Exclusive: Mikel Arteta says 'many, many phases to come' as Arsenal manager after shooting down exit talk

Mikel Arteta has challenged his players to take "another step forward" and reiterated that there are "many phases to come" as he dismissed speculation about his future.

After a report from Spain claimed he was planning on leaving the Gunners this summer, Arteta used his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s trip to Nottingham Forest to slam the suggestion as "fake news".

"I don't know where it is coming from, it's totally untrue and I'm very upset about it," he told the media. "I could not believe it. It has no sources. You have to be cautious when you write things in the way it was yesterday.

"I'm in the right place and I feel good about it. I'm embracing a journey with this club and there's a long way still to go."

Arteta hinted he is in for the long haul and having previously spoken about different phases of evolution as manager at the club, exclusively told TNT Sports that his plans remain in place.

“There is always a plan,” he said. “A piece of paper can hold anything, but the moment that you start to walk, to jog, to run, and to experience what is happening, you can not see the clear picture of ‘okay, that pathway is the right one’. You have to modify it a little bit and then go somewhere else.

“But I think we're on the right way, I think we’re on the right path and with the right pace, especially.

“We have a lot to do. And there are many, many phases to come after this one.

“But I think it's a moment that the team has to make another step forward.”

Arsenal head to relegation-threatened Forest off the back of a thumping 5-0 win over Crystal Palace in their last outing but prior to that, went through a sequence just one win in seven in all competitions.

This run of results had seen them fall from the Premier League summit and exit the FA Cup, but Arteta is not too concerned given the team’s overall performances and fully believes they are getting back on track.

“We were going through a spell where results weren’t actually representative of what we were doing in games,” he said. “So I was very complimentary with the team, we continue to do what we are doing and we’ll have a really, really good and a strong season.

“There are a few things that you can tweak and improve but first of all, it was convincing them to continue to do what we do, and just a bit better, especially in one area where games were just getting away from us.”

Victory over Forest would lift the Gunners back within two points of leaders Liverpool, for 24 hours at least, with the Gunners very much looking to plant themselves in the title race in the second half of the season.

Having finished second last season off the back of a disappointing end to the campaign, Arteta says keeping players fit is key to avoiding a repeat this year and finishing as strong as possible.

“You need your best players in the team available,” he insisted. “When it comes to March, April, and you are fighting for everything, you need your best players and the squad, everybody fit and available to push.

“Because the margins are so small. And the difference that the big players can make in those moments are huge. And we missed that last year.”

Arteta’s desire to have all his players available is due to the fact he believes the Gunners are currently having to play with a "thinner" squad than their rivals, and the fact the club haven’t been able to strengthen during the current transfer window.

“We have one of the thinnest squads in the league, that's for sure,” he confessed. “And when you talk about the numbers, especially in certain areas, we are really thin.

“It wasn't possible [to do any January deals],” he added. “And now we didn't have the capacity to improve the team in the way that we think we want to improve it. So we decided not to do something yet.”

One player Arteta was optimistic about was Emile Smith Rowe who has spent several weeks on the sidelines and previously struggled to nail down a place in the Arsenal starting line-up.

However, an impressive 21-minute cameo at the end of the Palace win provided reason for optimism and Arteta was effusive with his praise for the England midfielder and his prospects of featuring more this season.

“Things are coming together for him,” said Arteta. “Obviously he had a difficult injury again and difficult spell. And he's training really well.

“I think he’s really pushing to get more and more minutes and we are trying to do that because he's a fantastic player.”

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