Arteta on Bournemouth, Ceballos, Auba: transcript

Mikel Arteta was back in front of the media on Friday as he looked ahead to our Emirates FA Cup fourth-round clash any Bournemouth.

Our head coach was asked about a range of subjects, and you can see what he said in our full transcript below:

on what he's learned about his players from the Chelsea game...

The type of players that I have at the moment, with the attitude that they showed, the ability to react in difficult moments and I think the joy was to watch, from my side, how much they want it and actually that they never gave up.

on it being a month since his first game which was also Bournemouth away...

A lot of things that I wanted to implement, not just towards the players but around the club, in terms of the culture, I'm seeing very good signs in progress. A lot of things about our way of playing and our style as well, even though the circumstances in some of the games have made it a little bit more difficult than expected. But in general, I can see the direction towards what I wanted a month ago.

on reports linking us with Mykola Matvienko...

I don't know. I'm not going to be discussing any transfer links publicly. It's something that we are trying to do internally and when we have news we will communicate with you guys.

on whether we are still looking to sign a defender this month...

We've been looking at different positions. Obviously, since I joined we lost Calum and we had other circumstances and injuries in those positions so it's true that at the back we've been short. But there are other positions as well, depending on what happens in the market, that we might need to assess.

on if he's hopeful that we will do some business before the deadline...

At the moment, I am 50:50  because this transfer window is very, very complicated. I only want to bring somebody in if I'm really convinced that he can really improve the level that we have.

on whether Dani Ceballos will be returning to Spain...

I had a conversation with Dani. When I joined the club he wasn't here, he was in Madrid because he was doing his rehab - for over a month - in Madrid with the team that owns him. And then, when I came here, he was doing his rehab and by the first two or three weeks he was getting back to fitness and I haven't seen much of him because he's only trained with us for a week or 10 days, you know. So it's very early to assess what I can or cannot do with him. I heard about all those things but I have nothing to comment.

on whether Ceballos will remain part of his plans…

He needs to get back to fitness and fight for his place like any other team. After that we will make the selection that I think is fair with what I see on the pitch.

on Aubameyang reportedly agreeing a deal with Barcelona…

As far as I know, a week ago after a game at home we were discussing that he said he was so happy and he didn’t agree with the things that were written in the media and he has his future here. That’s what I understand at the moment.

on whether the FA Cup is a good way to get the fans back on side…

When Rob was asking me about the things that we’ve done in this month, I think that one of the important things is creating that connection again with the fans. It’s a long time ago and these people have been here for a long time that we haven’t seen the fans react and support the team how they did against Chelsea. It was incredible and in some stages it was like we were playing at home. The amount of support they gave was incredible in difficult circumstances and I’m so proud that they’re feeling a little bit closer to the team now.

on where the FA Cup stands in his list of priorities…

We’re going to fight for every competition that we’re involved in. I know what it means to this club to win that competition and we need to get back winning. We need to get back to being up there and having everybody talking about us. We need every competition to try and do that.

on whether Bournemouth will be distracted by their troubles in the Premier League…

I think after winning a game the manager will want some continuity and he will want to build on that, to build some momentum and give confidence to the team. I’m not expecting them to be relaxed.

on Sokratis returning and whether he will give some youngsters minutes…

In the next two or three days we will assess the training sessions and see how everybody is. I will try to pick the best possible team to win the game.