What’s the team news for Manchester United?
Granit is still not ready, Kolasinac is still not ready, we have a doubt with Bukayo and
another few knocks we got against Newcastle. So today’s the day to assess how everybody
is, if he can be fit for tomorrow and then make a line up for the squad.
Are you hopeful on Bukayo?
I am hopeful, but we don’t know. It’s a really short turnaround and the player has
to be comfortable playing with a little injury. Let’s see how it is today in training.
What does it say about the character of Gabriel that he was able to continue to play (after
being a victim of an attempted robbery) and what was he like straight after?
It’s not a nice thing to go through, when you have family involved and they’re trying
to access your house. Gabby showed a lot of character, you see the reaction that he had
straight away. Credit to the boy. After that he was fine. He was shocked and obviously
he wanted to change a few things in his life to make sure that didn’t happen again. The
club gave him all the support that was needed to try and help him forget about the situation,
learn about it and move on.
How do you prepare for Manchester United given all the changes going on there right now?
Well, you know what you expect when you play at that stadium and in front of that crowd
and with a team and a squad that is probably one of the most talented in the league. You
know the situation that you’re going to face. It’s very difficult tactically because
we don’t know how they’re going to prepare the game, the options they can play, the formation
they can vary. So it’s very focused more on ourselves, what we can do, and make sure
the team is focused to go there and beat them.
They’ll have Ralf Rangnick in place. Have you followed his career and has he influenced
how you manage?
Well he’s one of the top coaches in every involvement he’s had in the game. Not only
in coaching he’s made some radical changes in some areas. He’s a really interesting
appointment in the footballing world, and a really interesting appointment for the club.
You’ve got a good record against Manchester United. Can you take the history of those
results and take confidence when you play them?
Well the confidence is that we’re gonna prepare the matches to win. We have to respect
the opponent that we’re gonna have in front of us, but at the end go with the mindset,
the confidence and the desire to have that belief.
Did you watch Man Utd vs Chelsea? Surely they won’t be as defensive as they were against
Chelsea when they play at home will they?
I don’t know. There are different games and they played Chelsea away. They had phases
in the game, I don’t think they were that defensive for the whole game. Sometimes you
want to do something against Chelsea with their ability, but you cannot do it because
of the quality that they have and the solution that they can find in every problem that you
try to create to them. I expect a very lively atmosphere and a team that is ready to come
out.
Are you expecting Cristiano Ronaldo to start?
I don’t know. That’s their manager’s decision.
What would you say if you had to put a percentage on Saka’s chances tomorrow?
Until I see him this morning in training it’s crazy to do that.
What do you know about Ralf Rangnick? Have you watched his training sessions? Have you
worked with him before?
I know people that have worked with him, people that have followed him a lot, and obviously
we’ve done our research as well. He’s an extremely well known person for he’s
done in the game and what he wants to continue doing in the game.
If you win at Old Trafford tomorrow that sends a statement that top four is really on for
your team this season doesn’t it?
When you win at a big stadium, and the form we’re in at the moment it gives confidence.
It’s another important game but there is a long, long way to go.
Are you worried about the form of Aubameyang?
Well the form of Auba is always going to be related to the goals he scores. He’s doing
a lot of other things apart from scoring goals, but obviously we need that contribution, because
those goals are critical for our success. That’s been shown in the last few years
when he’s been able to do that. That has to be his aim – keep doing all the things
he’s doing and then when the moment comes, put the ball in the net.
Is he an out and out number nine? It seems a lot of your forwards prefer to play from
the outside than in a central role.
I think with Laca it’s a bit different, he is more comfortable playing there. Auba
has played in both positions throughout his career. I think the formation we’ve played
allows him more freedom to attack certain spaces more often. The defensive duties is
something to consider as well depending on the players who play alongside him
How much has it been a boost this season that you have such strong competition that one
of your best players – Kieran Tierney – can't even get in the team?
That’s the level that we want to achieve in every position that we have players who
can compete in the highest level, and compliment each other, given you different qualities
as well. Last year when we had that issue with Kieran, and he was out for a while as
well, we had to invent and put players in that position and that’s something that
we want to eradicate as much as possible. That’s why we made the decision, that we
made in the summer and fill the gaps and make the team stronger. It’s only about that.
