Arteta: Arsenal ‘have a clear idea of how to play’ against Inter

Mikel Arteta warns that Inter ‘have a clear idea of how to play’ against Arsenal as they prepare to take on the Nerazzurri in the Champions League in San Siro on Tuesday night. 

The two teams met during the Champions League league phase last season, when Inter picked up a handy 1-0 victory against the Gunners on their way to round of 16 qualification. Now comes the time for the re-match. 

Arteta made an immediate impression on the press in Italy by speaking in Italian for large parts of his pre-match press conference on Monday night.

Among the topics of discussions were Arsenal’s Premier League form. They were held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest over the weekend. Reflecting on that result, Arteta said: “We weren’t satisfied with the result, watching the game back more, and the other results even more. But it shows you the difficulty of the league.”

And then, looking ahead to Tuesday’s game against Inter, Arteta added: “(It’s) a similar context to last year, where the two teams are at the moment and the way that they play. Their team is dominating the league and it’s a really tough game.” 

Arteta also confirmed that Arsenal will be without Italy international Riccardo Calafiori in San Siro. Piero Hincapie and Max Dowman are also unavailable, Christian Mosquera and Kai Havertz have travelled with the squad. 

Arteta was not willing to give away too much more regarding his team selection though: “We will try to adapt and make changes where necessary. We’ll see if there are any changes tomorrow.” 

Arteta warned that Arsenal are well informed about how Inter will play based on their meeting last year: “We played very well and lost because of the penalty incident. We have a clear idea of how to play,” he said. 

And when asked if he thinks Arsenal can go all the way in all competitions, Arteta said: “You have to think game by game and know how to adapt. Let’s enjoy the journey because it’s a beautiful one.”