Arteta: Lewis-Skelly is very emotional, I don't want to discuss transfer rumors

After the pre-season match against Como, Arsenal manager Arteta attended the press conference to answer media questions.

Hi Mikel, thanks for your time. A very practical drill, and this time with an intense penalty shootout.

It was a very good test. It was a bit tricky today because obviously we have a final on Sunday, so managing the players' playing time and not overworking them after playing a game three days ago wasn't easy. But we made a lot of adjustments, brought in some young players, and still maintained a very high level of competition. I think with the chances we created in the game, the score should have been different, and in my opinion, that's where we need to improve, because apart from that, there were a lot of positives from this game.

So, about the goalscorer (Lewis-Skelly), he started all four of your pre-season games, and his goal celebration looked very emotional...

Very excited, right? Well, scoring a goal is a good thing, and you naturally feel excited when you score.

He looked very excited, made gestures, heart gestures, and touched the badge. You must have heard rumors about him...

He's a very emotional player, we know that when he makes those gestures on the pitch. So I don't want to comment on any rumors. If there are rumors about our players, it's a good sign, it means we're attracting attention and they're performing well.

But usually, for the homegrown lads from the academy, they build a deep connection with the fans, and the fans love them very much...

Well, that's something that naturally happens, and we've seen it with many other players here.

Mikel, regarding Lewis-Skelly, at the end of last season, you said you spent hours looking at your iPad to decide the starting lineup, and you ultimately decided to keep Lewis-Skelly in midfield. He stayed in that position throughout pre-season. What do you like about his performance in that position?

I think he had a very good pre-season. We asked him to play a different position because he's more of a defensive midfielder (number six), because obviously we were missing all our main midfielders due to international duty. I think his pre-season performance was very consistent.

And Marley (Salmon) played almost the entire game at center-back. What qualities do you like about him as a player and as a person? Also, how do you see his chances of playing for the first team this year?

First, his courage when he plays, and second, how quickly he learns. Because sometimes at that age, it takes weeks or even months to improve certain skills, but he picks things up very quickly. He's a very smart kid, and he's very eager to improve, and he's only 16. Some of his individual performances today, I think, were exceptionally good.

Mikel, regarding Marley, do you think he's ready to compete for a first-team spot this year? Or will it be difficult to keep him patient at this stage?

He's currently training with the first team, we know that. Obviously, the objective situation is such that this environment allows him to get more playing time. If we had other players, it might be more difficult, but that doesn't mean he won't get such opportunities. And what he has proven in the past few weeks is that he is reliable and capable of performing well when we want to put him in.

Theo Julian also started at right-back. Although exciting, does this also indicate that we still have work to do in defense?

He performed very well. I mean, at that age, facing such strong opponents is a huge challenge, especially when you put Marley, Theo, Nwaneri, and Max (Dowman) on the same side. But I think, despite the difficulties, they still showed a high level and played a great game.

Mikel, I want to ask about Nwaneri. I think this might be the sharpest we've seen him so far. After last season's loan, what are the plans for him this year? Do you think he'll integrate into the team, or are there still some decisions to be made about his future?

He performed excellently. Perhaps things didn't go as expected during his loan spell at Marseille, and there was a lot of noise and change around the club. But he looks very different now, much more mature. At that age, six months abroad, enduring difficult times alone in a foreign country, is truly incredible. It makes him realize that there's another side to football that you have to overcome and deal with. I'm very happy with his performance in pre-season so far.

Mikel, you said at the end of last season that you hoped both you and the club would be ruthless this summer. Are you satisfied with the current progress, both from a squad perspective and in terms of current transfer operations? Do you feel there's more work you want to do in terms of team building?

Well, we certainly want to do more, because whenever we have the opportunity to improve the squad and bring more quality and depth to the team, we have to try. We are actively doing so. But things in the transfer market don't completely depend on you, and we are very clear about that. But the club's attitude, will, and desire are unquestionable, and we will try. But we cannot guarantee that we will succeed, because that also doesn't completely depend on us.

Hi Mikel, regarding the transfer market, Arsenal is obviously a top club that has just experienced a title-contending season. How difficult is it to get that top 1% of players? Especially when facing huge competition, salary demands, and all sorts of other associated factors. Having determination is one thing, but how difficult is it to sign them?

Well, that's the challenge. As you said, to achieve even a 1% improvement in detail, there are very few players on the market who can do that and bring that improvement to the club. But we are still actively seeking to improve and will try to do so.

Regarding salaries, it seems that for a while now, your salary structure has been relatively balanced across the entire team. Is that also a consideration, wanting to ensure equality within the squad rather than bringing in a player whose salary is far higher than everyone else's?

I'll leave that question to Andrea (Berta) and the board. My job is more focused on getting the best out of our existing players, building cohesion among them, and making every player feel important, regardless of salary.

Good evening, Mikel. Calafiori performed to standard today, with a beautiful interception, man of the match... After such a performance, how likely is it that he will start on Sunday?

Let's wait and see. He's only had three training sessions, but he looks good. He was very eager to play some minutes today. I think he wanted to make his debut immediately and feel what it's like to play in front of our fans. Yes, you immediately feel a very strong bond. There's no doubt he's a player who will make our team better.

Finally, Mikel, you won today. Are you satisfied with the team's overall pre-season performance?

Yes, I think we've achieved many of our goals. Obviously, the objective situation of the World Cup and having many players on national teams created some limitations, but we learned a lot from it, and we'll be ready for Sunday.

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