Every word from Arteta's pre-Real Madrid presser

After we touched down in the Spanish capital ahead of our Champions League quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid, Mikel Arteta was whisked off to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for his pre-match press conference.

He was asked about injuries in the camp, the threat of a Madrid comeback, and our approach given our 3-0 aggregate lead among other things.

Here is everything he had to say:

on team news:

The positive one is Ben White, he managed to train with us today, so he will be in the squad. [Thomas Partey] is available, he had a niggle in the game, that's why he had to come off, but he felt good after the last few days, so he's fine. And Jorgi unfortunately, is not here after the incident over the weekend, he hasn't recovered so our thoughts are with him.

on how we will approach the game given we’re 3-0 ahead:

To win it. It's the same as we did in London, our preparation for the game has been about the things that we have to do, the things that we have to dominate throughout the game, in different phases to give us the best possible chance to win the game. That's clear in our mindset, and the way we’re going to play tomorrow.

on how he’ll ensure the players don't get wrapped up in the emotion:

I understand that. It's part of [Madrid's] history, and they have earned the right to be talking about these kinds of scenarios. Ours is very different in our mindset, preparation and our thoughts, and how we're going to have the best chance to be better than them in the aspects that are crucial in the game, because they want to take the game to places very different to our intentions, and if we do that we'll have a good chance to win the game.

on the key attribute we have to show in this game:

The mindset to win, to be brave, to be dominant, to be determined, and to have the conviction that we can be better than them, and win the game.

on being able to create our own history:

When you have to create a story, first of all, you have to be excited about it. You have to be really prepared about it, and then you have to be really convinced about what you want to achieve. Then it's about insisting, and going step by step. A lot of clubs have built their history by doing it many times, trying many times, sometimes failing, sometimes being successful. Last year, we had an experience and with that one, we want to be better this season, and apply that to reach the semi-finals, which will be only our third time in the history of our football club.

on whether our players have shown enough heart and guts this season:

There are three main aspects in the game, the physical aspect, the technical and tactical aspect, and the emotional aspect. And that emotional aspect is very significant, because I have a lot of reassurance from what the team has done all season, in positive contexts, and in very difficult contexts. That's probably the pathway, and why those things happened. So to prepare for a scenario like this, and to be convinced that we can handle any situation, and we're going to enjoy playing any kind of game that we are thrown tomorrow.

on if we’ve done anything differently to prepare for this game:

Hopefully every game we do it differently. It would be very boring for 70 games to prepare the same plan and the same scenario for the players. So, it's a different context to the first leg, that's in the past. We take learnings from it - some very good, some others that we have to do better than we did in London, and then have the capacity to have the intention to take the game where we want and be able to adapt quickly to any other kind of scenario to take the game where we want again.

on blocking out the external noise:

It's impossible. Outside no, we can't do it on the pitch now. I understand that it's a narrative that is going to give the feel to them.

on our resilience we’ve shown in the last few years:

We have to do it again. It’s 497 days [that we’ve not conceded three times in a game] but it doesn't matter. We have to prove it now in this context, and that's the beauty of it; that's the challenge and that's the great thing about sport. We've shown that we're capable of doing it, and that has to give us reassurance and confidence that we can do it. Now, let's talk on the pitch and do it on the pitch. It's the only thing that matters.

on if we fear Madrid coming back:

I wouldn't use that word - I think it’s respect and admiration for what they've done in the competition, as a club over the years, the history they have, the values that they defend. It's unbelievable, amazing, an inspiration for any coach, any manager, any team. But after that, it's the competition. It's what we are going to face tomorrow and a position that we know very well and that we are determined to go there and try to win the game.

on if Declan Rice has been practising his free-kicks:

He has, and if he can create any more of those moments, that would be amazing. It was a great moment. I think the third goal as well was beautiful to watch, a very collective goal. When you come to this stage, you're going to have big team moments, big individual moments, and now it's time to do it on the pitch.

on if getting to the semi-final would be his greatest achievement as manager:

I think it's excitement [rather than nerves]. When we talk about creating that, it’s all about the history, we’ve never won the competition, and we are trying to do something consistently where we can start to dominate the European competition. We have to earn the right tomorrow to do that on the biggest stage. It doesn't get any better than this, and I think we have a real opportunity for that too.

on if we have what it takes to win:

We have tried to repeat the opposite message [of the potential comeback]. So, in the brain of the players, where they have heard in the last 72 hours is something completely different, and we are very close to them, and hopefully that's more powerful than anything else. But again, you have to be out there, you have to experience it, you have to feel it, and you have to go through it, and that's what we have to do tomorrow.

on Rice's attacking prowess:

I think he's creating the story with us, and that moment is going to be in our history for a while, especially the way he did it, and the manner he did it, and the way he did it twice which is really rare. So it's about creating more, and now I think he's going to have to the belief that he's capable of delivering those kind of moments more and more, and that's something very important because if he believes more, it’s going to happen more often.

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