WEBVTT 00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:02.220 All right, I think we're definitely LIVE this 00:00:02.220 --> 00:00:05.200 time. We're definitely live. Live -o. Live -o. 00:00:05.419 --> 00:00:09.619 All right, BOW. Every word from Mikel Arteta's 00:00:09.619 --> 00:00:12.919 pre -Club Brugge Presser. Let me run that back. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:19.460 Hello and welcome to HYBR1D Powered by chinkseyMEDIA. 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:23.160 We are back again for every word from 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:28.120 Mikel Arteta's pre -Club Brugge Presser. We travelled 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:30.800 to Belgium to take on Club Brugge in the UEFA 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.399 Champions League. But before our clash, Mikel 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.799 Arteta has been speaking to the press. We head 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:40.920 to Brugge looking to maintain our perfect start 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:42.820 to the league campaign, Champions League that 00:00:42.820 --> 00:00:46.280 is. And during his press conference, Mikel gave 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:50.159 a team news update, assessed our opponents and 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:55.299 much more. Here's every word he had to say. On 00:00:55.299 --> 00:00:57.899 the reaction to the defeat at the weekend, it 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:00.439 was strange because we haven't lost that many. 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:04.519 That is a moment as well to reflect and have 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:07.379 some perspective about what we are doing. First 00:01:07.379 --> 00:01:09.599 of all, when you look at the reaction of the 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:11.659 players when they are on the floor and in pain, 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:16.879 and what I felt in that moment, in the end, you 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:19.219 don't know how much they put in and how much 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:22.459 they wanted. It is difficult, but as well, it 00:01:22.459 --> 00:01:25.329 is a reflection of who we are. and what we want 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:28.590 to get. And this has to help us to be a better 00:01:28.590 --> 00:01:31.549 team, to learn the lesson, to value what we are 00:01:31.549 --> 00:01:35.310 doing. First of all, all the difficulties that 00:01:35.310 --> 00:01:38.549 we have been at. First of all, all the difficulties 00:01:38.549 --> 00:01:41.250 that we have at the start of the season, where 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:43.790 we are in both the Champions League and in the 00:01:43.790 --> 00:01:47.269 Premier League, is where we want to be. And it 00:01:47.269 --> 00:01:50.329 is time that we have to learn every single day 00:01:50.329 --> 00:01:54.319 that the margins are very, very small. All right, 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:58.400 let me start with the margins statement. Yeah, 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:03.099 the margins are very, very small, but I mean, 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:07.040 the team you put out on Saturday contributed 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:11.139 to our downfall. I felt like with that defence 00:02:11.139 --> 00:02:13.819 you put out, the defensive structure wasn't at 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:17.360 its usual standard. I mean, also, you mentioned 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:20.000 that William Saliba was going to be out for days. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.139 But those days have turned into at least a week. 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:28.180 So now it's a week in counting. He ain't going 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:31.639 to play today. What's going on with Saliba? That's 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:35.120 the first question. The second thing I want to 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.379 reflect on is the fact that, yeah, you're right, 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:40.080 we haven't lost that many. And it's funny how 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:43.379 we lose two games all season and that's all you 00:02:43.379 --> 00:02:46.439 ever hear. A lot of the fan base coming out of 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:48.300 the woodwork, you know, a lot of the naysayers 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:49.879 coming out of the woodwork, calling for your 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:52.620 head again. A lot of the haters, the Man U fans, 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:54.960 the Chelsea fans, you know, teams that have lost 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.800 over five times this season, seem to have a lot 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:00.680 to say. Not to mention the fact we're still on 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:03.419 top of the Champions League group, despite the 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:05.280 fact that Bayern Munich won yesterday. They're 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.580 still underneath