On The Premier League
Where do you want to start on this weekend’s results William? Tell us what’s on your mind…
The first thing that comes to my mind is the defeat of Arsenal against Newcastle and I don't know what to say to be honest.
I don't want to be too hard on them, but it looks like these players don't really understand the opportunity they have to win the league this season, because as I told you maybe two or three months ago, Manchester City doesn't look the same. We saw that this weekend. They lost 2-1. For me, this season is a great opportunity for Arsenal to win the Premier League, but I don't know what happened to them at Newcastle.
Now people will try to find the excuses for them, but I really don’t want to hear them.
We know Odegaard is not available. We know how much he brings to the team, but they need to show a much better response than what they have done over the last few games.
They need to be much better, and they need to do it quickly. I tipped them to win the title this season and I really hope that they don’t let me down. The opportunity to be a champion is there, and when it’s there, you can’t let it slip.
Which of your former teams would you pay for a season ticket for at this moment in time?
Oh, that’s a horrible question because at the moment, Arsenal just lost and are not playing well. Chelsea are improving, but they still have a long way to go. If I had to pick a team right now to watch, then it would be Tottenham.
Tottenham, in the second half against Aston Villa, they were superb. They were playing the football that they played at times last season.
Son was magnificent before he came off. I don't know why he came off, but he came off.
When you see a game like this, you just want to be in the stadium, and if you were there, you would see so many opportunities to score goals.
At the weekend, Tottenham was maybe the best team in London. Chelsea did well, they drew against Man Utd.
After the last game, I would choose a season ticket at Tottenham.
An interesting weekend of results in the Premier League. What surprised you, what shocked you and what did you think was superb?
I think Tottenham’s result was a big surprise. 4-1 against Aston Villa. We know Aston Villa, they are a good team, and I didn't really expect Tottenham to win that game with a massive score line. I mean 4-1, that means a lot.
We know teams like Tottenham are a little bit inconsistent. Yesterday they won 4-1, but for the next game maybe they will draw or maybe they will lose.
That is one of the things I'm a little bit worried about for Tottenham. Consistency.
After Arsenal lost, and with Liverpool on top of the league, the Tottenham fans are jumping, they are dancing at the moment.
Listen, that Liverpool team, they are strong. They are certainly going to be in the title race for the rest of the season. We also have to give credit to Nottingham Forest as well for their position in the table, they’ve started the season amazingly well.
Talk to us about the title race. Is it going to be between Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal – can another team sneak into it?
I still believe it's between those three clubs: Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta has to find the solutions to get his team winning again, but, and I’ve said this before, Arsenal are missing that striker who can make the difference. I've been saying this for a long time; I’ve been saying it for years. I still believe that when you want to win the league, you need to have one of the best strikers in Europe. That is the first problem that Arsenal has. The second problem is that some players are not at the same level they were last season.
I know it's not easy to repeat the same things year after year, because when you’re competing for the Premier League title, trying to be the best, you lose a lot of energy. I could understand Arsenal’s levels dropping if they won the league last season, I wouldn’t like it, but I would understand it because that can happen to successful teams.
It’s unacceptable for Arsenal’s players to look tired at this time of the season. Liverpool won the Premier League; they won the Champions League. They dropped off last season, and you can understand why, because maybe the players has heard the same things from Klopp for too long. You forgive them that because of what they won, Arsenal doesn’t have that excuse.
Arsenal has won absolutely nothing! Nothing. Why are they tired? Their arms don’t ache form lifting trophies. Explain to me why they are tired. Liverpool, they don’t look tired, they look like they’re ready to fight for the title.
At this moment in time, who is the best central defender in the Premier League?
Right now, I think the best defender in the Premier League this season is Ibrahima Konaté. At this moment in time, on current form, it has to be Konaté.
He improved a lot from last season. He's very solid. But I've seen some of his games now and it looks like nobody wants to challenge him. When you have that aura, that presence, that’s magnificent for a defender to have.
I'm sure most strikers or wingers don't want to play against him. They don't want to have the challenge against Konaté.
When Liverpool played at the Emirates, Martinelli didn't want to challenge him. He already knew he was going to lose that duel.
Konaté, if he continues like this, will be the best. He will be in the starting 11 for the Premier League team of the year.
Football Headlines
Paul Pogba is ready to return to football in the new year. Do you think a Premier League club should take a chance on him?
No, I don't think a Premier League club should take a chance on Paul Pogba. I don't think Paul can come back to the Premier League for one reason. I don't think the Premier League suits him.
