Good morning.
Let’s
start with the team news, are there any updates on the likes of Alexis Sanchez,
Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere?
Look, I Aaron Ramsey
will be out, he has a major hamstring strain, Alexis Sanchez is still not able
to go out, he will be short for Sunday and Jack Wilshere is back in normal
training, but he has been out for months and this is competition. He has worked
very hard, focused, committed, but it will take him a while to get back to
competitive level.
How
are the likes of Mikael Arteta, Mathieu Debuchy, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain?
The closest of the
three is Chamberlain, he might be 2 or 3 weeks away maximum, the others are a
little bit longer.
Middlesbrough
visit in the FA cup on Saturday, talk about being a lower league side, they are
only one place below Leceister. Another big challenge for your side?
It’s a big challenge,
but big opportunity as well, that’s how we have to look at it. Do we qualify,
we are in the quarter finals, and that of course is a big assignment for us to
focus. We have a luck with the draw to play at the emirates so let’s take this
opportunity.
Jonathan
Woodgate scored in midweek for Middlesbrough, with all the injuries he has had,
are you a big fan of his?
Yes, he is an
intelligent player who understands the game very well. Unfortunately in his
career he has had many injuries. He went to real Madrid and they can choose who
they want at that time especially, so that means he had the potential, but not
the continuity needed at the top level.
Has
Aaron Ramsey just been unlucky, or is there an underlying reason for another
injury like this?
We haven’t found the
underlying reason. There is certainly an underlying reason that is either
medical or bio-mechanical, because he is a guy who is serious, works hard, has
a controlled and disciplined life, so there is no obvious reason why he should
have muscular problems.
Do
you look at him and think “maybe I should change his training regime in any
way” because of the injuries?
No, we have
individualized trainings for the players and prevention for the players, and I
don’t think that is any special case that he has been neglected, it’s just we
have to find a reason why it happened. It’s not a major injury, it’s a grade
one, it’s a small injury, not a muscular problem.
So
we are looking more at a couple of weeks?
Yes.
What
is Jack like now that he’s back in normal training?
He’s motivated and focused
to come back as quickly as possible, he works very hard, but he’s still been
out for 4 months, and what he needs now is to get back. Competition gives you
that sharpness that training cannot give you, because it’s about a combination
of fitness, and decision making and speed of decision making and it takes a
while to get that back.
Did
you have a smile about what Roy Hodgson had to say about the pipe, saying that
he tried one, and it was nonsense and left home with a fruity taste in his
mouth?
I don’t know. I feel
sorry for him, but some people must love it because they do it. I never tried,
so I cannot tell you anything about that.
How
close is Gabriel to making his debut at arsenal, and how excited would you be
if it was this week or next, what sort of player is he?
A player with the
ability, he likes to defend, and it has become difficult to find people like
that, and a player who has overall good qualities. He has good pace, he’s good
in the air, good in one against one and I don’t want to talk too much, let him
play and show you how good he is.
With
Gabriel ready for his debut, and jack coming back, do you feel you now have the
squad that can stay in these 3 challenges of competing in the champions league
knock out stages, the continued defence of the FA cup, and the chase for top 4
place in the premier league?
Yes, we have the squad
to do it, but it’s how dedicated, how focused, how motivated, how united we
will be until the end of the season that will of course decide that, which is a
period where you need more from your players than usual because it’s the last 4
months of the season, and you need everybody to give a bit more than they used
to.
Because
it’s the FA cup will you rotate the squad?
Not specially because
it’s the FA cup. Some players will play who have not played recently, but
overall we treat this game like a premier league game, exactly the same.
Will Wojciech play?
Yes
How
is he responding to his spell out of the team?
Very well, he’s very
good in training, he responded in a very determined and focused way, and he’s
ready to play. At the moment, I feel I left Ospina in because he had done well,
but Wojciech is completely ready, and he’s impressive in training.
Is
Ospina still your premier league goalkeeper?
Look, like I told you,
the competition is open at the moment, Ospina plays, and we’ll see in the
future.
Is
the premier league worth 5 billion pounds?
I don’t have to decide
that, the televisions have to decide that. The only thing I can say is an
impressive number, and I would say as well that it shows the popularity of English
game. But as well somewhere, I must say maybe we don’t realize it enough, but
if football is so popular all over the world, the televisions in England have
contributed to it a lot. The way they promote it has contributed a lot to our
success, and on top of that, they have to pay heavy money now. It looks to me
an impressive number, it looks to be a calculation of “no we cannot lose this”
than “we want absolutely to grow and get bigger” but they are at the stage
where the televisions first are thinking that calculation that they don’t want
to lose the premier league.
What
do you think the extra money would do to the premier league?
It makes the clubs in a
bigger, stronger financial position all over Europe, and it would contribute to
getting the best players coming here all over the world to come to England. The
movement of the players is always linked with the economic and financial power
within the country. When I was a coach in Monaco, we bought the English
players, because we were the first to have television money. Today, the biggest
financial power is in England, and the best players come to England.
Do you think it would make the premier league clubs dominate Europe, or make them prominent again in Europe with the champions league?
I believe so, that
today, the difference is so big that the English clubs have the power to
attract who they want. Will that last, that’s not a question
Regarding
Middlesbrough, they took Liverpool to penalties. Is that something you will be
practicing in training this week?
We practice always a
little bit penalties, but we have some more time today, tomorrow, you never
know.
Everyone
says you wouldn’t be surprised by Middlesbrough…
No, we wouldn’t be
surprised, at least we would not have an excuse to be surprised. They went away
to man city, they beat man city in a convincing way, that is a good warning for
us. We are at home, we have a good possibility to go to the quarter finals, so
we cannot be surprised by them, and that’s for sure. In the championship, any
team who plays at the top is a danger for any premier league team.
Middlesbrough’s
game against city shows they are not afraid to take on the big boys in the
premier league
They are not, they
suffered in the first half, but in the second half, they won in a convincing
way, they deserved in the end their win. They are well organized, they play
good football, they play at a good pace, and they are very creative, and you
look at their recent record in the championship, it’s absolutely impressive.
They are on a strong run, and we want of course to stop that.
If
you win this, you are one game away from playing in the semis at Wembley. As a
manager, does it distract from the final, or does it give the team experience
by then in the semis?
Look, we are far from
the semis, we are 2 games away, we have to be pragmatic, serious and just think
about the next one. The next game can open us the door to the quarter, so we
play at home, and what we achieve after that, we’ll see.
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