us. We're still top, having 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:10.120 played a game less. We're still top of the Premier 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:14.379 League, ahead of Man City, who have a tough game 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:19.259 against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Well... interesting 00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:20.939 interesting interesting but it's Arsenal you 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:24.900 know Arsenal always provoke conversation and 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:29.759 um and yeah on how good it is to have a game 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:33.560 so soon after absolutely especially when you 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:35.840 play a competition like the Champions League 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.620 and how much we want to continue to do the job 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:41.580 that we have started in the first five games 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:44.830 in which we've won all of them Tomorrow or today, 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:47.889 we are going to have our opening match against 00:03:47.889 --> 00:03:50.990 an opponent that has been very, very good. They 00:03:50.990 --> 00:03:54.009 have a new manager and a new manager always brings 00:03:54.009 --> 00:03:58.330 new energy, new ideas. So we have prepared for 00:03:58.330 --> 00:04:03.030 that as well. And today we have to show again 00:04:03.030 --> 00:04:06.469 that we are right at the top and be better than 00:04:06.469 --> 00:04:09.229 the opponents in this game. All right, we'll 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:11.919 start off with that point. Quite frankly, we 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:15.500 are better than Club Brugge. That is, if I was 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:19.319 sure about anything, it's that statement. Secondly, 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:24.399 I feel like we need to make changes to the side 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:26.920 and still win the game. I think it's important 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:29.819 we do win. Not essential, but important because 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:33.439 we want to just get that bitter feeling of losing 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:35.699 in the last dying embers of the game against 00:04:35.699 --> 00:04:38.399 Aston Villa. A game that we probably deserve 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:41.029 to lose. We were at our best. but we want to 00:04:41.029 --> 00:04:43.970 get that winning feeling back. Preferably with 00:04:43.970 --> 00:04:46.230 a clean sheet, but I mean, I'm probably being 00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:48.829 selfish saying make changes, win the game, clean 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:51.389 sheet. If we can do the first two, that would 00:04:51.389 --> 00:04:55.370 be great. With regards to Club Brugge changing 00:04:55.370 --> 00:04:57.610 the manager, the fact that they changed the manager 00:04:57.610 --> 00:05:00.709 shows that they're not performing at how they 00:05:00.709 --> 00:05:03.209 should or feel that they should be performing. 00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:06.449 So obviously they're kind of underperforming. 00:05:06.449 --> 00:05:09.350 They're third in the Belgian league. Behind L 00:05:09.350 --> 00:05:11.970 'Union Saint -Gilloise, who are top. But I can't 00:05:11.970 --> 00:05:13.649 remember who's second. I think it's Standard 00:05:13.649 --> 00:05:17.129 Liège. But in essence, let's have it right. It's 00:05:17.129 --> 00:05:19.850 a game we should really win. If we play anything 00:05:19.850 --> 00:05:23.069 to our potential, I think we'll be fine. And 00:05:23.069 --> 00:05:25.029 then obviously that brings us to the game against 00:05:25.029 --> 00:05:29.629 Wolves on Saturday. On Gabriel Jesus replacing 00:05:29.629 --> 00:05:34.250 Max Dallman in the squad. Yes. So first of all, 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:36.870 unfortunately, Max Darman picked up an injury 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:40.370 last weekend and had to come off. So he did some 00:05:40.370 --> 00:05:44.389 scans and he is going to be out for weeks. Weeks, 00:05:44.389 --> 00:05:47.310 keyword. And then we have the situation of Gabby 00:05:47.310 --> 00:05:49.750 Jesus, who we are expecting to be training with 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:52.410 us, who we were expecting to be training with 00:05:52.410 --> 00:05:55.470 us by the end of December, when Max Darman will 00:05:55.470 --> 00:06:00.290 be 16. Gabby has been pushing every single day. 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:03.079 And he kept telling everybody, I am going to 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:07.720 be earlier, earlier, earlier. And yeah, he's 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:11.220 done it. So he was right. So thanks to his work 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:13.660 and all the work that the medical staff have 00:06:13.660 --> 00:06:17.160 done in these months, in all these months, and 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:19.699 we had the possibility to make a swap there and 00:06:19.699 --> 00:06:23.839 we have done it. Yes, on one side, you see Max 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:27.360 and the situation and then on the other. You 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.079 see the joy and how happy Gabi is to be back 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:32.920 in the Champions League. Well, Gabriel Jesus 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:35.959 was in a squad. He was in two of our last three 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:40.279 squads. And I thought he would get on. I'm slightly 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:42.759 disappointed that he didn't get on the pitch. