Arteta wants players to be 'fighters, not victims'

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

VIDEO SHOWS: NEWS CONFERENCE WITH ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA, RECENT AND FILE FOOTAGE OF ARTETA, NEWS CONFERENCE WITH MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA, RECENT MANCHESTER CITY TRAINING FOOTAGE

SHOWS:

LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 2, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES. NO COMMERCIAL USE. MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")

1. ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA (LEFT) TALKING WITH FITNESS COACH, BARRY SOLAN

LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 21, 2020) (ARSENAL HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA, SAYING:

"I like to look around me; whether it's staff, coach, players and I want to see fighters. Normally when that happens you have two types of people; fighters and victims. You just need fighters. You don't want any victims. Victims bring excuses, bring negativity and they start to blame anything that is happening around them or that is not going for them. Why would you need this? Just people who fights, people who contribute and people are ready to give everything to the cause in these moments."

LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 2, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES. NO COMMERCIAL USE. MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")

3. ARTETA KICKING BALL AROUND WITH COACHING STAFF

LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 21, 2020) (ARSENAL HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA, SAYING:

"Well this is what we want to use it for and as well because it's a competition that we want to try to win. We had two difficult opponents before that with Leicester and Liverpool. We managed to beat them both and now we are playing at home and we are one step closer to Wembley. So, it's a really nice game for us to play because it's the type of game that we're looking for through the season."

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - DECEMBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

5. ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA, WALKING OUT ONTO THE EMIRATES STADIUM PITCH AFTER BEING UNVEILED AS THE CLUB'S NEW BOSS

6. ARTETA HOLDING ARSENAL SHIRT

LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 21, 2020) (ARSENAL HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA, SAYING:

"No, within the club everything my feeling is just support, encouragement and total confidence that we are going to get through this together. Externally I never read what is happening. I know more or less what is happening but I never read it in beautiful moments, don't read it in difficult moments. I don't read it. I just try to focus on the job and what I have to do but obviously a club of this stature deserves the best and when it's not happening everybody's going to question what is happening and obviously I'm the most responsible one in terms of the results so I have to accept that obviously."

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - DECEMBER 20, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

8. VARIOUS OF ARTETA WALKING ON THE PITCH AT THE EMIRATES STADIUM

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - ) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA, SAYING:

"When you look at the perspective how we're losing football matches and how we are where we are is pretty incredible because last year against Everton we won the game with 25% chance of winning supported by the stats - you win 3-2. Last weekend it's 67% chance of winning any Premier League in history and 9% of losing and you lose; 3% against Burnley and you lose, 7% against Spurs and you lose. There is something else apart of that; it's not just the performance that is something else that has to go our way and at the moment it doesn't. Saying that it doesn't care because you lose and the only thing that cares is that you lose the match and that's why we're here."

10. WHITE FLASH

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARSENAL MANAGER, MIKEL ARTETA, SAYING:

"Well Auba (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) is feeling much better he was more positive yesterday than that the previous two games.. two days, sorry. He would have another scan the next few days and we will see how quickly we can get him back in the team but he know how important it is for us and he feels a responsibility and he's trying his best to be fit as quick as possible."

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 8, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES. NO COMMERCIAL USE. MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")

12. MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA (WOOLLY HAT) SPEAKING WITH ASSISTANT COACH

13. MANCHESTER CITY WINGER, RAHEEM STERLING AT TRAINING

14. PLAYERS DOING A WARM-UP DRILL

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 19, 2020) (CITY TV - ACCESS ALL)

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA, SAYING:

"Right now I don't know. So, I'm not able to… we struggle, our momentum up front is not good. So, we cannot expect the situation that we are playing much, much better than the third team in the position right now like Southampton is an excellent team. So, we can do other things that maybe we're not the best teams but make us being stable and then the second half you know they make control they arrive, they didn't create much but well create incredible clear, clear chances that we could not score and when that happens you are always going to suffer and that's why I'm not able to say how will be our season. The important is game by game - it's the only thing I can do that we can say; we have one game left and now it's go to London to play against Arsenal for the Carabao Cup and after you know compete the three games against Newcastle, Everton and Chelsea in the Christmas times and I don't think much honestly."

REPORTER, ASKING (English): "Just one more from me. You said in October that you tried to do a deal for striker in the summer and you couldn't do one. Will you try again in January?"

"No, I don't think so. I don't think so because the economic financial situation for all the clubs around the world is what it is so all the clubs struggle. So, we are not an exception."

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 8, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES. NO COMMERCIAL USE. MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")

16. MANCHESTER CITY DEFENDER, RUBEN DIAS TRAINING

17. MANCHESTER CITY DEFENDER, JOHN STONES AT TRAINING

18. DIAS TRAINING

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 19, 2020) (CITY TV - ACCESS ALL)

19. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA, TALKING ABOUT RUBEM DIAS, SAYING:

"He doesn't make one single mistake, Ruben (Dias). He doesn't make one single mistake, he's always focused leading… he's able to lead the line, the same with John (Stones) and that's why our club, Man City bought an exceptional defender, especially for the personality, the generosity to be involved in all the details to improve and that you have to build something from here."

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 8, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES. NO COMMERCIAL USE. MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")

20. GUARDIOLA SPEAKING TO ASSISTANT COACH

21. PLAYERS TRAINING

STORY: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has urged his side to use Tuesday's (December 22) League Cup quarter-final clash against holders Manchester City as a catalyst to turn their fortunes around and salvage their faltering season.

Arsenal have lost five of their last seven Premier League games and lie in 15th place with 14 points, marking their worst start to a season since 1974-75.

But victory on Tuesday could ease some of the pressure on Spaniard Arteta, who took charge of the club in December last year.

The former Arsenal and Everton midfielder said he wanted fighters, not victims to help the club start winning matches.

Calls for Arteta's sacking have grown in recent weeks but the Spaniard insists he has the backing of the Arsenal board.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will miss the game against Pep Guardiola's side due to a calf injury but Arteta is hopeful the Gabon striker will make a quick return.

Manchester City are unlikely to dip into the transfer market in the January window, despite their issues in attack, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the club's finances, manager Pep Guardiola said on Saturday (December 19).

City's record goalscorer Sergio Aguero has yet to open his account in the Premier League this season, with injuries limiting his time on the pitch, while Gabriel Jesus has netted only twice.

City have scored 19 goals in 13 Premier League games, just over half of the 37 they had netted at the same stage of the previous campaign.

While City have lacked a cutting edge up front their defence has been rock solid.

Saturday's 1-0 victory at Southampton marked their sixth clean sheet of the season and they have conceded a total of 12 league goals, the fewest of the 20 teams.

Ruben Dias has flourished since his arrival from Benfica in September and Guardiola expects the Portuguese defender to be an integral part of the club's future.

(Production: Tim Hart)