What stages are Saka, Elneny and Zinchenko at?
They are in different stages, obviously [Mohamed Elneny] had a long-term injury but he has recovered in a really good way. He has been training with us for a week or two now. [Oleksandr Zinchenko] is very recent and he’s trained just two training sessions. Bukayo [Saka] has missed one or two and trained today.
Could Saka be available for tomorrow night if needed?
Yeah.
READ MORE: Bukayo Saka available for Arsenal vs Zurich as Mikel Arteta hints at Elneny and Zinchenko plan
Does he get enough protection?
I’m sure that the referees have looked at all the incidents, all the fouls, and the amount of fouls our front players are getting. It's their job to manage that in the best possible way.
Is it something you raise with the authorities?
Not here though, whatever I do I have to do it with them.
Reiss Nelson’s and Kieran Tierney’s mentality not starting?
I think it’s a lot about an understanding of each one’s role in the team and that changes every single week. You’re talking about two players that in the past they play matches and some weeks they’re on the bench, it doesn’t mean that they don’t push, it’s absolutely the contrary they’ve been really pushing and doing their best to play but in the end, we have to make decisions and they’ve been really respectful as we expect all the players to be respectful when they are on the pitch as well.
On what Gabriel Jesus has to change to get scoring again?
If he makes 3 assists in a game, I don't think he has to make many adjustments. I would be really happy if he’s able to do that every game.
On links to Barcelona?
No what I can say is that I am extremely happy and proud to be where I am. Barcelona now they are in a really good path now, with a phenomenal coach, a coach that has been an absolute legend in that club and has lifted the whole place. You have to be very respectful of that.
How concerning is the Pablo Mari situation for your players here and abroad?
Well first of all good news because he is in a really good place, and we know how Pablo reacts to things and he’s been really positive but there are concerns obviously when you talked about some issues that happen in the last few months with footballers with wives with families not only in the UK but all across Europe.
I think we need to raise our voices and we need to do something about because its not what we want, we want to feel safe, and everybody deserves to feel safe and we need to do something about it.
Do you feel a responsibility resting players?
Every day I feel responsibility to protect them, to guide and get the best out of them. We are playing for Arsenal at the moment and that is what they have to focus on. When they play for England or their national team they have to focus on the national team.
Have you noticed any difference in them with the World Cup approaching?
No and I don't want to notice any of that.
Fielding a strong team on Thursday?
I don’t approach games thinking that after half an hour or 45 minutes we will get the result that we want, but certainly I will have a really competitive team out there. We missed the chance in Holland last week and Thursday is the last opportunity to achieve our goal.
Friendlies during the World Cup?
Yes, we will have friendly matches for sure. We are arranging them. We need to because we’re going to have 10, 11, 12 players here and we need to have that competition.
Thoughts on preparation during the World Cup?
Yeah, they can, but it is an element that we’re not going to be able to control what is going to happen at the World Cup with your own players, but certainly, with the players that we have here and what we do, it’ll be like another pre-season before we get into a new season.
On the decision to take off Saka in the moment he did?
The conversation was about whether he was in or if he was out, but in between, we cannot have him playing five, six or seven minutes. If you are on the pitch, go sit on the floor and get off.
Did Saka try to push on?
For sure, but we had to make a decision and we couldn’t delay a situation like that because every minute that a player is not 100 per cent to play, it’s costing the team and we have to make those decisions quickly.
On Saka wanting to play on because of the World Cup?
We’re using our brains and our common sense, but obviously he had a kick and wasn’t comfortable. We made a decision to get him off, and now he’s feeling fine. We’ll assess each individual as it comes.
Balancing team selection for Chelsea?
It is a challenge, but we have been trying to load the players pretty equally over the last five or six weeks, because we have been playing every three days and we have managed to do that. You have seen that we haven’t repeated too many blocks of four games for certain individuals and we will try to continue to do that to get everyone as fresh as possible and with enough rhythm heading into the game.
Days less prep compared to Chelsea a disadvantage?
We know that and playing in the Europa League we know that this can be an issue, and that’s it. It is a very early kick-off which is a little bit unusual when you play on Thursday nights, but it is what we have.
How will you watch the World Cup?
We’ll be together having another pre-season and for a long period we will be away from London, so we will be together supporting our players.
On how Elneny’s return will allow Sambi Lokonga to play further up the field?
That situation arose because we had Thomas [Partey] out and then we had Mo out, and we had to adapt the position of Sambi because he was our most natural player to do so. Now with Mo coming back, we have another position open.
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