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:46.939 But I'm expecting him to play some game, some 00:06:46.939 --> 00:06:50.519 amount of the fixture today. I don't think he'll 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:52.819 start because I think the front three would be 00:06:52.819 --> 00:06:58.769 Maduweke. Jokeres and Martinelli. But what I 00:06:58.769 --> 00:07:01.170 do think will happen is he'll probably share 00:07:01.170 --> 00:07:03.430 the game with Jokeres. Jokeres will probably 00:07:03.430 --> 00:07:07.649 get 60, 70 minutes and Jesus will probably replace 00:07:07.649 --> 00:07:12.470 him. So that brings him into some form of match 00:07:12.470 --> 00:07:16.149 fitness because I hope that he can get some substantial 00:07:16.149 --> 00:07:20.850 minutes in the Carabao semi -final against Crystal 00:07:20.850 --> 00:07:23.769 Palace, in which he actually flourished this 00:07:23.769 --> 00:07:27.720 time last season. Regarding Max Darman, it's 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:29.560 a shame that he's got injured at the time he 00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:32.360 has because this was a game that I would have 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:34.980 thought he could potentially star in, whether 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:37.220 start or not is another thing, but he could get 00:07:37.220 --> 00:07:41.779 some substantial minutes in this game. So, yeah, 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:44.000 it's a bit unfortunate, but obviously it's character 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:51.779 building, you know? Right, on Declan Rice, William 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:56.449 Saliba and Leandro Trossard. No. So Declan was 00:07:56.449 --> 00:07:59.529 ill. He was quite sick after the game and he 00:07:59.529 --> 00:08:02.129 hasn't travelled with us. William is still not 00:08:02.129 --> 00:08:05.410 available and Leo again picked up another knock 00:08:05.410 --> 00:08:09.110 in an area where he had the issue. And I don't 00:08:09.110 --> 00:08:11.790 expect that it's going to be long, but unfortunately, 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:14.990 he cannot be here. OK, at least you didn't give 00:08:14.990 --> 00:08:17.149 us the day's malarkey or the week's malarkey. 00:08:17.209 --> 00:08:20.990 You just said it's not going to be long, which 00:08:20.990 --> 00:08:25.439 is fair. Regarding William Saliba, you said last 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:29.800 week, you said over a week ago that he's going 00:08:29.800 --> 00:08:32.419 to be out for days. So I've been reporting that 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:34.539 he's out for days. So I've basically made a fool 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:36.259 out of myself. But then again, I'm just going 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:39.220 by what you've said. So he's been out for at 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.240 least a week now. So those days have turned into 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:48.779 a week and counting. So we know that he's not 00:08:48.779 --> 00:08:51.389 going to be available for today. And if he's 00:08:51.389 --> 00:08:53.889 not available against Wolves, that becomes weeks. 00:08:54.350 --> 00:08:56.889 So the days that you initially said has become 00:08:56.889 --> 00:09:02.809 weeks. Regarding Leandro Trossard, like I said 00:09:02.809 --> 00:09:06.090 in the last episode, he came on, got himself 00:09:06.090 --> 00:09:12.570 a goal, and then off he went again. So, yeah, 00:09:12.809 --> 00:09:15.169 whether he aggravated the injury is another thing, 00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:18.129 but that's something I don't think I've ever 00:09:18.129 --> 00:09:23.460 seen a player to... Come on, come off after scoring 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:27.940 and get injured again. On Club Brugge having 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:30.620 a new manager. Obviously, you look at all the 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:33.299 games and analyse the manager and their identity. 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:36.639 And obviously, the last performance they had 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.559 was in the Champions League and a domestic competition. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.440 In the afternoon, we got the news that they have 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.559 a new manager. So you have to adapt. It's not 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:48.679 the first time that we are facing this situation. 