Timber & Merino to play again THIS season? | Mikel Arteta | West Ham v Arsenal

Football

Year2026

Duration17m

Watch Now

7.9

Mikel Arteta reacts to criticism from the 'celebration police' after Arsenal's Champions League semi-final win over Atlético Madrid. The Spaniard also hinted at possible injury returns from Mikel Merino and Jurrien Timber in the coming weeks. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro. 00:05 - Everyone came through okay. 00:22 - Timber and merino: no chance. 00:30 - Everything has to be smooth and quick if they want to play minutes. 00:59 - Perfect final: we know the qualities they have. We’re confident we’ll deliver. 01:32 - Atmosphere: Crucial immense and what we needed. The players said they never had that feeling before. 02:16 - Criticism: you have to respect every opinion and place them where they belong. 02:54 - Seige mentality: criticism is positive and negative. That’s where you want to be better. 03:39 - refocusing the players: we talked immediately after the game. We’ll have time to prepare for the final, now everything needs to be put into West Ham. 04:29 - Four games away from history: stay present. Prepare and show the same level of energy and hunger, or more. We are closer and closer. 05:11 - MLS: It’s been a process of understanding him better, hun understanding the standards required, but he’s been exceptional. To look that fresh and energetic was surprising. 06:11 - Saka: a joy. Extremely lucky to have someone to lean into. Human level we know him and football level wha he did was remarkable. 06:48 - Big jeopardy on Sunday: we know the importance of it and what we want. 07:24 - Week couldn’t have been better, emotions?: I was in a high emotional state. You could tell how much it meant. But straight after that my focus was West Ham. 08:04 - Time to enjoy final stretch: I enjoy everyday. I enjoy preparing for west ham and trying to understand our players and the situation. 08:46 - Biggest situation in your career?: If. Tomorrow we have to do wha it takes to be ready physically and mentally. 09:26 - Rice comments on West Ham: He’s been outstanding for us. One of the leaders, what he’s doing is really p