Kieran hasn’t played in a lot of games because he was injured and in others because when
Nuno played, and he played well as well, I think he deserved the chance to continue there.
Has it surprised you the problems Man U have had given the attacking talent they’ve got
such as Ronaldo, Cavani and Sancho?
Well it shows as well the competition in the league that we are involved. That any team
can cause you problems, that it’s not as simple as putting names and numbers in there,
that it’s much more than that. That’s obviously the quality that they have and you
haven’t mentioned another three or four of them that they can play in that position.
It’s incredible and that’s why that club has been so successful as well.
You’ve been in good form, but is that one thing that you’re missing a win away to
one of the ‘big six’ clubs?
Well, it is because we lost against City and we lost against Liverpool. It’s true that
we beat Leicester who have been one of the teams in that range in recent years. Obviously,
that’s what we want – to go to any ground, and have the confidence to go to any ground
and beat them.
You won there last season, is that the basis of what you’re trying to build on?
Absolutely. That’s what we have to try to do. It’s not just about doing it once. (Until)
Last year Arsenal hadn’t won there for 17 years, and that cannot be the case if we want
to be at the top level.
Per Mertesacker has worked with Ralf Rangnick before. Did you speak to him to get some advice?
We tried to gather information to understand more of what we expect. We don’t know. We
didn’t really know if he was going to be on the bench, if he was taking training sessions,
so in terms of preparation it was a little bit more trickier than usual because you don’t
really know the influence the new coach is going to have.
Do you feel you might need to rest Saka or Emile Smith Rowe given how much football they’ve
played?
We’re not going to risk our players if we believe it’s going to go against us. Playing
with an injury meant that he had to leave the pitch, and when some has to leave the
pitch I believe they are injured even if they are willing to continue. An injury can be
24 hours, it can be 72 hours, or it can be a year. Bukayo is really willing. He’s been
preparing the last two days because he wants to play so let’s see how he is.
He’s such an important player to have back isn’t he?
He’s very important but you see as well the importance of Gabi when he came on. We
have Nico there to play in that position, we have Eddie, we have many options that can
fulfil that potential. That’s why players have to be ready to come into the team and
have an impact.
After Martinelli’s goal at the weekend, many are saying he should start. Is his best
role now as an impact sub though as you build up to some of the others going away for the
AFCON?
I think it’s part of the pathway. I understand that we want to play all the players, but
we can only play 11 of them. We have such a young team and we have to find the right
pathway, with the right timing within the pathway, because it can look in a very different
way. It’s very clear what we want to do with Gabby. His determination is absolutely
top and he will continue to do that.
So is he just an impact sub for now?
He has the capacity to start games no doubt about that.
Did you have to speak to Kieran about him not playing on Saturday and how is he about
it?
It was a tricky one after what happened in Anfield and some individual errors that we
had. I think we have to be very careful with the messages that we send to our players.
I encourage my players to play with courage, to take risks, to make decisions and to be
in the front foot. When they do that and for any reasons things don’t go our way or they
make a mistake that’s where you have to show the trust in the player because you want
to build trust and resilience.
And it’s not only for the player who’s playing, it’s for the other player to understand
that part of that decision is to support, and in their case I would do exactly the same
thing. I think that we have to build our young players even more, because if not, they can
get very confused.
Are you worried about how Nuno will handle the atmosphere of Old Trafford after his error
at Anfield?
Whoever I put in that pitch, it’s because I have full confidence in them.
You’re just outside the top four on goal difference. Will you be pushing the board
now to go out and strengthen the squad to ensure you make it?
I’m just focused on the players that we have. Trying to make them as good as possible,
trying to improve the team and trying to be more and more consistent. Play better, and
we will get better results. That’s it.
Is it realistic for anyone to expect the club to do big business in January?
We are in discussions. We have talks every week about it, how we can improve the team.
What happens in the January can effect our squad. As you know we have certain players
with a little bit uncertainty in the summer, so we have to plan now what’s going to happen
in the summer. A lot had to be done as well.
So, we know and we don’t expect big things happening but we have to be very alert if
we can improve the team. As well we have to be very prepared, because things can happen,
injuries arise in this period and you have to be prepared for that.