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:52.490 So, OK. We have to think about what the possibilities 00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:56.149 are and look at his past. And we have to focus 00:09:56.149 --> 00:09:58.990 much more on what we have to do. We have to be 00:09:58.990 --> 00:10:02.110 able to adapt in relation to what they do, as 00:10:02.110 --> 00:10:04.470 we said, in terms of their formation and the 00:10:04.470 --> 00:10:07.370 players that they're going to pick. Then we have 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:10.450 to focus on ourselves, what we have to do to 00:10:10.450 --> 00:10:13.029 be better than them. Well, what we have to do 00:10:13.029 --> 00:10:16.350 to be better than them is to be good. If we're 00:10:16.350 --> 00:10:18.590 good, we will be better than them. But we have 00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:20.690 to give them the respect that they deserve. I 00:10:20.690 --> 00:10:24.950 remember last season, they actually was vying 00:10:24.950 --> 00:10:28.269 with Manchester City to qualify for the next 00:10:28.269 --> 00:10:32.590 round. I'm not 100 % sure if it was for the last, 00:10:32.809 --> 00:10:35.149 I think it was for the top eight, or was it just 00:10:35.149 --> 00:10:38.509 to qualify? But Man City managed to win that 00:10:38.509 --> 00:10:42.740 game to scrape through to the next round. So 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:45.059 knowing that knows that they're not going to 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:47.440 be total pushovers. But I still believe that 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:52.179 if we can rotate and rotate with Saturday in 00:10:52.179 --> 00:10:55.340 mind, I do think we can kind of juggle this game 00:10:55.340 --> 00:10:59.600 and Saturday by winning both and by giving numerous 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.139 amount of players minutes without having to play 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:04.580 the same team twice to get two wins, if that 00:11:04.580 --> 00:11:08.240 makes sense. On how frustrating the injuries 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.100 are. Yeah, a big one. I mean, losing Max again, 00:11:12.340 --> 00:11:15.539 it's obviously not ideal with Leo, who is just 00:11:15.539 --> 00:11:18.740 coming back, that we have to manage the minutes. 00:11:19.460 --> 00:11:22.299 Willie Irm, I'm not going to call him that, is 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:26.120 still not there. We've got Big Gabby and we have 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.120 other players that could play only certain minutes, 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:32.980 like, for example, Ricky the other day. But it's 00:11:32.980 --> 00:11:34.879 a situation that we have managed since the beginning 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:38.809 of the season. We are in December now. So it's 00:11:38.809 --> 00:11:42.289 been almost five months in a remarkable way and 00:11:42.289 --> 00:11:46.230 we're going to continue. Yeah, I mean, it's an 00:11:46.230 --> 00:11:48.610 interesting one regarding Riccardo Calafiori 00:11:48.610 --> 00:11:51.970 because he had a shocker on Saturday, got himself 00:11:51.970 --> 00:11:53.929 a yellow card. He's been getting a lot of yellow 00:11:53.929 --> 00:11:56.610 cards where he's pulling the player back due 00:11:56.610 --> 00:11:59.250 to being out of position. But I've actually been 00:11:59.250 --> 00:12:02.470 a big advocate for his improvement this season 00:12:02.470 --> 00:12:04.909 where I felt he started the season really well. 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:07.490 Maybe he's tired, maybe he's gone off the boil 00:12:07.490 --> 00:12:10.710 a bit, but he's going to be suspended for Saturday 00:12:10.710 --> 00:12:14.129 against Wolves. So with that in mind, I think 00:12:14.129 --> 00:12:19.590 he should play this game tonight because it gives 00:12:19.590 --> 00:12:23.769 an opportunity for him to have a rest. So what 00:12:23.769 --> 00:12:25.809 I'll do is I'll probably put Ben White right 00:12:25.809 --> 00:12:29.210 back, Timber centre back alongside Calafiori 00:12:29.210 --> 00:12:31.750 with Myles Lewis -Skelly coming in at left back. 00:12:32.309 --> 00:12:36.730 I also would play... I also would start Lewis 00:12:36.730 --> 00:12:38.929 Skelly against Wolves on Saturday so it gives 00:12:38.929 --> 00:12:42.470 him an opportunity to play two games in a week 00:12:42.470 --> 00:12:45.710 in the space of three days wherein before that 00:12:45.710 --> 00:12:48.929 he wasn't getting a look in but obviously Mikel 00:12:48.929 --> 00:12:53.789 did maintain that all players will get their 00:12:53.789 --> 00:12:56.450 opportunity and this is an opportunity for Lewis 00:12:56.450 --> 00:13:00.129 Skelly to come in now stake his claim at left 00:13:00.129 --> 00:13:04.539 fullback on the reasons behind it Not training, 00:13:04.539 --> 00:13:10.000 no, because we don't have time to train. So training 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:12.820 is not there. But obviously the fact that you 00:13:12.820 --> 00:13:15.240 are missing players, you are loading other players 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:18.080 more, that's a consequence of that. And it's 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:21.919 a really dangerous situation. The fact that we 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.820 have other players who have long -term contracts 00:13:24.820 --> 00:13:27.100 that haven't been with us since the beginning 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:30.899 of the season. But yeah, it's a test for the 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:33.789 team. And so