will be in the best condition to play the game.

Does an attack with Mbappe, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Bellingham demand a special plan or one of the best defences in Europe that you have is ready already for this Mbappe?

Yeah, for sure. I mean, with individual qualities that they have, especially when you put them in certain situations, you know the danger that you are facing. But that's the stages. I mean, it doesn't get much bigger than that. That's why consistently they've been doing, what they've been doing in this competition is that they can create those moments. And when it comes to the biggest stage, individual performance, players can decide the games, are critical for your success. Obviously something that we have to prevent for sure.

You mentioned how there maybe hasn't been a game like this for 20 years for Arsenal. Well, 20 years ago, Arsenal played Real Madrid in the Champions League 2006. There were some similar circumstances, a lot of injuries for Arsenal at that time, a lot of unusual defence in some respects. Does that game serve as a reference for you at all and can it be an inspiration for your players tomorrow night?

Well, it's an inspiration for sure because as well that generation, what they achieved is what we want to achieve, certainly. Very different, 20 years, a long time in football, very different context. But the history is there Unfortunately, it's too far to be very relative to the situation that we are in. But there are things to take from there and be inspired for sure.

For yourself, as a Spaniard, does Madrid, does this fixture have a special significance for you, your history of course with Barcelona as well? I mean, it must mean a lot to you.

It does mean a lot to me and it's a club that has set new standards in world football. That's why they've done it more than anybody else. So that's an inspiration from any manager, any club. This is what we want to be. This is where we want to belong. And these opportunities have to be taken in order to go in that direction.

Obviously, last season was the first time in I think it was 14 years that you got to the Champions League quarter-finals. How do you think the team's developed since then? Do you think they're in a better place mentally to cope with the pressure of this kind of game now?

I think we are. And building those experiences is something necessary. That's why I said that we have to build our own story. Because as you said, there is a massive gap there for so many years when nothing has happened in this football club in relation to European competitions. And we need to change that. And we need to change that quickly.

When you look back on that by time, do you feel the team didn't maybe express themselves as they could have done because of the occasion and that they will learn from that this time?

Especially moments in the second leg. Because there were moments in the first leg, especially in the first half, where we absolutely had them. And we have to utilise those moments. We wrote this. And you have to put the game to bed. And we did it. And on top of that, we gave them two goals. And we made life much more difficult for us on the return leg in Munich.

They have this aura in the Champions League around being able to win games. How psychologically do you prepare the players for that and not have them looking at this team who can pull off miracles when they go down and out?

That's their history. And they have earned that. That's because of the mindset that they have. So you can’t ignore that. That's a fact. I don't want to talk about it because we all know about it. So let's talk about what we have to build and what we have to do and how we can feel inspired as well from these occasions. And just as well look at what we do and the fact that they haven't been successful all the time because it's impossible. So from 20 times, maybe you win five. That means that you haven't won the rest of the 15. So it's very difficult to do it. And we're in a position that we have competed against any team in the last two years that we have faced. So we can do it again.

I'll take you back just briefly to Eindhoven. When we were watching the players warm up, it was a stadium full of people shouting for their team in a big game. Do you dream of the Emirates being a place tomorrow night where your players are just, not before they're playing, but warming up and also having that tough atmosphere?

I hope. I encourage them to come very early to the warm-up and create those nights that we haven't lived many of those at the Emirates. So that's an opportunity again. When we have built history, we have to build moments. And a moment is being built with our people. And we have to create that energy, that belief, that enthusiasm to play every single action there. Because the bonus, the confidence that that gives you, there is nothing else that we can replicate that I can tell the players constantly to maintain that throughout the 95 minutes that it is going to be played.