We were talking about Enzo Fernandez, and we questioned whether he is the type of player who has the attributes to play in the Premier League, Pogba is the same.
For Paul, I think Spain and Italy suits him. Especially now, because he didn't play for almost one year and a half so it will be hard for him, the physical side of the game.
Even if he has the desire to come back and show the world that he is still a great player, the problem is that when you haven’t played for one year, unfortunately, you're more likely to get injured. You put so much pressure on your muscles, it’s hard to stay fit.
On Arsenal
Arsenal lost at Newcastle. Things don’t look right at the moment – what is going wrong at your old club this season?
Against Manchester City and against Liverpool, Arsenal were defending a lot. If you play like that against the big teams, I can understand it. You don’t want to lose those game and they both have excellent players. Fair enough.
What Arsenal produced last season, and why everybody was happy, was that they had that confidence, they were not scared of anyone. I think they have to become fearless again this season to reproduce their best football.
You can’t blame the lack of rhythm and control on the absence of Odegaard. You can’t call yourself a contender for the Premier League title if you can’t play your football when one player is missing. Arsenal have got players who have quality.You have to make them play, you have to make them realise, they have to fight again. You need to fight to become a champion. You need that desire. You need that spirit. You can’t just shrug off a loss – you don’t want to ever experience a loss.
Arsenal have an amazing opportunity to win the title this season. Manchester City are not the same team as previous Pep teams from the last few season. Arsenal need to take advantage of that. Don’t squander the opportunity that you’ve worked so tirelessly over the last two years for.
Arsenal need a reaction. Maybe Arteta needs to change his system. Maybe he needs to drop some players that are underperforming. If your striker doesn't score after 70 minutes, you have to change him.You’ve got Sterling and you leave him on the bench? I don't know if he can play anymore at this level – the jury is out on that one. I don't know. I didn't see it and I haven’t seen it from Sterling in a long time. Arsenal needed to do something to try and change the game at Newcastle, and they did nothing. You can't let your team be like this because if you do, Arsenal will finish in fifth or sixth.
What do you make of Edu’s departure?
I mean, Arsenal need a striker. Maybe because he didn't get a striker, was he upset with the board? There are also question marks about Raheem Sterling. That was a signing made because the opportunity was there, not part of a bigger strategy.
Who signed him? Was that an Arteta decision? Was that an Edu decision? Nobody will really know.
What’s he leaving for? He’s going to join Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and do what? I'm a little bit now concerned by the news and I’m trying to understand why he wants to leave right now. Why didn’t he wait until the end of the season?
I think Edu should have tried to do something with Arsenal like winning the Premier League. If you do this, you can leave. You can't leave at this time. I don't think it's good for the group or for the dressing room.
Arsenal doesn't look good now, so I'm a little bit worried. The players can be a little bit affected, but that's the decision that Edu has taken. I'm sure some players had a good relationship with him. What's going on?
Mikel Arteta slammed his teams consistency. How does that change and is this match the reality check this team needs to get back on track given Man City also lost?
For Arsenal to start getting wins and improving performances, then you need to see some rotation in the team.
Of course, when Odegaard comes back, you would expect things to improve, but that’s not a good enough reason for Arsenal’s form to drop. You need to have a strong squad because you have to play so many games. Sometimes Arsenal wait on one of the players to make the difference.
For example, in the last game against Liverpool, everybody was expecting Saka to make the big difference in that game. He made it because he scored the first goal, but after, in the second half, we didn't see him because it was maybe a little bit more difficult for him for some reason.
That type of player, the big stars, they have to show themselves more. They have to take control of the game, especially because they have stature.
Arsenal need players who have personality, you know. We need more players with personality in that squad. Right now, it looks like they are just waiting for Odegaard to come back, and everything will be fine. No. You have to take some responsibility. There are other players who have to take responsibility.
The Arsenal players need to say, ‘Our captain is not there, so I have to take the responsibility, and I have to show how good I am.’ Not enough of them have done that.
Which Arsenal player has disappointed you the most?
I don’t want to single out one player as being disappointing for Arsenal, I think it’s more just the team. It’s a team issue at the moment. I'm a little bit disappointed about the reaction of the team, of the players.
Declan Rice, I don't know why his performance is not like last season. I mean, at the beginning of the season last year, he had more impact. Right now, he doesn't have the same impact.
For me, Partey is a player who is meant to stay in the middle of the pitch. He has to play in midfield. When you look at the last game he played as a right-back, even if he had a great game against Liverpool. His position is as a midfielder and if you’ve got him and Declan, it's not the same, it's completely different. Declan can play a little bit higher because he knows he's going to have that protection behind him with Partey. I didn't understand why, for example, Partey played right-back against Newcastle, why he didn't play Ben White?