far we have reacted. Very, very 00:13:33.789 --> 00:13:39.090 well to that. Yeah, I mean, the long -term absentees 00:13:39.090 --> 00:13:42.970 with long -term contracts could only mean probably 00:13:42.970 --> 00:13:47.190 Havertz. Obviously, Odegaard's been in and out 00:13:47.190 --> 00:13:50.350 of the team through injury. And then, obviously, 00:13:50.490 --> 00:13:53.970 you've got people like Gabi Jesus, who I believe 00:13:53.970 --> 00:13:58.059 has about 18 months left on his contract. You 00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:00.700 could say is on the cusp of being back, just 00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:02.519 needs match fitness and hopefully he can get 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:07.139 some game time today. On how worrying Max Darman's 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:10.419 injury is, it's part of the journey. I mean, 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:12.980 at some point when you play at this level, when 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:15.080 you play in the position that he plays, the manner 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:18.120 that he plays, it was going to happen and it 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:21.759 happened. One, that OK, it's not ideal. It will 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:27.360 be weeks. That phrase weeks again. It could have 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.019 been worse. Learn from it and use this time now 00:14:30.019 --> 00:14:33.799 to continue improving in his education, in everything 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:36.440 related to professional football, his habits, 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:39.539 the way he needs to develop his physicality and 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:42.259 his understanding of the game. Sometimes when 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:45.159 you're away from the game, you say, I cannot 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:48.360 really live without it and how important it is. 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.019 So use those moments as well to get a reflection 00:14:51.019 --> 00:14:54.059 of where you are as well. And if you are better, 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.860 of course, go forward. Well, it's a good thing 00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:59.820 that Max Dahmer got his Champions League debut 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:03.539 against Slavia Prague. So while he was 15, because 00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:05.600 it's a record that may never be beaten because 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:09.279 he's not going to play a game for Arsenal again 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.120 while he's 15. Because obviously his birthday 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:17.440 is next time on New Year's Eve. And by the time 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.659 he's back fit, he'll be 16, which will be next 00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:23.370 year. It's also character building in a sense 00:15:23.370 --> 00:15:26.950 that, yeah, he's kind of first major setback 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:32.009 in his early career. Opportunity to get himself 00:15:32.009 --> 00:15:33.870 in the gym, get himself physically stronger. 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:35.669 He's got a good physique for his age, though, 00:15:35.750 --> 00:15:38.210 to be fair. He's quite tall. If I'm not wrong, 00:15:38.309 --> 00:15:42.149 he's either 5 '11 or 6 '0. He's got a lot of 00:15:42.149 --> 00:15:44.830 growing to do. So by the time he's finished growing, 00:15:45.110 --> 00:15:48.190 he'll be a lot stronger for it. And obviously, 00:15:48.309 --> 00:15:52.750 the way he plays, he kind of induces and provokes 00:15:52.750 --> 00:15:56.690 defenders into challenging him. For instance, 00:15:56.950 --> 00:15:59.269 in pre -season, Joe Linton, one of the strongest 00:15:59.269 --> 00:16:02.470 players in the Premier League, was him, you know, 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:06.330 nabbing at his heels, fouling him. But I feel 00:16:06.330 --> 00:16:09.809 like that kind of interaction will only just 00:16:09.809 --> 00:16:12.570 be beneficial for him going forward. Don't forget, 00:16:12.690 --> 00:16:15.870 he's a young boy. He's a small child in year 00:16:15.870 --> 00:16:20.470 11. Yeah, I think everything he can take in his 00:16:20.470 --> 00:16:23.370 stride, all experience, whether good or bad, 00:16:23.509 --> 00:16:25.289 and it will help him going forward in his career. 00:16:26.309 --> 00:16:29.129 On whether he will look to buy players in January. 