Team news?
No big news. The picture hasn’t changed from last week. Regarding William [Saliba], we still have to wait a little bit more. He is not progressing as quick as we hoped. It’s a bit delicate and we want to be very certain when we push him that he is ready to absorb the load and the risk that we will take and at the moment that’s not possible to do.
Bit more concerned now end of season injury?
I don’t know, it’s a bit early to do [predictions]. Probably next week we are going to have more certainty. There is some evolution, he is doing more activity, but he is not there yet to start to throw him on the pitch at the level that the sessions demand to compete in this league.
Is Zinchenko okay?
We will see with that one as well. It’s not certain.
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Not serious though?
It’s a muscular injury and it needs some time to heal, and we are not there yet.
How has Saka been this week?
He loves responsibility but he puts a lot on his shoulders as well. Again, if he had any doubt about how much people love him, respect him and admire him at the club I think he had a very overwhelming reaction from everyone in the building and the club. In the end I think it can be something very positive that can give him a big lift because everyone acted in an unbelievable way towards him because he deserves it because of the way he is.
Will he continue to take penalties?
Yes. If not, I will go on the pitch and throw him the ball to make sure he takes the next one.
What would you say to the people who have written you off?
Nothing. I cannot communicate, they are not here probably. What we can say is that our players have full faith in what they do. We know that what is at stake is incredibly beautiful. The best way to do it is continue to do what we want to do every single day. Tomorrow play really well, play with our crowd, create an incredible atmosphere and win that game.
How confident are you that you can bounce back after the wobble?
Very confident. Twists and turns are part of everything that you do, especially in football. It’s not always going to be a linear progression. You have to know that and you have to be prepared for that. The way the team reacted was incredibly positive and we want to see that tomorrow night when we get onto that field.
What lessons did you learn from the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture?
Hopefully we are in a better place now. It’s true that that game had some very critical moments where we could have closed the game and we didn’t and a second half, which especially in the first 25 minutes, was really disappointing. Credit to them as well, often when you are unable to do what you want to do it’s because the opposition are doing something right. Southampton, after analysing them with a lot of detail, they have impressed me quite a lot. If I watched the last game that they played, how they lost, with the margin that they lost, the margin wasn’t there. I think what Ruben and the coaches are doing is really good. The rewards maybe haven’t been there in terms of results in some games but they are a really good team.
How much did you know about Ruben Selles before he took over?
I know people that worked with him at Valencia when he was there. I followed his career and I know the type of coach he is and the way he thinks. I think He deserves to be where he is and he’s done really well with the team. We will meet tomorrow.
Pep said his players are exhausted. How are yours?
My players today are really looking forward for tomorrow to get the game that we want and the result that we want, to play in front of our crowd again. There’s seven games left, we have four at the Emirates which is for them a big thing. We’re looking forward to it.
What kind of atmosphere are you expecting?
Friday night - it has to be electric. I want that crowd playing every single ball with our team and not being different from what we’ve experienced. A full capacity energy-wise and everybody very positive, pushing the team.
Is tomorrow a chance to show what lessons have been learned from the last two games?
Every game is an opportunity. Every game has given you a gift and that gift is what do you learn. We have another gift tomorrow and we have to take it and do it nicely in a way that we want it.
Are there similarities to West Ham given that they are fighting for their lives?
Yes because the necessity of those teams is one thing, but with the quality of those teams, you have to understand that there is no team in this league that is easy to beat. When they have hope and belief and play with their strengths, any team can beat you. You have to be conscious of that.
How do you take away their hope and belief?
With more determination and passion. What the club is playing for is something incredible. The club hasn’t fought for this position for a long time and we want to do it.
You said last week that your team are too nice. How do you coach them out of that?
What it was that maybe we got too comfortable at some stage in the game which is different. They know, I don’t have to coach them, because they said it straight away. It’s in the system it’s in their gut. It’s one thing to say it though, and it’s another thing to show it and when it comes to a similar position react in a different way and be more ruthless.
How do you make sure your players don’t look ahead to City?
That’s it. That’s the conversation that we had the other day and nobody’s talking about what’s going to happen next Wednesday. We have to become really boring to everybody and be really repetitive and just focus on what we have to do this morning. That’s it.