What do you think of Mikel Merino’s start to the season?
It's Mikel Merino’s first season. Sometimes you have to adapt to life in the Premier League. Sometimes you have to be patient and wait for your opportunity to play.
For me, you can't force things. That's why, you don’t play Partey as a right back, to give the opportunity to Merino to play. No, you need to have your base, and your base is Partey in midfield. Its simple. Especially against a big club. If you play against a small team and you want Partey to have a little rest, okay. You put him on the bench, he has a little rest. You put Merino on against a small team, you give him minutes.
If you could go out and sign one player for Arsenal in the January transfer window, who would it be and why?
If I could sign one player for Arsenal in January, it would be a world-class striker, but they are not available in January. No top, top strikers are available at the moment.
I wanted to speak about Osimhen because I know he's at Galatasaray, and I still don't understand why he's there. That’s the type of profile Arsenal need. They need a player with that pedigree.
With Victor, maybe he won't score 20 goals in the season, but he will scare defenders, he will give them a hard time, and that will give the opportunity for players around him to score goals.
That's why he reminds me a little bit of Drogba. If you remember when Drogba was at Chelsea, he gave the defenders a hard time. Frank Lampard was around, almost a second striker, and always scored. I think, maybe one season, he had more goals than Didier. Arsenal doesn't have that player at the moment. When you look at Gabriel Jesus, he's not really fit, he doesn't play. Looks like he's not happy. Sterling doesn't play. Havertz, up and down, up and down. You need more consistency.
Is Arteta now under pressure to win something?
When you are the manager, especially for the big clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool, you always have pressure on your shoulders because you normally have to bring a trophy at the end of the season.
We know Arteta’s been a manager for five years at Arsenal. He didn't win the league, and last year he had a great opportunity. Two years ago, he was close, last year he had a better opportunity.
This season, we expect Arsenal to win the Premier League title. We know the league is a marathon, and not just a sprint.
I don't know what is going to happen, but he has to win something significant. It's very difficult because when you don't know what happened between Arteta and Edu, maybe Edu wanted to have a striker, Arteta didn't want one, I don't know. Nobody will know, except the people who were in the club.But if he leaves that means, yes, something is wrong, between maybe Edu and the board.
On The Champions League
You captained Arsenal to 0-2 win over AC Milan in the venue, you won there with Spurs in 2011 – what are these Arsenal players going to encounter when they walk out at that famous arena and how can they follow in your footsteps and win there?
We played against AC Milan in 2008, and all the big players were there. It was an unbelievable AC Milan team. They were the European champions that season as well.When you go to San Siro, the atmosphere is so great, and we were strong. We were really, really strong. They have to reproduce the same performance we did. Simple. That is simple.You have to see our game and the video, to see how compact we were. We were very unique.In that game, we were very compact. Fighting on every ball. The players in front with Cesc Fabregas, with Adebayor, Theo Walcott. We could make the difference at any time with those type of players.
At the beginning of the match, you have to be strong, especially when you play away in the Champions League. If you are strong at the back and you don't give any chances to your opponent, slowly you will take the advantage.
That's how sometimes teams can win games. First thing, you have to be strong at the back. Nobody passes you; you communicate, you fight. Sometimes you shout at each other, because sometimes shouting at each other can be good. It can keep you alert. They need to be ready to do the same thing.
The goal Arsenal conceded against Newcastle. Timber doesn't sprint to the winger, to stop him from crossing.That makes a difference.You have to be sharp; you have to fight in the first minute of games. OK, if it’s 90 minutes and you can’t get out to him because you’re too tired and the cross goes in, that’s fine. That goal was scored in the twelfth minute.
You can’t be doing things like that in the San Siro.
I know they are playing a different Milan team, but, if you want to win in the San Siro, if you want to be solid, then maybe the Arsenal team should watch that game on the flight to Italy.
On Chelsea
Enzo Fernandez has found himself on the bench recently and he appears to be the second choice of Enzo Maresca. Do you think he will continue to be a squad player for Chelsea this season?
The problem is that Chelsea need a defensive midfielder to help Caicedo more. 70% defending and 30% attacking which would make for a more balanced team. I don’t think Enzo can play that role because he has other qualities.
I think it will be a little bit hard for Enzo this season to reestablish himself in the midfield for Chelsea.
He’ll get opportunities from the bench, he got one against Manchester United, and even if he's on for 15 or 20 minutes, he must show his quality. Against Man Utd, he had the opportunity to score the second goal for Chelsea that would have won them the game. So, there will be moments for him, and he needs to take them.
