Pep Guardiola

#PLStories- #PepGuardiola wary about impact of #PierreEmerickAubameyang and #BukayoSaka #MCFC

Pep Guardiola has named Bukayo Saka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emile Smith Rowe as players his Manchester City side will need to be wary of against Arsenal. The Premier League leaders travel to north London tomorrow to take on the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium, with City looking to extend their run of 17 wins in a row in all competitions. But Guardiola has been full of compliments for Arsenal ahead of the contest, with the Manchester City boss heaping praise on his opposite number Mikel Arteta, who previously worked alongside him as his assistant at the Etihad Stadium prior to becoming the Gunners' head coach. And Guardiola has picked out three Arsenal players he says his side must be wary of as they look to try and complete the double over the Gunners in the league this season. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles "All I can say is the last months show me that all managers need time and he is not an exception. What I see in the last two months every game Arsenal played is better than the opponent," he said, speaking ahead of the game. "Tomorrow we will have an incredible performance. They have an exceptional build-up, they have quality and they have energy. “They have an exceptional build-up, they move with many, many sense, all the movements they have for the build-up to the final third. “The quality for incredible energy, for [Emile] Smith [Rowe], [Bukayo] Saka and [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang, especially with his runs in behind, and all the players that they have with the quality in the middle.
Adama Traore

#PLStories- #NunoEspiritoSanto praises #AdamaTraore strike against Leeds #WOLVESFC

Nuno Espirito Santo believes Adama Traore’s ‘almost unstoppable’ strike deserved to end up in the back of Leeds United’s net. Illan Meslier’s own goal sealed the 1-0 victory for Wolves at Molineux - but the winner came from a huge slice of luck. Traore fired in a shot from 30 yards which struck the woodwork and bounced off Meslier’s backside before trickling over the line. The win extends Wolves’ improved run of form, with Nuno’s side now unbeaten in their last four Premier League games. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel “Of course, there’s luck, but the strike of Adama is fantastic,” said Nuno. “The way the ball went to the upper corner was almost unstoppable. We have to deserve that luck. It’s a fantastic action. “Today was not perfect. On set pieces there weren't many first contacts, but Leeds is a very difficult opponent. Both goalkeepers were active in the game and we watched a very good game of football.” Another player who impressed for Wolves was right wing-back Nelson Semedo, who went close with three shots during the opening 45 minutes. Wolves daily newsletter. Free. To your inbox There's a quick and easy way to stay on top of all the Wolverhampton Wanderers news with our daily newsletter. Delivered straight into your email inbox each day, the bulletins will feature the latest Wolves news, views, gossip and opinion. All you have to do is punch your email in at the top of the article - or sign up here. And what's more, it's absolutely free! You can also get all the latest updates by following us on Facebook and Twitter. We also have a free app which you can download. It is always up-to-date with the latest news from across the region. Google Play Store and App Store The Portugal international has received some criticism since his big money transfer from Barcelona in September, but his perfomances have improved throughout the campaign. "He found himself in (good positions) and it requires better finishing. It’s a tough competition - every player that joins the Premier League feels the impact. "For Nelson, especially, it’s been a challenge for him. He’s committed, he’s done well, but he knows that every game he plays he will face a tough opponent in front of him." Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles
Mikel Arteta Arsenal

#PLStories- #MikelArteta hails #IlkayGundogan and his bigger role in Manchester City performance #ArsenalFC

How impressed have you been with City's unbeaten run and is the title race over? I think they are the best team in Europe at the moment. The way they are performing, the football they are playing and the consistency of the results take all that it an it makes them the best team. So we have a big but as well a very exciting challenge ahead of us on Sunday. What are their main strengths this season, do they have any weaknesses? What they have done is react to a difficult moment and a big team has to do that so when everyone doubting their ability to compete again and be the team that they are, they reacted in a a really convincing way, all united and doing what they do best – being very consistent and winning games very comfortably. Weakness-wise, they have weaknesses like every team but at the moment teams have struggled a lot to find any of that because I think first of all defensively they have been really, really strong. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel Are the upcoming games against teams above you (Leicester and Spurs) a chance to close the gap to the top four? Absolutely. That's going to define our season. If we are able to close the gaps to them but it's gonna create momentum for us if we can get closer to them. We know the margin for error is minimal with the season that we have had in previous months so we need to kick on. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles You worked with Ilkay Gundogan at Manchester City. Has his recent form surprised even you? Well I think now he's playing a higher role in the team. He's always had the ability to arrive in the box and has great timing and great qualities to finish the actions. Before he played a deeper role and he had the license to do that. He's a tremendous player and he's doing really, really well this season. Could any team other than City put together this type of run without the likes of Aguero, De Bruyne etc.? Well that doesn't happen overnight. That's been built over the last years. Recruiting really good, recruiting the players that can take the next challenge when someone tries to get in the twilight phase of their career. That evolution has been done in a really nice way so credit to everybody that makes the decision on there because they have all the time kept the vision of what were the immediate needs but what as well was needed for the future. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. How important was it to have Pep to talk to during that difficult time before Christmas, especially with the social media abuse you spoke about? We've been in contact a lot since I've been here. In good moments, in bad moments, when he was having some difficult moments, now that he's having some great moments, the relationship doesn't change. Obviously it's great to have some advice and some support at any moment in your career, because you need people as much as possible that have lived these situations. And then obviously the advice is much more concrete and useful. Does that apply on and off the pitch? Absolutely.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang

