What is the latest team news?
We’re only just back from Belgium really so we’re still getting ourselves together but hopefully, everybody is okay. The only news is that Gianluca Scamacca is due to have an operation on his knee tomorrow, so we will be missing him.
Would you say you were happy with the result against Gent but not the performance?
Yes.
Do you think not doing the basics well enough is what cost your side against Gent?
I thought last night we didn’t, we’ve done the basics very well against Fulham in the league last week. We didn’t do a lot of the basics well last night. In Europe, it can happen and it was a really tough game for us. In the end, we got away with a good result.
Are you happy to still be unbeaten in Europe after 11 games?
I’m thrilled that we were in Europe, it’s a competition we had to work really hard last season to get in. Unfortunately, we just missed out on the Europe League and we ended up in the Conference but now we’re in the Conference, we’re really enjoying it. We’ve won a lot of games, been on our travels quite a bit, and to sort of still be in it coming in to sort of the end of April is huge and we will have a huge game next Thursday night when we’ve got a game here against Gent.
How is squad confidence at the moment?
Mixed because we didn’t play so well last night, but I have to say that we have picked up some really good results. In our last ten games in the Premier League, I think we’re in a pretty good position in the points we have taken in that period. Let’s hope we can keep that going.
Because you are against Arsenal, do you think there is less expectation on your side to get a result and can that help you?
I don’t know if there is less expectation, not from me that is for sure. The expectation from me in every team that I put out is to win and we will put out a team that can hopefully beat Arsenal. That’s part of it. Last year, we challenged a lot of the so-called top teams and gave them really good games, some we beat, some we didn’t, so we will try to do the same against Arsenal.
Do you think Arsenal will win the Premier League this season?
I think they’ve got a great chance, which is an obvious thing to say. Will they win the league? I don’t know, because they have got a huge opponent in Manchester City and you never know, but they have got themselves in a great position and to be fair, they’ve been playing some really good football throughout the season.
When you are at the bottom of the table, is it a case of every result matters?
It does. Every result always matters in football, it doesn’t matter what part of the league we are in, there is a reason. You might be trying to challenge for Europe, you might be trying to win the league, you might be trying to make sure that you’re not in the bottom three. There’s always something in football that you are going for but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many teams involved in the sort of bottom end of the table for a long, long time.
Does it really feel now that you are starting to turn things around?
I do, I think we are in a much better run of form, we’re a bit up and down in some games. Overall, if I take out the Brighton and Newcastle games, which I can’t take out, but if I wanted to in my head then defensively, we’ve been pretty solid. We’ve won a few games, so I’m quite happy with that.
Arsenal have made a massive jump from this time last year. What do you put that down to?
I think Mikel’s built a really good side and they have done. I think they’ve done really well last year, Mikel was getting a lot of criticism at one point, and I think he was always felt he had a good team and they would get better and they would come out of that period they were in. They have done and obviously they finished fifth last year. It’s not a bad position they were in, maybe they were hoping to be better but there’s no doubt they’re going to be better than that this year. Great credit to Mikel and his team, they’ve done a good job there.
How do you go about stopping Arsenal and considering they are probably going to score, is that something you have to plan for?
You’ve got to plan that they don’t score and work that they don’t score really, first and foremost because we’ve got to work to make them not score any goals. We’re not going into a game hoping the opponent are going to score, we are going to try and stop them at every opportunity that we can. Your point is a good one because they are very good because they’ve done it on the road and they’ve got a great record. It makes the game a really difficult one for us. We’ve had a couple of really good games against Arsenal in the last few years, so I hope we can put on another good show.
How does the tight turnaround from the game against Gent affect your preparations to face Arsenal?
Of course it does, it changes a lot of things.
What more can you say about Gianluca Scamacca’s injury?
I can’t tell you much more at the moment, just to say that he’s going to have a knee operation tomorrow as far as I know.
Is he unlikely to play again this season?
Again, I couldn’t tell you.
Do you think you’ve gotten used to managing the quick turnarounds from Europe will help you going into this game?
I think it will help the players more than me, the players are getting used to it. The players are only just back on it, but having a midweek league fixture last week, we’re already into our second week of midweek fixtures. We have to try and choose and pick the players at the right moments when we think we can make some changes when we don’t think that we can. There will be times we have to play them again. We’re a more resilient and a bit more used to the games than we have been in the past. There’s a psychological thing about Thursday/Sunday that makes it really difficult.
What work can you do in the small time period between games? Is it just recovery?
Yes, it’s just really about recovery and today, getting them back. Making sure that we have no injuries and get them as best prepared as we can and using tomorrow the best we can, ready for the game.
The Newcastle United loss will still be fresh in the memories of you, the players and the fans. Being back at the London Stadium, can memories like that help you against another top side at home?
Not as fresh at the Fulham game. I don’t think we’ll have many memories from the Newcastle game, I think we will probably think of more positive games where we’ve done better at home. In the main, we have done very well at home. Hopefully, we can do that again, show exactly what we’re about. I said at the time I think it was a bit of a freak and let’s hope it was.
What have you made of your home form this season?
We’ve been pretty good and especially probably in the last nine or ten games this season, we’ve put on a decent points return, so we’ve got to keep that going.
How impressed have you been by what Mikel Arteta has done this season?
Very impressed. Surprised? Not really. I thought that he was building a really good team, he had some really good young players in the system which helped, but he’s certainly done a good job in getting them close to being a champion in the Premier League. To be challenging in the Premier League is a great thing. If anyone said Arsenal would be a Champions League team, you would say ‘hey, that’s a great achievement for them.’ I think for them to take the next step and actually be challenging to win it is an incredible level to get to. It’s looked as if they are quite relentless as well, they are going away and playing very well at a lot of big clubs. We know we’re in for a tough game.
Would you rather be playing against teams that did not need the points themselves at the moment?
I think everybody needs the points, for some reason. Everybody is chasing something, whether you’re trying to win the league or trying to be in Europe or trying to avoid being at the bottom. I think there’s very few games where I think you play teams who don’t need the points, I think everybody really works towards getting the win.
How much do you think the fans will help you against Arsenal?
The fans have been huge for us over many seasons and these have been the games where we’ve needed them. Hopefully, we can get their backing again this week.
Did you know Mikel Arteta would become a top manager from your time with him at Everton?
I don’t think you can ever predict who is going to become managers, because it’s pretty difficult. I think Mikel was always someone who had his own thoughts and was a very good player. He was a great player for me at Everton and helped us take Everton up the league and move Everton up as a football club. I will always be grateful for how well he did for me at Everton.
Did you see leadership qualities from him from your time at Everton?
I think he had. I think he knew how he wanted his football to be played. More than ever, he’s probably had a great education from Pep (Guardiola), he’s been able to go and work under one of, if not the best, managers in the world. It’s a great indication and he will see a lot of things and he has got his own thoughts as well. He’s been a very talented player and he’s been able to put over things about his playing style which he wants in his own team.
Can you take a lot of positives from your Boxing Day meeting with Arsenal and would it be a massive statement if you beat Arsenal?
It’s easy saying it, isn’t it? It’s actually doing it that is the hard thing. We are going to have to play really well to get a result and be ready for what we know will be a very difficult game.