00:16:29.590 --> 00:16:32.169 At the moment, we're just focusing on bringing 00:16:32.169 --> 00:16:35.049 the players back and hopefully it will be a matter 00:16:35.049 --> 00:16:38.370 of weeks. We know how important those weeks are 00:16:38.370 --> 00:16:40.990 going to be. We're going to come into the period 00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:43.269 where a lot of things start to get defined in 00:16:43.269 --> 00:16:45.769 that period and hopefully we're going to have 00:16:45.769 --> 00:16:48.860 them. Yeah, the festive period is always a period 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.559 where there's friction congestion. There's going 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:53.559 to be injuries. There's going to be a lot of 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:55.480 rotations. There's going to be games coming thick 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:58.159 and fast every two, three days like we have been 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:01.799 doing so up until this point. In saying that, 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:04.900 though, after these two games against Club Brugge 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:08.299 and Wolves, we're going to have a seven -day 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:10.579 break where we can try and get some players back 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:14.890 because we have... Games coming thick and fast 00:17:14.890 --> 00:17:18.329 where we've got to play Crystal Palace, Aston 00:17:18.329 --> 00:17:21.509 Villa, Brighton, all coming up in no particular 00:17:21.509 --> 00:17:25.390 order. So I think it's a matter of regrouping, 00:17:25.390 --> 00:17:27.750 getting as many players back from injury as possible. 00:17:28.170 --> 00:17:31.490 And I think in regards to whether or not we sign 00:17:31.490 --> 00:17:34.769 players in January, whether it be a midfielder 00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:38.509 or a defender, it will just be in reference to 00:17:38.509 --> 00:17:42.009 how long the players we have are out injured 00:17:42.009 --> 00:17:44.019 for. because you don't want to have a situation 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:47.779 where you have 25 players in the squad they're 00:17:47.779 --> 00:17:52.859 all fit and every every match week or match day 00:17:52.859 --> 00:17:55.500 five or six players are in the stands because 00:17:55.500 --> 00:18:00.119 the squad's too big that benefits no one on christian 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:03.400 norgaard's involvement Yes, but I'm really happy 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:05.940 with how he's come to the club, especially with 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:08.579 him and everything that we need to do in many 00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:11.619 areas. Not only in the pitch, but what he has 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:14.480 to do. He excels in the manner that we expect 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:17.640 him. I think it's similar to Ben White or Myles 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:19.500 Lewis Skelly. They haven't played as much as 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:22.700 expected, but they're very positive. Well, I 00:18:22.700 --> 00:18:24.819 think those two aforementioned players will play 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:27.079 today. They'll start today. Certainly Myles Lewis 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:29.099 Skelly will. I'm confident with that. Sticking 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:33.609 my neck out with that one. But Norgaard probably 00:18:33.609 --> 00:18:37.009 will start because obviously Declan Rice is out 00:18:37.009 --> 00:18:39.730 and gets a much needed rest through illness in 00:18:39.730 --> 00:18:43.109 the manager's words. So it'll be a good opportunity 00:18:43.109 --> 00:18:45.589 to see if someone like Christian Norgaard can 00:18:45.589 --> 00:18:48.630 start and play well today because he will just 00:18:48.630 --> 00:18:51.980 kind of be filling in the gaps, you know. gives 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.700 an opportunity for a Rice to have a breather, 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:57.039 maybe someone like Zubimendi to have a breather 00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:59.319 from time to time, bringing in his experience 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:02.099 and know -how. And yeah, hopefully he gets a 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:06.539 start in the substantial minutes today. And if 00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:09.079 he would choose one player to never get injured, 00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:12.119 I'll leave that to you. I think you guys will 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:15.359 enjoy that conversation. Well, I think it's between 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:21.000 the likes of Timba, Saliba, Gabriel, Declan Rice. 00:19:21.589 --> 00:19:28.789 and sucker my money's on rice however this is 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:35.089 a set of fixtures where he can rotate we'll try 00:19:35.089 --> 00:19:37.269 the players in the best conditions to perform 00:19:37.269 --> 00:19:40.049 at the highest level for example victor joker 00:19:40.049 --> 00:19:42.569 as his injury we're missing two games without 00:19:42.569 --> 00:19:45.609 victor every time he's come back without a pre 00:19:45.609 --> 00:19:49.480 -season and at some point he gets injured Mikel 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:51.980 Moreno had to do that role because Leo wasn't 00:19:51.980 --> 00:19:54.940 fit or Martinelli wasn't fit. You could see Mikel 00:19:54.940 --> 00:19:57.460 on the weekend. He needed some help because he 00:19:57.460 --> 00:20:00.599 was out of gas. So that's the consequence of 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:03.960 not having another player. The good thing again 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.680 is the way we have managed so far to do that. