Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his colleague Simone Inzaghi for the ‘strong identity’ he’s given to Inter but claimed the Gunners are ready to bounce back from their recent struggles, as they want to prove ‘capable of beating’ Inter.
The Gunners are coming off their second defeat in three Premier League rounds, as they lost 1-0 away to Newcastle in what Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport described as their worst match of the season and Arteta admitted he’s ‘absolutely’ feeling the pressure.
Arteta: Arsenal are in Milan ‘to try and win’, we’ll see how ‘to handle’ Inter’s unpredictability
“Absolutely, my blood’s pumping,” he told at a pre-match press conference, as reported by TMW.
“We’re coming to Milan to try and win. They played a Champions League final two years ago—these are the matches you want to play.
“I think Inter has a strong identity, and the credit for that goes to their coach.
“He knows how to position players in unpredictable ways; it’s a challenge we also face in the Premier League, and we’ll see tomorrow how to handle it.”
Commenting on the words of Simone Inzaghi, who listed Arsenal among the Champions League favourites, Arteta replied his side first need to ‘show’ it against Inter.
“I don’t know, every coach has his own ideas. We have to show tomorrow night that we’re capable of beating them.”
The London outfit also saw their sporting director Edu Gaspar resign on Monday and Arteta commented on the departure of one of his closest collaborators, with whom he had a ‘special chemistry’.
“Everything happened very quickly,” Arsenal manager noted, as quoted by Football London.
“I loved working with him, I really enjoyed being alongside him in this incredible journey. I’m very grateful for everything he’s done for me and the football club.
“I think we both had this special chemistry working together. I’m very blessed that he’s been part of my life managing this club.
“He’s had an amazing opportunity now to do something else in a different role. He feels that’s best for him. We have to respect that. From that bottom of my heart I wish the best for him.
“The plan and vision that starts with ownership is going to continue. We have a very strong leadership team and we’re not going to stop right now. The passion to fulfil this journey is not going to stop. That means opportunities for someone else. We say thankyou and we have to move on.”
Arsenal travelled to Milan with star Martin Odegaard making their squad for the first time since August, as he returned from injury and Arteta will ‘decide’ whether to use him against Inter tomorrow.
However, another key player, Declan Rice, has surprisingly missed training on Tuesday and didn’t travel with the team as he ‘wasn’t feeling good’ after picking up an injury against Newcastle.
“The positive news, Martin it’s great to have him back,”
“He trained with us first time today. He’s a bit earlier than expected. But it’s great to have him here and we will decide if we use him tomorrow.
“Declan unfortunately picked an injury against Newcastle. He was able to finish and he wasn’t feeling good the last few days. We’ll have to assess him on Thursday and see if he’s ready for Chelsea.”
Bukayo Saka will once again wear the captain’s armband tomorrow and the Gunners’ coach explained the admiration and ‘respect’ people have for him make the England international a perfect fit for this role.
“Especially the way people look at him. People admire him people respect him, they want to be next to him,” Arteta said.
“He has a particular way of smiling. He’s one of our leaders right now. He’s one of our biggest players and our biggest talents. He’s earned that status in the team right now.”