Mikel Arteta spoke to the media ahead of his Arsenal side’s clash with Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth round. The Gunners travel to Field Mill on Saturday for a lunchtime kick-off with the hope of reaching a quarter-final for the first time since 2020.

The Gunners are now seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, and Arteta spoke in the wake of the win at Brighton, still basking in the joy of the three points. He spoke on the jump to different competitions, with the Champions League coming next week.

While rumours of the pitch being particularly poor were also put to the Spaniard, who enjoyed discussing the magic of the competition. Mansfield earned their place in this round of the competition after knocking out Burnley in the fourth round at Turf Moor.

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Here is every word from the pre-match press conference:

So, you are huge favourites for this FA Cup game. I think it's fair to say a lot of people are going to want the upset. Do you understand that?

Yes, but I think I've been long enough in this country to understand that being favourite doesn't mean anything when it comes to that competition. At that time of the day, in that ground, I know that they're going to have the belief, the hope, the conviction that they can beat us, and we need to be very well prepared.

When you are so into a race for the Premier League, and you have to move to another competition with a lesser opponent, how is the switch, and what do you say to the players to keep them motivated?

Today, at least now for a moment, to enjoy the victory because we knew it was going to be a really tough one and a really important moment for us with what is remaining in the Premier League. Tomorrow we can switch. We have played very similar games now in other competitions or in the FA Cup as well.

So, we are very well aware of what the game is going to demand. So, from tomorrow we will prepare that.

Have you seen or heard about the pitch on Saturday? There's not a lot of grass in certain areas.

It's normal. It's the beauty of this competition as well. You have to go there, you have to adapt. We've all been playing, since I was a player, we've all been playing in those stadiums or worse. So, you need to adapt to that context and make the most out of it.

There have been quite a few upsets this season. You, as a player, is there an FA Cup game that you look back upon and think, I don't know?

I don't want to put that negativity, but I have the feeling, we've been knocked out a few times in a difficult way. It's a terrible feeling, and it feels like it damages your reputation. So, yes, you don't want to go through that. In order not to go through that, you have to prepare so well and compete so well.

It can damage other competitions going out of the FA Cup, can't it? The fallout from losing a Cup game like that.

It can, but hopefully we're going to do what we have to do and try to earn the right to win again.

Can I just ask one on Myles as well, who obviously hasn't had loads of games. Do you still feel like for him there's going to be enough opportunities? He's obviously looking at the World Cup and England. Will there still be time for him to try and break back into Tuchel's squad?

Yes, and when he has those opportunities to grab them, his attitude has been excellent. He's not playing more because there are other players that are playing as well. They've been phenomenal. That's football, but we'll try to give him the minutes that he deserves.

Mikel, Mansfield, managed by Nigel Clough, his dad Brian was a very famous manager. Do you know much about the family and the history within the game?

Probably I will read much more after tomorrow. I was very interested when I did that report to understand the history, the tradition, the values that they have, to understand as well better what they will try to do. So we'll focus on that tomorrow.

On Max Dowman. He's obviously had to deal with a fairly significant injury for the first time, I guess. How has he dealt with that? What do you think he'd have learned from that time?

Well, a lot. First of all, you miss playing. That's the first thing. So don't take it for granted because it can be taken away from you when you don't expect it, and for a long time as well. He had different routines. He starts to understand more the rehab coaches, the physio, the doctor, the importance of the scan, the discipline that you need to maintain yourself when you have an injury, because if not, after it's going to take a long time to get back to your levels. But he's done so well. He's been looking really good in training and hopefully we can give him chances to play.

We talk a lot about the volume of games you've got in all competitions. Is there going to come a point where you're going to have to prioritise?

Well, we are doing that in certain moments and trying to use the rotations in the right way. But you need players available and we had at the start of the season a lot of issues in the back line. Now, in the middle, we have players with a lot of issues as well.

So it becomes complicated. That's why I said that certain players are already much higher than what they already did last season, and we are early in March. It's what it is. We know that. I've been here long enough. There's nothing to do with us.

Just going on what was said about the pitch, can that ever affect selection? If it’s a little bit unstable perhaps and knowing that it's got to be a bit muddy, a bit slippery, does that ever affect your mind in how you choose who plays?

It can do, especially if there is a player that is carrying some injuries. The pitch can affect him in the wrong way, especially certain muscles. But hopefully we're going to have the ones that we need fit and available.

You said before the game that William Saliba had an ankle issue. Is it related to the ones he had previously in the season?

No, it's the other one. We thought the same after the game. He wasn't comfortable to finish the game and after that away he didn't have a good feeling. So let's see if he recovers quickly.

Will he be a possibility for the weekend?

I doubt it.