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:10.240 We have now after this a clean week. which we 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:12.839 haven't had for many weeks. Yeah, I mean, Joe 00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:15.539 Correz, I'm sure, is going to start tonight. 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:18.640 For sure has to start tonight. And I think Madaweke 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:21.640 starts on the right with Martinelli on the left. 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:25.759 Martinelli definitely needs to start. The fact 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:29.980 that Trussard's out makes Mikel's decision a 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:32.720 foregone conclusion. Victor Jokeres now needs 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.039 a kind of run of games where he can just play, 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:37.940 play, play. Now that he's back match fit, played 00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:41.119 45 minutes on Saturday. Hopefully he can start 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.440 and get a goal today. On having the second most 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:48.420 injuries in the Premier League. Yay! Wow, what 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:51.200 a record to have. I think you have to separate 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:53.799 the kinds of injuries that they have. Some of 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:55.900 them have been long -term and acute injuries, 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:58.640 especially with some of the key players who give 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:01.819 you a lot of days out. It's something that we 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:04.920 have constantly been looking at. As I said, we 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:06.980 have played a lot of games with a lot of players 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:09.720 missing. That gives a lot of stress and then 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:12.619 more injuries. We are on it. And I'm really happy 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:15.160 with what we are doing in terms of the medical 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:17.960 stuff and everything that we are trying to do 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:21.039 together. Sometimes as well, we need some people 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:24.900 to go in our time. Yeah, the injuries is definitely 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:28.619 an issue we need to look at every season. It's 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:30.839 almost perennially every season we get five or 00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:35.099 six major injuries to players in our squad. And 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:38.599 yeah, something that definitely needs to be looked 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:43.099 at. But one thing I will say is that We did our 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:46.579 best to cater for what was to come during the 00:21:46.579 --> 00:21:49.619 season in the summer where we strengthened the 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:54.240 squad and brought in top players. So that's the 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:56.299 reason we're not kind of scraping at the bottom 00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:58.720 of the barrel in terms of picking up the youth 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:02.140 team players. However, I do suspect that we might 00:22:02.140 --> 00:22:05.900 have one or two youth team players in the squad 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:08.750 tonight. With people like Marley Salmon maybe 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:11.289 getting onto the bench, people like Anous as 00:22:11.289 --> 00:22:16.569 well. But yeah, I do think hopefully when our 00:22:16.569 --> 00:22:18.849 injured players do come back, we're going to 00:22:18.849 --> 00:22:23.490 have a strong second half of the season. On what 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:28.349 he's seen when analysing the injuries, it's not 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:30.569 only one season, it's about some of the players 00:22:30.569 --> 00:22:33.970 that have played. It starts to get overloaded 00:22:33.970 --> 00:22:36.509 and you start to ask them again and again to 00:22:36.509 --> 00:22:39.349 play. Others, because as well, the moment that 00:22:39.349 --> 00:22:42.630 you have an injury, the more likely to have another 00:22:42.630 --> 00:22:45.549 injury. That's been a consequence of some of 00:22:45.549 --> 00:22:47.809 the states as well. We're on it. Yeah, I mean, 00:22:47.809 --> 00:22:49.809 we've got a lot of players who have now become 00:22:49.809 --> 00:22:54.470 injury prone. So I think namely Odegaard, Saka, 00:22:54.730 --> 00:22:57.150 Saliba, Gabriel, they've been picking up a lot 00:22:57.150 --> 00:23:00.529 of injuries in the last six months or so, let's 00:23:00.529 --> 00:23:03.920 say. Obviously, those players have been at the 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:06.240 core of our team for the last four or five years. 