In Matchday 5 of the Premier League, Arsenal will visit Brighton & Hove Albion. Ahead of the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta attended a press conference, discussing the team's injury situation, his contract extension, and several other topics. This is the first part of the press conference.

Good morning, Mikel, good to see you. How is Ben White doing now?

They are all doing well. We still have a training session this afternoon, so for now, I am very optimistic about everyone's condition.

Really? Including Timber, Cristian Mosquera, and Hincapié?

Yes, we still have a training session. They all hope to participate, and we need to further assess their condition through this session to ensure they are fit to play.

That's good. When it comes to transfer news, you are "the Don"; when it comes to injury news, you are also "the Don". And according to Carragher, you are clearly "the Don" now.

What does "the Don" mean?

It means... like "the boss," "the head."

Oh, I see.

Carragher said that, not me. He compared you to Sir Alex Ferguson, suggesting that you are now in a position where you can influence referees by publicly pointing out their mistakes. Do you think that's a fair assessment? Do you agree?

No. I think I am here to express my views, defend my club, and do my best to help our players. To do this, you will obviously ask us questions, and we need to respond as directly and fairly as possible. Sometimes I make mistakes, but I try to be as fair as possible.

Because many managers, including your predecessor Wenger, would openly point out when things were wrong, or when you wanted things to be handled correctly—right is right, and wrong is wrong.

We will discuss many topics in this room, and all of them are very important. We have this space to communicate, express our views, have discussions, and also some private conversations. Everyone has a responsibility to try and make football better, and that's why we are here.

As a club, have you now received feedback from the PGMOL? I know you previously wanted them to review that penalty decision.

These communications will continue to be private, as they should be, and must remain so.

But Manchester United received an apology. Do you want an apology?

It's not about an apology. The key is just to confirm whether we agree that the decision should have been different, or if they have a different opinion. Then everyone tries to improve and move forward together.

Speaking of apologies, I understand Fabian Hürzeler later apologized to you. After you won there in March, he made some rather strong remarks about your style of play and time-wasting.

That's over, it's all in the past. I have great respect for Fabian and everything he has done, as well as everything Brighton & Hove Albion has achieved. Their accomplishments are remarkable. I believe tomorrow will be a very exciting match.

If you win tomorrow, you will have won eight consecutive games across all competitions this season. The last time Arsenal did that was in 1903, and even I can't remember 1903. So this will be another record you set.

Tomorrow we will face a very tough opponent, so we must truly earn the right to win through our performance. Of course, this will also be the mindset of the players and the entire team.

Let's talk about the contract again. You want to sign, the club wants you to sign, I want you to sign, and the fans want you to sign.

Thank you.

Will you sign it during this international break? You have three weeks.

I think our ideas are very consistent in all aspects. When the time is right, we will get this done. There's nothing to worry about.

Around this time two years ago, also during the international break, news of your contract renewal came out. Should we associate anything with that now?

I don't know if the timing will be the same this time. I think both sides have the same ambition and the same desire. So as soon as we have time, we will sort this out.

One last question, still about the international break. The new international break period is longer now. Do you like this arrangement? Is it better or worse for the players?

We'll have to see. It's something you only know after truly experiencing it. As you can see, different national teams and different coaches have taken different approaches in terms of the number of call-ups. So maintaining good communication with them will be very important—to let them know what state our players are currently in and what our expectations are, and at the same time understand what their expectations are. Then we can work together. That is always the best way.

This is your fourth consecutive away game, and now you face Brighton & Hove Albion. Besides the physical aspect, what kind of mental strength does this team show when they have to go away repeatedly and play their game on away grounds?

This is one of the challenges of the schedule, and the team has dealt with it very well. We have always been able to play in a very dominant way, whether at home or away. There is actually no difference for us.

We want to always be the same team and create the same problems for our opponents. We have won the previous three away games, and now there is one left. As I said, tomorrow we will face a very tough opponent in Brighton & Hove Albion, and we will try to continue doing the same thing.

In the League Cup match, there was a moment when Myles Lewis-Skelly made a small mistake, and Gabriel immediately went over to support him, giving him a lot of confidence. Such instinctive actions on the field can sometimes really determine whether a young player's confidence is shattered or boosted. You clearly have an excellent leadership team. When you cannot personally support players on the field, do you entrust such responsibility to these leaders? Do they spontaneously support each other off the field as well? Or do you give them some methods to become such excellent leaders?

You can't teach that. I think you either have that quality or you don't, because it happens in an instant. When you are in the game, it's completely a very natural emotional reaction.

I really liked that moment, because we have all experienced situations like that. For a 16-year-old, the encouragement and confidence his teammates give him can greatly help him continue to perform the next time he handles the ball. I think he has already mentioned this himself. It's a very good thing to see such a bond and connection within the team, where everyone is trying to help each other.

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