The manager, Maresca, he's very strong. He knows what he wants to do. He knows how he wants to play. It's very important, when you have a manager who has a strong mentality and, that means every player is a little bit more aware at Chelsea now. They are all being kept on their toes and are a little bit afraid that they can lose their place, that’s the message that he has sent to the team by benching a World Cup winner.
You know what, when a manager does this, It can boost the players’ level. When you see a player like Enzo, who was in the starting 11 for the World Champions. He was a vice-captain and at the moment he's on the bench. He knows he has to do more and other players know they will need to keep performing to keep their place in the team.
Does he look like a player that isn’t suited to the Premier League?
Enzo Fernandez is different. Even if he's got good quality, we know the Premier League is very tough.
The Premier League is not for everybody, we know that. We know it's not for everybody.He has to lift his fitness. He has to do more; he has to run more. He has to be more consistent as well.
That's why the position he plays is so difficult. What do we ask him to do? To give some assists, to score goals, to play almost as a box-to-box. Can he do this? I don't know if he can really play box-to-box. He needs to either start scoring goals or providing assists.
Enzo Maresca challenged Reece James to do more recently and said that there weren’t many leaders in his squad. Were you surprised by those comments and do you think they will have the desired effect on James?
Some of these players try to be at their best level. So, for Maresca to speak like this about James is a further demonstration of how he managers his players and also the standards that he is trying to set.
Unfortunately, Reece James has been injured so many times, but we know his level.
He can play at a very high level and when you are the captain you have to set an example. In almost every game you have to be the best. So, to speak with James, or to speak about James like this, I think it's good. It's good because the other players have to understand what the standards are at the club.
Maresca wants to do something this season, he doesn't want to wait. I mean, if he can finish fourth it would be a good achievement for him. I like that spirit from Maresca, you know.
There have been a lot of questions about Robert Sanchez. Would you feel confident playing in front of him?
I think to finish in the top four, it's not only about Sanchez. Yes, it’s about the goalkeeper, but it can be as well about your defenders. If your defenders are good, or really good, there will be fewer chances to concede goals.
For Sanchez, if he has fewer situations to save his team, it would be better for him. So that's why for me, everything is about your defenders, not just about the goalkeeper.When you look at the game against Manchester United, he made a foul. It was a penalty, but where were the defenders?
Is Nicolas Jackson’s form showing Enzo Maresca that he doesn’t need to shop for another striker in the January transfer window?
Jackson is a type of player who needs to have that confidence to score more goals.He can create even more opportunities for himself to be in a good situation and to score by working on his movement.
He is working hard at the moment because he knows anything can happen in January at a club like Chelsea, especially with the owners.
Anything can happen in January, so that's why you just want to be sure, you will be the Number 9 and the only way that you can guarantee that is by scoring goals.
I’m watching Jackson and I’m looking at a guy that is improving all the time. He has six goals in ten games. I think Jackson will score 20 goals this season in the Premier League.
On Chelsea vs Arsenal
This is always a big game in the season. Do Arsenal need to win this game to stay in the title race?
Of course, Arsenal have to win this game to stay in the title race. If they don't win, can you imagine four games, maybe one point or two points? They have to win.
I don't know who is going to win that game, but Arsenal has to win, Chelsea has to win. It will be a very good derby.
Arsenal need to show the world that they are warriors that are ready to fight for the title.
If Chelsea win, does it put them in the title race?
No, I don't think a victory over Arsenal puts Chelsea in the title rcae. They will be close. If they win, it means they are in the top four, and that means Arsenal is going to drop down the league.
Seriously, if Chelsea win this game, I think it would be really, really difficult for Arsenal.
If Chelsea win, that means Chelsea is going to have more confidence and Arsenal’s is going to drop. That is a problem.
On Tottenham
Did Ange’s comments about winning a trophy in his second season put unnecessary pressure on his shoulders?
I don't think Ange is going to win the Europa League with Tottenham this season. He said he has to lift one trophy; I think the best opportunity he will have to do that will be with the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup. I don’t think Tottenham are ready for the Europa yet.
Against Villa, they played well. They had a good performance, but they are not consistent and that is a problem.
If they always play in the same style with the same system, which is what Ange has said he will do for the entire season, I think it will be difficult because the players are going to be tired.
It fizzled out a bit for Tottenham last season and that was because the players got tired. In the second part of the season, Tottenham’s players were tired. I think a domestic cup is a more realistic trophy.
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