Every word Mikel Arteta said on Partey, White, Jorginho injuries, Arsenal draw and title race

Mikel Arteta was naturally frustrated not to take a win into his all-important European midweek foray as his side were held to a 1-1 draw with Brentford. A rotated side had Real Madrid in mind for the second week in a row and sadly failed to win.

However there was a bigger blow which was an injury suffered by Thomas Partey which Arteta did give a little, but not much, clarity on. He also discussed Ben White and Jorginho who suffered issues before and during the game respectively.

Here is every word from the press conference as Arteta faced the media:

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Did you feel your team quite had the intensity to get over the line, especially after the equaliser?

Well, after the equaliser, especially because we played with 10 men, a lot. But even with 10 men, I think we tried and we had two quite clear situations to finish the action better. I think we have to be critical with ourselves, especially the way we concede the goal.

Again, at Brentford, you know what happens. You have a free kick, the goalie is going to put it there. From there trying to get a throw-in, from there trying to get a corner and then once you clear the ball it's a second ball game. And in that second ball game, we didn't defend the space close to the taker well enough, and then it's a lot to it because they did that really well, and it's our fault.

Did you pre-plan when you were going to make your substitutions today because of load management or were you reacting to the flow of the game?

No, we had an idea because we know certain players that we picked to end the starting line-up that they could not be able to finish the game. So, we had two eyes open with that one. We didn't expect the issue with Thomas that we had to take him out. And then for sure we didn't expect what happened with Jorginho that we ended up playing with 10 men.

Declan seemed to be playing in quite an advanced position today. He's scored two goals in the league this season. Have them two free-kicks against Real Madrid maybe whet the appetite for more from an attacking perspective?

Yes, for sure. Every time you score a goal after you have the feeling the next one you can score again. I think he had an unbelievable action as well in the goal he scored today. Running the ball in open space until the right moment to release Thomas and leave him one against one situation with the keeper. And I think a really strong performance again.

You said about playing with 10 men. What did you mean by that? Playing with 10 men across the game?

That we had to play with 10 men when Jorginho went out.

Just picking up on Declan there and his performance, the running power he showed. Was he still carrying that foot injury because of the sheer strength he showed across that game?

No, he was fine yesterday. He trained with normality. He wasn't feeling any pain. That's why we put him on the start.

Did you feel that what lies immediately ahead in Madrid was in the atmosphere today? I'm not saying you were over the players' minds but...

I don't know. The atmosphere was different to Tuesday, that's for sure. I don't know if it was playing in the back of the crowd. For us as professionals, we know the importance of that. Today what we wanted to do was increase the probability of us really challenging for what we are looking for in the Premier League. With that result, obviously, it's more unlikely to happen.

Just in terms of your own players, was it in their minds going to happen?

No. I think the players know that when you come to the Premier League and the position we play today, how it's going to be and what it requires. It requires your best every time to win.

Just quickly, the tackle on Martinelli in the first half, obviously, we saw your reaction to that. Can you just talk a little bit about that, please?

[Claps] I think my reaction tells everything.

Mikel, is the season the Champions League now as simple as that? I know mathematically…

Yeah, we still have six games to play in the Premier League, which are going to be really important. But for sure now it's all about winning.

Can I just check, what was Thomas Partey's injury? Sorry?

Yeah, he felt something so we didn't want to take any risks.

What was it?

Something.

Is the initial diagnosis of Thomas that you think he'll be OK for Wednesday?

We don't know, I haven't spoken to the doctors yet. So they will check him now and see how he is.

Can I just asked with Ben, obviously injured in training, are you hoping he'll be OK for Wednesday?

Again, we don't know. So he could not be in condition to be in the squad today and be selected. So we have a few days but we'll have to wait and see.

Jorginho is ribs or something?

It looks like it, so I don't exactly know. But yeah, the problem is breathing, so I'd say he could not carry on.

With that running power that Dec has, obviously yesterday you said he has so many different tools to kind of bring Arsenal up to the box. Is that one where, I guess, because you're not getting as many open situations as you did for that goal, you're not seeing as often, is that a reason why? Or is there another reason why you might want to see it a bit more?

Yeah, it depends on the opposition behaviour. I think the first half we have a few options. When we break the press, when they're just more man-orientated and they want to take more risks to open those spaces and sets and gaps, then a set-piece is a clear situation because there's a lot of space to run.

And with Declan, would there be, I guess, maybe players who you might reference, maybe as examples, with him? Or is it just focusing about him as an individual?

I don't know. We can always learn about best midfielders, the timing of their arrivals and how they have to score the goals, but I think he can focus on himself.

Mikel, you've obviously been so close to winning the league the last couple of years, but the gap by the end of tomorrow could be 13 points with six to play. I mean, how frustrating is that for you? And do you think it's going to be difficult to bring the players up for Madrid? Or is that not a worry for you?

Yeah, it is difficult because obviously there are a lot of reasons why we are with that distance and the amount of things that we have to deal with. And still, we are where we are. But yeah, we want to be higher, that's for sure.