#PLStories- #MikelArteta on #PierreEmerickAubameyang missed chances after draw with Benfica #ARSENALFC

Frustrating with the chances you had but an all-round dominant performance. How do you sum up the game? Yes exactly that. I think we had to leave the stadium today with much more than what we have right now. Everything is completely open till next Thursday. We have some positives to take from the game because we dominated the game and we had patches of really good moments where we created some big chances. We weren’t ruthless enough in the opponents’ box and the disappointing thing obviously is the way we concede the goal. Auba scored a hattrick on Sunday but missed some big chances tonight. What do you put that down to? Well, these thing happen. He was at the end of the biggest chances that we had tonight. He was a real threat again that’s why we played him today against this opponent with the line that they proposed all the time. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel He was unlucky not to score two or three tonight because in normal circumstances that would be the case. BukayoSaka is becoming more important and stepped up while everyone else is struggling to find the net? I think he’s in a great moment, he’s full of confidence, he’s been really important in recent results. His form is the highest probably since I’ve been here and he’s been really consistent. He needs to keep going and doing what he’s doing because at the moment he’s a really important part of the team. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles How much of a challenge is it balancing the fact that Saka is a really important player with the reality that he is a teenager? I think we have to protect him and keep expectations where they should be. But I'm not gonna put a break in his development or what he can do week in week out. I think we have to support him, give him the best possible advice all the time and then manage his minutes so he can maintain this level. Sign up to our Arsenal newsletter for the latest transfer news By signing up for our Arsenal newsletter, you will receive a once-daily email, focused around goings-on at Emirates Stadium. You won't miss a thing when it comes to the Gunners - you'll get all you need to know directly into your inbox. We'll also send out special newsletters with any big breaking news too. And with the January transfer window now open there's plenty of content to get your teeth into. How do you sign up? It's easy and only takes seconds. Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Arsenal section of football.london in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'. And that's it, you're all set. If you decide later that you no longer wish to receive the emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link in one of the newsletters - but we don't think you'll want to. For more details, click here. Is it hard to manage his minutes when you know your team is better with Bukayo on the pitch? It is at the moment because he’s been a real threat, he’s involved in a lot of goals all the time and the consistency of the performances makes him a starter obviously. It’s a fine balance, but at the same time when he is 19-years-old we have to protect him.
Marcelo Bielsa Leeds

#PLStories-#MarceloBielsa excited to have #DiegoLlorente in playing squad for Leeds #LUFC

Leeds United will have Mateusz Klich available for Friday's game against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux (8pm). Diego Llorente is also fit, but Kalvin Phillips and Rodrigo remain sidelined. Kich was withdrawn from the 4-2 defeat to Arsenal last time out at half-time while Llorente has been hit with groin and hamstring injuries this season. Phillips is still recovering from a calf injury sustained in a match against Crystal Palace this month while Rodrigo hasn't played this month with a groin problem of his own sustained in a 3-1 win at Leicester City at the end of January. Leeds head coach Marcelo Biesa has been discussing the latest injury news ahead of the game against Wolves and confirmed Ian Carlo Poveda is still out with a groin injury which he is recovering from. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon8Cancel On Llorente, who has managed just one start all season, Bielsa told LeedsLive : "He is available to play right now and depending on the development in the next few games, we'll see when we use him. The needs of the first team will decide how much we use him." On Leeds' injury situation in general, Bielsa added: "Every team has problems with injuries. Some more than others. Sometimes there’s teams who have many injuries at the same period. Things we know about and have to find solutions." Wolves have been hit by injury themselves, with the biggest blow coming at the end of November when Raul Jimenez suffered a fractured skull at Arsenal. Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles Jimenez 's injury presented Wolves with a task of replacing him in the January transfer window, with Nuno Esprito Santo's side opting to sign Willian Jose from Real Sociedad. "To build a team is not a task done in one year," Bielsa said. "In the case of their centre-forward, to replace him they brought in a player with good pedigree. We made our signings at the beginning of the year. A big effort for this. A big effort to preserve Meslier, Harrison, Helder Costa and to bring in the other four. To adapt your squad is a difficult or complicated task." Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles