Mikel Arteta faced the media again this week in his first of two press conferences in front of Crystal Palace.

Our manager spoke to the press at Sobha Realty Training Center on Tuesday afternoon and here is what he had to say on the following topics.

To the team news:
Not much!

to Declan Rice:
He is fine, we will now decide whether he is available or not.

to Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori:
No, Alex and Richy will not be in the squad tomorrow.

about whether we will make sweeping changes tomorrow:
We will decide tomorrow morning that it will be a very important game in terms of the composition of the squad, of course the relevance of the game and where we are in the quarter-finals. We will determine the best team to win it.

about a great chance for silver:
We also won three or two Charity Shields. We want more and so do the big players, that’s clear.

in the January window:
I fully trust the team and our players and the amount of situations and things we create in the game and how little we concede. I trust my players completely.

what kind of game to expect against Crystal Palace:
Very difficult – if you look at their recent results and the approach they take, the quality of people they have and also the way they are coached. It’s always very difficult, it’s also another level of difficulty when you play against a team twice in four days, so we prepared for that.

about whether we have to win the cup or want to win:
We want to win and will do everything we can to win it. It’s not about (whether we have to or want to win), in a big club the pressure increases because you want to do the best you can and that is ultimately linked to big trophies and that’s what we want to do .

on how we can ensure we score points in games we dominate after the draw against Everton:
The frustrating thing is that despite all the incredible performances the team is doing, they still aren’t rewarded for the three points. If we look back at other games in the league, our margins were ten times greater than many other teams that won that day, but that’s football. At the end of the day we have to put the ball in the net and then we won’t have this problem. There is very little to say about the team’s performance and the way the team dominated the game.

to people who say there is too much reliance on standard goals:
That’s always the narrative. If you score five goals, then another five, and another three, you won’t talk about it. If you concede a goal, you no longer have as many goals to concede. If you don’t score a goal, you’ll come back to it. That’s normal, that’s the narrative, but nothing changes for us. We want to improve, regardless of whether we score three or five points. Even though we didn’t concede anything on Saturday, there are still things defensively that I want to do better. It doesn’t change our work.

on the balance sheet of tomorrow’s team selection:
We have managed the squad in the best possible way to ensure everyone is fit, available, feels part of it and is ready when the team needs them. If we need to make changes, I’m sure the guys coming in will and others will have to play too because of the numbers.

on what he thinks of the history of the team, whose statistics say that we score fewer points than last season:
Obviously completely different. The depth of analysis is what interests me.

if the players are prepared for Palace to sit back:
Well, they are a little different and I don’t think Fulham wanted to sit back, for example. They never take that approach and have played against Spurs and Liverpool and haven’t done that either. It’s what you can do to teams sometimes that they have to do certain things in terms of the game and the game scenario. The outcome obviously has a big impact on it. We will face one game or another.

on the challenge of deciding a game as a player:
Well, a magical moment isn’t just about scoring a goal. A magical moment can be Gabriel last year against Manchester United when he played the striker millimeters offside. In my opinion, this is also a magical moment. It doesn’t just have to be scoring a goal, we also have players who are capable of doing that. If you do it every three days you will become a world class player, a player who wins games with individual actions and we are trying to develop our players so that they have more of that because that would be another source of winning games.

about how much of this is a mental thing:
A lot. Actually, they let it happen and believed that it could happen again, which fueled fear in the opponent that one or two players could do it… one player can, it’s easy to say, become predictable, I know , what he’s going to do, but what he’s actually going to stop he’s going to do something else.

on the question of whether advancing in the cup will provide momentum:
I think so, I fully believe that winning, getting to the next round of competition, it builds, it creates something different in the team, that’s why these types of games are really, really important.

on being inspired by Man City’s success in this competition:
Yes, because it keeps everyone on their toes, everyone is ready to play these games, these competitions and if you can win them then there is momentum, belief and we are ready and the team is always committed, every three days to try to reach the bigger ones.

for the January transfer window:
It depends on which player it is, how valuable that player is and whether or not there are any other changes in the squad, so it is very difficult to give an answer.

on whether winning the EFL Cup can lead to more trophies:
I think it’s really helpful. Again, I think it brings faith, trust and positive energy; Touching a trophy, beating someone in the semi-finals, beating someone in the final, it creates that energy and I think it creates the right path to do something different, especially because of the timing and the time in which the competition is held becomes country, it gets the momentum going.

about how Mikel will celebrate his fifth anniversary:
I don’t drink wine! But yes, it will be a special day. Obviously five years in this job is a big deal, especially the size of the club we have. That’s why I’m very grateful.

about whether he will celebrate the day:
I wouldn’t have a celebration, but I’ll probably think about it, make some memories and look at some pictures and comments and a few moments we spent together. Remember it and appreciate it, because it is quite a long time.

on the fans’ reactions to the draw against Everton:
We were here to win games and although we did most of the things to win them comfortably, the fact is that we didn’t.

on whether there is a reason why Raheem Sterling wasn’t substituted against Everton:
NO.

on whether Ethan Nwaneri and Martin Odegaard can play together:
Depending on who they are surrounded by and what position Ethan can play. He can play right attacking midfielder, he can play left attacking midfielder, he can play right winger, there’s another position that I think he can develop into in a few years, so there are options there.

what position he thinks Nwaneri could develop into:
Nine.

What qualities Ethan would bring to the number nine position:
When he has the goal in front of him, he only looks at the goal. He has tremendous ability to put the ball into the net.