Every word Mikel Arteta said on Viktor Gyokeres injury, Slavia Prague, Arsenal fixture pile-up

Mikel Arteta faced the press ahead of Arsenal's clash with Slavia Prague in the UEFA Champions League. The Gunners boss, fresh off the plane from London, discussed a variety of topics, including team news and thoughts on fixture congestion.

Martin Zubimendi is suspended, but he did come off against Burnley with a problem, as did Viktor Gyokeres, who was not spotted in training. The squad has great depth, but there are some questions about the shortness in some positions.

News also broke that Arsenal’s cup game with Crystal Palace has been rescheduled for December 23, two days after the Gunners' trip to Everton. Arteta was questioned on the decision which he recently described as "not fair" when the game looked like it might be moved.

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Here is every word Mikel Arteta said in Friday’s press conference:

Can we start with a fitness update? Is Victor Gyokeres going to be available? And if he's not, what's the problem that he has?

No, he's definitely not available. He hasn't trained today. We need to do some more tests and scans in the next few days to understand the extent of the injury. But he's not available.

This game with Slavia Prague is the third midweek game you have in these last three weeks. How do you balance wanting to possibly rotate the squad with a hard away game in the Champions League, but also dealing with the injuries you have as well?

Yeah, that's a situation that we've been dealing with for a few weeks. Trying to have the right freshness, the right cohesion within the team. The team has been competing really well in all different competitions.

Tomorrow we know that we have a really tough match here. They haven't been beaten here at home all season. It's a team that they're used to playing together. They have a very clear philosophy. They create a massive atmosphere as well. So we know there's going to be a really tough match.

It's now been announced that your Carabao Cup quarter-final is going to be played on 23rd December, which is just two days after you have a Premier League match. We spoke to Leandro Trossard about the difficulties of that, but how challenging is it for you to prepare a team in such a short turnaround?

Yeah, well, hopefully they will move out of the Premier League match because to play to this date doesn't make any sense, obviously. So we will now decide the date. I'm sure they will change the Premier League date as well.

Just on Viktor, are you concerned about it? Or is it a short-term issue for him?

No, I am concerned because he hasn't had many muscular issues and he had to do the pitch and he was feeling something. That's obviously never a good sign, especially for a player that is very, very explosive. So we are digging in a little bit more to understand where we are in terms of the injury and we'll announce the moment we know.

On better news, if you keep a clean sheet tomorrow, you've got a club record for the most consecutive clean sheets in a row. How would you describe the mentality and the... You like the word aura a lot. The aura about how your team defends in particular moments.

Well, very good at the moment, obviously. I think the collective organisation is very, very strong and then individual behaviours of players to defend with such an energy, intelligence and aggression every ball, always doing something that has been key for our success.

And how important has Gabriel Heinze been to that? Because you see the videos online, he's quite intense with that backline, the way he gets them into a huddle before the game. What's the impact he's had on his team?

It's the whole team, obviously. Every member of the staff, every player brings something to the table. That's something extremely collective when you talk about the numbers I'm talking. Everybody has to bring his piece. Gabi's done it, all the coaches do the same. And especially the players who at the end have to execute what we want.

Just to clarify on the Carabao Cup, have you made a request to the Premier League to have your game moved then officially?

I leave that to the club. I think we're very clear what was the best thing, the most logical date to play. They bring a different date, so I'm sure we'll have to adapt to that.

If you do have to play it, do you think it's the sort of thing that could really be a disadvantage for you in the long run over the course of the season? Because you have two games in three days.

I think as I said earlier, I'm sure we will apply the principles of first of all the players, then the supporters, and then the times that we need to have equality and the same chances for every club. So hopefully it will be fair.

Can I ask you about Viktor? How is he in himself? I mean, he must be gutted. He's carried on, he's battled through, started to make a difference, had his best 45 minutes for the club, and now this. How is he?

