Arsene Wenger faced the media on Thursday the 15th of April 2015 ahead of his FA cup semi final clash against Reading. The arsenal manager answered questions about Reading, Jurgen Klopp, last season’s FA cup semi finals and finals, transfers, contracts and many more. This is the full transcript of his pre match conference. Enjoy. The text in bold refers to the question, while the normal text is Wenger’s response.
Good morning Arsene.
Good morning.
Can we start with the team news ahead of the semi final please?
We have a big squad available for selection, and Arteta is out, Chamberlain is not available for selection as well, everybody else should be alright.
About Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, how long is it before he comes back into the squad?
At least two weeks.
Jack played for the under 21's in midweek, how close is he to returning for the first team?
He has improved physically, I think he's available for selection now to be in the squad for Saturday.
It's another FA cup semi final fixture against a lower division club. How different do you feel going in in terms of your preparation going towards the game?
Look, how different it is a step to get into the final, and I think I play my 10th semi final on Saturday, so that means we know how to prepare, we know as well that it is always tricky. We have learned from Wigan last year and it's a special occasion for us to share with our fans, and we want them to go home happy and we know in the semi final it's always tricky. Last year we went to penalties against Wigan, and we have learnt from that and I think the urgency level will be quite high in our team.
Arsene, you've always respected tradition in the FA cup, you've got a great record in it, but would you swap for being 4 or 5 points closer to Chelsea in the title race?
There's no question of swapping, we are not in the job of negotiating in our job unfortunately, it's just that you do what you can as well as you can in every single competition and we have done well in the FA cup and we want to continue our run.
At the same time as you're playing that semi final though, Chelsea and Manchester United, that could be the added bonus for you that Chelsea drop points and you find your way to the final again?
Look, let's focus on our job. I'm a bit surprised that a game of the same stature is played at the same time, there's a bit of a conflict there that is difficult to understand.
If Manchester United won, does that put you back in the title race?
Look, mathematically yes, but we have to win our games, and we want to win our games, that's all we want to do.
Would you like to see Jurgen Klopp in the premier league? What do you think he will bring?
I'm not an agency to place managers, and I like every manager and respect everybody but I find that circus a bit ridiculous. Honestly.
If he does move regardless of whether he comes here, do you see some of Dortmund's top players following?
Again I think it’s down to every club to make the right decision, and to respect Dortmund, I believe that Dortmund is a massive club and will survive, and has the ability to keep their best players. It's a club with a big history, a history linked with great results and great achievements so I don't think that will stop for Dortmund.
In recent seasons, you've had great success in tying down your younger promising players for long term deals Arsene. Are you hopeful that a similar thing can happen with Theo, and if so why would you be optimistic?
Yes I'm confident.
Because?
Because I believe that Theo has a great future, he is just coming back from a very difficult injury, every week he's getting better and he's very young, and I believe he will have a great goal-scoring record in the future because of the quality and intelligence of his game, and therefore I would like him to stay with our club yes.
And without necessarily naming names, how far are you along line in terms of progress for targets for next season for example?
I cannot give you any names because at the moment we are focused on achieving our targets until the end of the season you know, every game is vital now, and we just want to focus on our games. We have a massive squad, we have a big, big, squad, we have 24 players at the moment and we have players like Podolski, Sanogo and Joel Campbell who are out on loan. So for us, it would first be important for us next season to prepare well and get right dimension of the squad, and if needed to add what we can add.
I don't know if you've heard of this spring challenge idea where the world indoor champion would like to race against your fastest player who we believe might be Hector Bellerin. Could that happen?
Personally, I believe its Walcott is our fastest player.
Still.
And I agree completely that the sprinters are quicker than football players. But its different you know, football players runs with football boots on grass. Its different kind of runs, it’s not only pure pace. The pace in our job starts with brain, and of course then you put in action what you analyze on the pitch. But pure speed, I'm more convinced that the sprinters who are specialists are quicker than football players.
Arsene you mentioned earlier that you were surprised that Chelsea-Manchester United was kicking off 10 minutes after the start of your FA cup semi final. Is it not a bit of a mess that the FA cup should be in conflict with the premier league fixtures? Shouldn't something be done about it?
Something should be done about it. I'm surprised that they did not analyze that in television deals you know because basically what happens there it is something that should have been planned to television channels who pay a lot of money for football have conflicted interests in promoting games, and that inside the country shouldn't happen.
You are on a great run recently. What is the single biggest change between when you weren't playing quite so well early on in the season and now? What's changed the most?
Personnel available, knowing each other better, and having a better balance in our team between attacking and defending.
How much of that though is been done on the training ground in terms of drilling your players to get what you want?