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:09.920 So it's essential we keep them fit because they're 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:13.000 our key players. But it's been good that we've 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:15.160 actually built the squad around those players 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:17.700 so we know that we can give players like that 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:20.859 a rest of their time. People like Timber, Kyler 00:23:20.859 --> 00:23:23.839 Fury can be chopped and changed with people like 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:29.819 Ben White and Hinkapie or Lewis Skelly, for instance. 00:23:30.650 --> 00:23:32.509 So obviously there's a lot of strength and depth, 00:23:32.549 --> 00:23:34.710 but it's been put to the test now with this injury 00:23:34.710 --> 00:23:38.529 crisis that we're in and whether players are 00:23:38.529 --> 00:23:41.130 overtrained. No, because we don't train. Today 00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:44.529 we've done 20 minutes, so it's probably not because 00:23:44.529 --> 00:23:46.390 we're overtraining players. Okay, he didn't like 00:23:46.390 --> 00:23:50.769 that question, clearly. Even if you've done 20 00:23:50.769 --> 00:23:53.289 minutes, you have trained. Let's get that right. 00:23:53.369 --> 00:23:56.309 And also you have trained before today. So you 00:23:56.309 --> 00:23:59.910 have trained. No, but I've always said that I 00:23:59.910 --> 00:24:03.109 feel like a contribution to the injury crisis 00:24:03.109 --> 00:24:07.430 is the fact that we've had players overplaying 00:24:07.430 --> 00:24:11.230 in recent years, let's say, maybe not so much 00:24:11.230 --> 00:24:13.829 now. And I also think it's something to do with 00:24:13.829 --> 00:24:15.910 training, whether they're being overworked in 00:24:15.910 --> 00:24:18.549 training or whether it's the training regime. 00:24:18.990 --> 00:24:22.829 I'm not privy to the goings on at the Soberality 00:24:22.829 --> 00:24:25.390 Training Centre, although I know it quite well. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.799 But I do think there's something in that. So, 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:32.240 yeah, that's one thing that I'm going to be keeping 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:35.299 an eye out on for sure. And whether it's an opportunity 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:38.960 for Victor Jokeres. Yeah, we have to continue 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:42.880 to manage his minutes. He played 45 minutes the 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:46.140 other day. Let's see how it goes tonight. Yeah, 00:24:46.220 --> 00:24:48.559 I'm confident he's going to play a substantial 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:51.910 amount of the game today. Don't think he'll play 00:24:51.910 --> 00:24:54.049 the whole game, but I think he'll play like 70, 00:24:54.109 --> 00:24:58.190 75 minutes. And I think, and I'm suspecting that 00:24:58.190 --> 00:25:01.190 he's going to share the game with Gabriel Jesus, 00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:05.630 who I do think and expect and envision and anticipate 00:25:05.630 --> 00:25:09.589 he'll get onto the pitch and try to build up 00:25:09.589 --> 00:25:11.730 his match fitness ahead of the game that I'm 00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:14.349 hoping he'll play in the start in the Crystal 00:25:14.349 --> 00:25:18.369 Palace game. So, yeah, if you're going to ask 00:25:18.369 --> 00:25:22.220 me, I think. Jocker has played 70 -75 minutes 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:27.880 and Gabi Jesus plays 20 -25 minutes of the game 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:31.180 tonight. And finally, on Declan Rice's recovery, 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:34.579 I think that he needed more of a bed than sunshine 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:37.779 because he wasn't feeling good at all. So yeah, 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:40.839 he will have a couple of days to rest and to 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:44.299 get his body right. But today, already, he was 00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:46.819 very keen to be able to play. But unfortunately, 00:25:47.180 --> 00:25:50.769 he's not. Well, going back to the earlier question, 00:25:51.009 --> 00:25:52.609 who's the one player you don't want to be injured? 00:25:52.690 --> 00:25:56.490 It's him because when someone like Rice comes 00:25:56.490 --> 00:26:00.650 out of the team, someone like Christian Norgard, 00:26:00.690 --> 00:26:03.630 and obviously there's a chasm in terms of quality 00:26:03.630 --> 00:26:05.890 between them, not to say that Christian Norgard 00:26:05.890 --> 00:26:07.529 isn't a good player. It's just the fact that 00:26:07.529 --> 00:26:09.769 Declan Rice is the best midfielder in the world. 00:26:09.950 --> 00:26:12.630 But on the bright side of things, it gives him 00:26:12.630 --> 00:26:14.710 a game, a breather, something he's needed for 00:26:14.710 --> 00:26:17.470 a number of weeks now. So he can focus on getting 00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:20.829 back fit for the Wolves game, in which it's going 00:26:20.829 --> 00:26:23.990 to be top to bottom. And then obviously after 00:26:23.990 --> 00:26:25.990 the Wolves game, he has another seven days to 00:26:25.990 --> 00:26:31.109 recover before we go into a very, very congested 00:26:31.109 --> 00:26:33.250 fixture pile -up in the festive period.