Well, obviously, he was very disappointed after the match with what he felt, but this is part of football. At the end, if you expect a linear line, everything going up, it's not going to happen. And if he's got something, he's going to have to deal with it. We will help him to do that. As you said, he was in a really good moment, in a really good form. He’s very important for the team. But for tomorrow, we don't have him. So that's it.

It's just Arsenal and Inter Milan in his competition that have yet to concede this season in the Champions League. How impressive is that? And how much of a start has that been the foundation to everything else?

Yes, of course. It's a huge platform to win two games, and the difficulty of that in this competition and when you are playing away even more. So we know that tomorrow we're going to face a really good challenge here. And it's a team as well that they are very intense, very direct, very versatile, and we're going to have to be really good to achieve what we want.

Just one on the Carabao Cup fixture. You guys obviously wanted it for December 16th, and it's now December 23rd, it looks like. Even though with the squad depth you've got at Arsenal, how concerning is it that, despite the schedule and the fixtures, that you could potentially be forced to play two and three days? Does it not concern you, despite the depth?

We have seven players out, eh? So I don't know what depth we're talking about now because we're missing a lot of players, a lot of front players. If we continue to do that every three days, we want respecting again. What we discussed previously that in our opinion it's the most important part.

Just on Viktor, you said it was a muscular issue. Which muscle is it? What part of the body is it?

I'll leave that to the doctors. They will explain. I don't want to talk anymore. We are here to talk about tomorrow's match and the players that are available. We'll see in the next week or so.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was back at the training ground with the academy. I was just wondering if you could speak about what you remember of him, not just as a player but as a person, and what he could bring.

Top character. He's one of the best characters I've met in football. If we can help him, we can give him the space for him to get up to speed and have the capacity to find a club. It's a joy. The boys will learn from it. I had the privilege to play with him. If he's around, he will be a really good role model to have around the team.

No Zubimendi tomorrow because he's suspended. Declan Rice is one yellow card away from a suspension. He's obviously a player so vital to how you play, and your next Champions League game will be Bayern Munich at home. How much is that figuring into the gamble of selecting Declan for the game?

It comes as well with the situation of Zubi. We know that. Zubi was on two yellows as well. That's the competition. At some point, you might miss players in crucial games. Obviously, we're going to try to avoid that as much as possible, but it's part of the competition.

Can I just quickly ask about Christian Norgaard as well? He's obviously had restricted time because of his injury at the start of the season and how consistent Zubimendi has been. He might get an opportunity tomorrow. What's he been like? He's an experienced player, a really valuable part of your squad. What's his experience been so early in his career at Arsenal?

Exceptional. I knew very clearly the role that he was going to have while he was on the team. He was exactly doing that. I think he was in a really good moment before he got injured. Then it took him a while, again, as is normal, to get up to speed. Now he's having some more minutes and he's available for tomorrow.

You touched on it there that the injuries are kind of concentrated in the forward area. Last year, it felt like it was the same. It was always defenders at once and forwards at once. I know you can't predict individual injuries and they're all different circumstances, but is there any sort of pattern here as to why you think or the doctors think it happens in one area of the squad so frequently?

Well, we've looked at everything. Obviously, we have four knees, with Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Madueke and Martin Odegaard, which is very, very unusual, all of them with long-term. And then we have some muscular injuries with other players, which can happen and every club is having. I think it's very unusual to have that many players in the front line with issues. We have to face it. We've been facing it in a brilliant way, and we'll continue like this.

I'm a local journalist. I have maybe a more personal question because you are in Prague, so I was wondering if you are in touch with Tomas Rosicky, your former team-mate, former colleague from the team, your friend, maybe to ask some advice about Slavia, maybe to arrange a meet-up tomorrow somewhere in the city or something?

Yeah, I will try to see him. Yeah, we had a great time together again. I always said it, Tomas is one of my favourite players, he's the one that I play with, and if I have the chance tomorrow, if he's available, we will see each other, give each other a hug and talk a little bit about football.