Look, on the training ground of course you do a lot. But how much? You cannot measure the impact on the team because that would mean the teams who don't win on the football ground don't work on the training ground, that's not true. But the sensitivity of our job is that everything needs to be alright. The preparation, the people available, the spirit, and if you look at Europe, there are only 3 teams who have won 8 games on the trot, so that means its not easy, and that everything has to click just at the right moment, and that the confidence level needs to be there. But it's a luxury to have a good run, because one important thing in our job is the confidence of the team, but on the other hand as well, you need to keep the urgency level, and the desire and the hunger at a very high level to continue it.
I understand you're not going to comment directly on Jurgen Klopp's future, but if you were to give one bit of an advice to a foreign manager coming to manage in the premier league, what's the biggest tip you could pass on?
I believe try to get your ideas through, and adapt to the local culture and respect it.
Arsene is this an opportunity for the likes of Theo Walcott, Kierran Gibbs, Danny Welbeck who have not had an opportunity recently due to your consistency to give you a reminder of what they can do?
No, it’s not a game that I look at as an opportunity for some individual players, it's just for us an opportunity to go to the final and just pick the team who has in my opinion best chance to win the game.
So you're not concerned about finding a balance?
Yes I'm concerned about finding a balance for sure, but a collective balance yes can include some of these players or not, but honestly I haven't decided who will start the game on Saturday.
Jack Wilshere is saying that the mood in the camp in training that everyone is quite high, and in intense training in try and get that competition for places. Is that what you benefit from?
He's right, it’s true, because everybody feels that it's difficult to get in the team, and because all the players have top top quality, of course it's difficult for me as well to make these kinds of decisions.
How do the players take that? Do you feel they understand it?
You do not ask anybody to understand that he doesn't play because they all deserve to play, honestly, but they have to accept it and to respect the decision, that's just what we want from the players. We don't want them to understand it, there is nothing to understand. Everybody is top quality at the moment in the squad.
Do you feel both Arteta and Rosicky still be here next season?
I think yes.
Have you had any indication as to when they would sign a contract?
Look , we'd sort that out, I think now end of may.
Would Wolcjiech start on Saturday?
Yes
I'm sure he's not been happy to be not playing regularly, but I guess he missed he missed the whole of the FA cup last season and he's playing it this time around.
But he has played in the last round.
Yeah, but last season he didn't play.
Not in last season no, but this season he has played at Man United and he had a very good performance. I believe it's important the 2 goalkeepers get competition, and he will get competition in the FA cup now as long as Ospina plays in the championship.
The team was maybe a bit nervous in the start of the semi final last year and maybe at the final last year. Do you think having come through that final last year that they won't start the games the same way they started?
I believe that just now we've spoken about the team, and I said we have improved, we have stronger starts than a long time ago, and we have learned as well from last season. We were a bit apprehensive I agree with you in both games; semi final and final, and maybe that experience can help us on Saturday.
You were quite nervous. You seemed nervous on the semis.
Yes, because it was a moment that we couldn't miss you know, and so of course you know that on both games, semi final and final, we were down, and you know that everytime you have a mountain to climb in competitions like that when you run after the score.
On the kick-off time, does it take something away of the FA cup as a spectacle, that its having to compete directly with the premier league?
No, but you would like it to be the unique competition that is played, especially a semi final and a final. I think you would want it not to be conflicting with other competitions.
And the fact that it’s going up against a very big game.
A very big game I agree with you. It’s a surprise to me.
Arsene when you do step aside as manger of Arsenal football club, do you think he has the profile that will suit this club?
I already answered this question.
What are the strengths Reading bring to this match? What are you weary of?
Look, the experience. They have many players who have the experience in the premier league, they have a good offensive potential, they are very efficient, they have a style who goes a lot through crosses, they are very efficient on crosses, and I believe for us they can be a danger going forward.
Having playing a championship opposition, your players are going to be on resting mode.
We won't be for two reasons. Why? Because we know it can be very tricky and difficult, and secondly, once you're in the semi final at Wembley, it would be absolutely non-intelligent just to think you turn up and you win the game. We prepared well since the start of the season for this game, and we know exactly what can happen to us, what will face us, and I think the team will have the needed focus.
Raheem Sterling has been in the papers of late. Do you think that your players need more guidance on the way they conduct themselves?
I don't know, I believe young players are young players. You learn in life with your mistakes and the important thing is to not repeat the mistakes.
Arsene, the freedom you had in the dressing room after the final last year, do you think that might put your players in a bit more better position knowing that feeling they had and they would want it again?
We want it again, but let's first go through the semi final, and the fact that we won it last year yes is good remembrance can of course stimulate your brain, your desire, and we want to take the positives of it, but we remember as well that we suffered a lot before we got there, and so we have to prepare ourselves to battle first.
Just a word on Steve Clarke, he has a lot of experience here in the premier league. Obviously you know him quite well.
Yes, he has a good experience, so he knows exactly. He has been a long time at the top, and he knows exactly what will happen, and I'm sure he will prepare very well his team.
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