Mikel Arteta tends to come out swinging in a media conference that follows a loss, but the Arsenal manager interrupting a question to shout “Fire!” would not have been on many bingo cards ahead of his latest.
Arsenal have been top of the Premier League since October, and have been relatively comfortable in the Champions League, but pivotal fixtures and wobbles in form have brought along a few rallying calls this year.
Arteta’s first reminder of a kick-off time for fans came before January’s Premier League clash with Liverpool. Later that month, after a 3-2 loss to Manchester United, he asked everyone associated with Arsenal to: “Enjoy the moment”. Last week, he issued another kick-off time reminder, joking that supporters should “bring their lunch and dinner” to the Emirates because of the early start.
This week has become critical after the 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday, and Arteta knows it. Speaking to the media before the Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie at home to Sporting CP, he was ready to come out swinging, and that was before he got to the fire.
Here, we look at what Arteta said in his pre-Sporting media conference.
“We are trying to do something, and in this competition (the Champions League), that hasn’t been done in the history of the club — 140 years. It’s the first time we have been in the Champions League quarter-finals three years in a row in our history.
“For other clubs, that is their daily meal. For us, no. We are competing to win the Premier League, and are in a really strong competition after 22 years without doing it. So we know the difficulty of that, but the beauty of it.”
The intention behind this being Arteta’s first real point of note is interesting. He later spoke of reminding his players how good they have been to reach this point, and that felt as though he was doing the same with the watching public, while recognising that this should not be the end goal for his Arsenal team.
Arsenal have not been at the top table of European football consistently. As well as aiming to win the Premier League, a major part of their progress in recent years has been about changing that status across Europe, which reaching successive Champions League semi-finals would aid.
Arsenal have rarely finished seasons strongly, which has contributed to the scrutiny put on their upcoming matches against Sporting and Manchester City.
Arsenal lost the Carabao Cup final to Man City last month (Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Will this year be different?
That collective trauma is what causes frustrations to flare when Arsenal hiccup, and is possibly why Arteta opts for a more aggressive approach.
“No fear. Pure fire. That’s it. Me, the first one. Pure fire. That’s what I want to see on the players, on the people, on myself. That’s it. Go for it because the opportunity is unbelievable. We are in April, we have an incredible opportunity. Let’s confront it, let’s go for it by really putting absolutely everything into it.”
Bangs on the table came before the next question about his own emotions had ended, as he added: “Fire! I’m on fire.
“I’m dreaming so much. I’ve done so much to be in this position because I know how this club was. I’ve done so much that I just see beauty, opportunity, and I want to get it done for all these people that have been on this journey with us because they deserve it. That’s what has driven me every single day.
“I have zero fear. Fear I had when, ‘Oh, if we don’t get this done, this club, I don’t know what is going to happen.’ That was fear. Now, there’s no fear. It’s just purpose, fire, direction and conviction that we’re going to do it.”
Rather than coming across like a rehearsed saying, like when he speaks of ‘fire in the belly’ or ‘using pain as fuel’, this felt different. This felt like a man speaking before he was thinking, even if there were other moments of pause in the press conference.
If you want fire, it probably helps to show it, and to understand who you are talking to.
Neutral supporters may ridicule Arteta for his latest showing, but as far as he was concerned, this is not about them — and it should not be.
Similar to ‘using pain as fuel’, other cliches like proving doubters wrong should not be what is on the mind of potential champions. Whether it is the Manchester City fan who went viral over the weekend with his bottle shenanigans, or others who pile on when there is a slip-up, this is why Arteta hit the right note when he said: “The motivation is to give the people that are with us what they are looking for. Not for the rest. The energy is on these people. They are the ones that deserve it.”
Eberechi Eze strolled in for his press conference after Arteta and was a complete contrast. The ice to his manager’s fire.
(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Asked if he was using neutrals’ apparent dislike of Arsenal to fire him up, the 27-year-old took a moment to consider the question and then replied: “No, I don’t care.
“When we do win, it’ll be down to everyone else to deal with that.”
The use of ‘when’ instead of ‘if’ was a calculated risk from Eze, but shows what Arteta is talking about. Eze was much more relaxed in his manner than his manager’, but he still had the confidence to take a risk — a trait he and his team-mates will need this week and beyond.
However, each individual does it, it is clear Arteta wants Arsenal to bring the heat as a collective because, in his words, this week is “the biggest opportunity of six and a half years”.
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