So take each game as it comes?
Each ball. Now it’s each ball, so we can change that a little bit.
Last season you were in a good position to finish in the top four but failed. How much have you learned from that?
Different scenario. I think the way that season unfolded was very different. Every game brings you challenges and opportunities. At the end it’s what you do on the day, how you cope on the day. How prepare is fine, but it’s what you do on the day.
Will this season be a success regardless of where you finish?
No. We are Arsenal Football Club. The success is judged in the last day of the season.
Holding and Tierney have played more recently. What’s their contribution?
Their contribution is huge. First of all, the way they are in the team. How patient they’ve been when they’ve had to wait to play and what they have produced in terms of performances. This is why you need top quality players to be ready when you need them and when they are not on the pitch, contribute in the right way. That’s two great examples of that.
They must be quite useful to have around?
Yes. They are both great characters. They are really lively around the place, they bring a special energy to the team. We’re really lucky to have them.
With what happened at Euro 2020 and fall-out is Saka untouchable to moments like this?
Experiences help obviously and what he went through was tough but in a different way it was something beautiful and a great experience for him. I think that helped him, not only him but the people around him as well to understand what the reaction has to be, the support and protection that he needs and he will go again.
Is this the first time you’ve become concerned about the lack of experience in your side compared to City?
I wouldn’t like to compare. We have to focus on what we have, and why we have dropped those points. They are two different games in my opinion. The game would have changed like that *clicks* if we scored the penalty. The margins are so small in this league to get the results that you want and sometimes that you deserve.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was in the squad for the FA Cup win. Since then he’s had three loans. Will he be back in your group in the summer or moved on again?
He was a really important part [of the FA Cup win]. It’s a player with incredible versatility that has played in many different positions which at the end, for different reasons - some professional, some personal - he’s had to move around. At the end of the season we will sit down and decide what is the best thing for everyone to do to move forward.
Do you find phrases like ‘bottling it’ is disrespectful to the team given what the team has achieved this season?
These are opinions and we have to respect that. When you set the standards and expectations, you have to maintain them. To win every single game in the Premier League is extremely difficult. It’s not like you lost five games in the last six and are in this situation, you draw two matches and play two very difficult fixtures away from home but when you are there everybody expects you to win. The necessity to win the Premier League (is) you have to win almost every single game. That’s the demands and you have to accept that.
Is Gabriel Jesus ready for 90 minutes?
We will see. We’ve been really careful and there have been some issues within that period when he was in the final stages of rehab and we have to be really attentive. We have players as well that can change the game that are fully fit and probably deserve to play and we have to be mindful of that.
Thierry Henry said Arsenal have been too emotional in recent weeks. Do you think that’s fair?
I don’t know, it’s just an opinion.
You’ve said you want the team to be more ruthless. Is part of that taking out the emotions?
You have to be [ruthless]. When you have a big situation to score a goal you have to put it in the net because the margins are so small and we have to defend much better than we did. Especially the second goal and how the first one was produced. These are individual situations that can happen in football.
First Premier League weekend you play before City in six. Is that an advantage?
I don’t know, in the last six weeks a lot has happened. We play when the fixtures come and we don’t know when the others play. We just focus on what we have to do in our games.
Do you have any issues with the scheduling? Playing second seems like a tougher thing to do…
There is something there but the Chelsea game has been moved too. It’s true that it’s an FA Cup weekend and things will turn around. It is what it is. We cannot control a lot of things because it’s down to the TV and sometimes the police as well to understand what we can do.
Were you frustrated the Chelsea game got moved?
No, it’s not frustration. We are not the only team and you have to be fair on that.
Is Emile [Smith Rowe] in a similar situation to Holding and Tierney? Hasn’t played often recently but proved how important he can be last year. How’s he dealing with that and how is his progression going?
He’s pushing. In football it’s not about what you’ve done a year or a month ago, it’s about what you do now, what you did yesterday and what you’re going to do tomorrow. The player has to have that mindset and the contribution has to be now to the team to make us better and win games.
Do you feel it is there?
It is there. Very close, yeah.
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