Every word Mikel Arteta said on Riccardo Calafiori injury, Ben White fitness, Dembele and PSG

Can we have a fitness update?

No big news. We have a training session this afternoon. We have to review a few players. Overall in terms of returning players nothing to give back.

How important is the first home Champions League game?

Yeah really looking forward to it. These are the kind of games that we want to have. Against a big opponent. We're just ready for it.

You've had to show different mentality to win this season. How pleased are you with that?

Yeah they've been very different ones. We had to a play a different game in the second half against City and at the end losing two points in the last minute, we did completely the opposite playing a low block against them. It's a different challenge against Leicester but watching the game back I'm so pleased with the amount of things we generated.

How's White and Calafiori?

Those are the two players that are in contention and we have to review today.

Is Calafiori serious because reports suggest he left the stadium in tears on Saturday?

We didn't do any training session yesterday. He was a bit emotional after the game. Let's see how he is today.

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READ MORE: Mikel Arteta gives Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White Arsenal injury update

What are your memories of PSG as a player and how has it shaped you as a manager?

It was my first professional experience. I had an unbelievable time there. I will always be grateful to Luis Fernandez because he was the one who believed in me when I was 17 or 18-years-old and gave me the platform in professional football.

From there in a club of that size and city that is probably the most beautiful one in Europe, it's a an experience that will stay with me forever, with teammates that shaped who I want to be as a player and I think igniting in me something to become a manager. I think there were some very important individuals in that part of my career.

What was it like to play with the players you played with at PSG?

Unbelievable. We had Ronaldinho, Okocha, Anelka, Pochettino, Heinze. They were all unbelievable. I wanted to stay there, but at that moment I was owned by Barcelona and they couldn't find an agreement. Then I had to do something else. But I was so happy there and this is football.

Were you ever close to going back?

No. Once I was here, my career started to develop here. It's been a few years since then.

How important is it to show you can win games of different kinds?

It shapes the character and the body of the team that they can win in any context and adapt to very different contexts. The Champions League demands that during matches. You can't pretend that you will dominate for 95 minutes against these kinds of teams. It will not happen at this level so you have to be really good in other phases as well and sustain the belief and intention to win it.

You won three from three at home in the groups last year. Why are Champions League games at the Emirates Stadium so special?

Everybody is looking forward to it. We missed it for a number of years. Last year it was the first one where we had the opportunity to do it. The group stage is a bit different this season. The opposition we're facing is probably at the highest level in European football. Honestly it's a great opportunity to see how we deal with that, how prepared we are and how we can deal with different contexts.

Memories of Luis Enrique at Barcelona?

A smile on my face. I am a huge admirer of him. He has an unbelievable personality, huge charisma, huge energy. He was always very supportive with the young players and what I love about him is that, whatever he has been as a player, as a manager his fingerprints are all over the place. You can sense that is his team.

You can see at PSG that's his team - the way the players behave, the way they want to attack, they want to dominate games, the spirit, the energy that they have. He has this unbelievable power. He has done it at all the clubs he has been at, with Spain's national team. And then there is his approach to life and his profession, it's something to really look at and I learn a lot things from him.

Did he influence you?

Well, what he has done is that he is straight forward. He looks in your eyes and tells you one thing, and I think at the end players appreciate that. You might like it more or less - depending on how it happens - but the way everybody talks, I have two or three players who have been in the national team with him, they always say the same thing and they all enjoy playing under him. When someone can make you feel like that in your profession, that's a big quality to have.

Have Timber and Calafiori brought something different to the team?

We missed Jurrien 11 months and Riccy wasn't here. They are two players that have the football brain, the intelligence, the courage, the quality and adaptability to occupy different spaces attacking and defending. That gives the team a different dynamic and makes us unpredictable for the opponent to defend. And they’re both huge personalities which I love.

Do your full-backs have individual little qualities that make it easy to pick and choose?

They have to have one in common - they have to love defending first. The quality that we have is great. Playing full-backs that are inverting with their natural foot for the flow and the units it's really important.

What's Timber like as a character?

A leader. A guy that is constantly thinking how can I help others and bringing great quality to everything that he does. Even in the little time that he's been with us and the amount of time he's spent on the pitch, for everyone to speak so highly of him in the way that they do, that tells you everything about the personality that we have in the team.

Why was it so important to keep him close to the team when he was out last year?

Just getting in his shoes. He comes from Ajax, it was a big move, different country. He comes here with expectations, starts really well and then gets injured in the first game. Then what? You have to look ahead, eight, nine, 10, 12 months and you can feel very lonely and isolated from the team. That can be very disappointing and very difficult to handle personally and emotionally.

He did the exact opposite. He started to build unbelievable relationships with the physios and his teammates, he started to gather all the information he could about how we were playing and that really helped to understand him as a person and how we were playing in a much better way and to be prepared when he was back.

How highly do you rate PSG and what message does it send out if you win at the Emirates tomorrow?

They are really tough. They are an exceptional team. They dominate every phase of play. They have a clear intention as to how they want to dominate the ball and when they don’t have it they want it straight back, They are really aggressive and they confront you. But that is Luis. Everywhere he plays, against any opponent in any context, that is how they do it and that is the biggest strength they have.

How important to win tomorrow…

We want to win the game and we know after the draw with Atalanta, with the number of games that we have, it is going to be really important but nothing will be decided tomorrow. Regarding Luis and I, we both want to do the best for our clubs. He has won every competition you can imagine in his career. He has transformed a club that has a very clear identity under him and that is a big achievement the way he has done it, so it is a very big test for us.

Riccardo Calafiori, his qualities?

How willing he is. When I spoke to him on the phone for the very first time he wanted to come here. He understood what we wanted. And he felt like he was going to be a perfect fit and he is. He landed with the biggest smile on his face and he has got this energy and aura around him that is very likeable. He is a fighter and plays the way we want to play and he will do anything for the team so when you have those qualities a lot of things have to be wrong not to succeed.

We try to give the players the best possible environment for them and for their families. He appreciates the efforts that every member of staff has made and he is enjoying it.

Ousmane Dembele not in the squad… does that change anything?

We just got the news I don't know if it is true or note. We are going to prepare like we always do. They have many other options.

Free-kicks, a strength for Arsenal?

Every team has their own strengths and weaknesses, and tomorrow we will try to exploit ours.

Do you have a special relationship with PSG?

Very special, first because of what I feel for that club, for how they gave me the opportunity to play for the first time at a professional level and then what I enjoyed was the experience, the club, the city, my teammates, the coach that I had. To come up against them is obviously very special for me.

What's it like facing Luis Enrique

Very special, and a huge challenge. For me he's one of the best coaches in the world and someone who helped me a huge amount. I have the utmost respect both for how he is as a person and his way of working.