00:18Good afternoon everyone, hope everyone's well. If there are any French speakers in the room
00:26We'll kick off with the live section followed by 10.30 tonight. If you're all ready, we'll kick off with
00:31Alex from the BBC here.
00:33I'll just start with some team news updates please.
00:36So Pierre and Capio seem to get injured after the match. How did that happen? Obviously very unfortunate and how
00:43is it?
00:44Well it happened, we had a training session planned after the game for the players that didn't have enough minutes
00:48to get everybody the recovery day on Sunday
00:52and to get everybody in their rhythm and in two very unfortunate actions. We love two players and yeah, not
01:00great.
01:01How are they looking and is the other player Martin Zubimendi as well?
01:04Yeah, we need to assess them so they have further scans to see where they are and they will have
01:10that time frame and how long they're going to be out for.
01:13And then just looking back at the weekend, they've had a couple of days to assess, what's your thoughts on
01:18that and then heading into Lille tomorrow as well?
01:20Well again, many positives from the game, obviously the way we reacted, that we managed to turn around the game
01:26in a really difficult context.
01:28Really impressive the way we started the game really well as well. The amount of actions that we finished in
01:33the finals said something really to improve.
01:36The way we defended the box certainly as well. So yeah, overall especially after the break, I'm really happy with
01:42the results.
01:42You've shown really good mentality so far this season already, but maybe something that could be improved is the attack
01:48and maybe the flow of the attack.
01:50How would you feel that is going in that state of play?
01:52I think it's going pretty well. I think the way we have finished the actions probably is something else.
01:57But in terms of what we produced before the international break, I think it was better than any other year.
02:04Then we had obviously the Brighton game and then the other game, which was a different context as well.
02:08But I think we're certainly getting in some great, great, great positions. We need to be more clinical now to
02:14finish more actions.
02:16And just to ask one on a specific player, Eberichi Ezer. Only started two games so far this season, not
02:22off the bench at the weekend.
02:23Are you looking for more from him or how do you think his season has gone so far?
02:27Like everybody else, I think they need to earn their rights to play and that's through training sessions.
02:32And when you are on that pitch to make the impact that the game and the team needs in order
02:37to achieve that.
02:38And he's going to have many opportunities to do that. His attitude has been always phenomenal.
02:43And we have to adapt as well to his qualities.
02:46Michael, hi. Within Cap here and Zubumendi, in this game where small things can make such a difference at this
02:53level,
02:54it's not ideal, is it, to lose two players in a warm down?
02:57Far from ideal, yeah.
02:59What can be done about that to stop it happening going forward?
03:02Very easy. You don't train. Never train and they don't get injured.
03:07But what is a consequence to that is when they have to play, they have no rhythm.
03:11And when you ask them to play, they're going to have no impact in the game.
03:14That could happen at the Emirates. It never happened in seven years that I've been here.
03:18It could happen the next day in the training session. And that has happened before.
03:23And hopefully it happens now and it doesn't happen again. But what can you do?
03:28If I knew I had a crystal ball clear, is it, guys, go in the Jacuzzi everybody and see you
03:32tomorrow.
03:33And the image of Cap here has actually been carried off by the substitute goalkeeper with lots of coaches and
03:41medical staff around.
03:43Were you concerned about that?
03:45That's something else not to discuss here.
03:48Ian, can you talk tomorrow?
03:51Hi, Mikel. How are you?
03:53Your team have learned, seemingly learned this season, not to panic if things aren't going exactly how they want.
03:59Saturday, go a goal down, no panic. I watched the game in Napoli.
04:03You dominated but just couldn't quite score and you kept on going without panicking.
04:08Just explain how you get that over because that's a very specific skill not to worry and panic on a
04:14pitch.
04:15I think because we have to be emotionally dominant regardless of what the context is.
04:21Easy to say, very difficult actually to do.
04:24We did it in the majority of the matches, which is great.
04:28We did it in Brighton and we paid the price for that.
04:31So, yeah, there are always lessons and evolutions to make for the team.
04:35And that's something extremely important because at the level that we played every three days,
04:40things will happen and you're going to have to be able to adapt and resolve those ones.
04:44You'll be up against a friendly face tomorrow in Olivier Giroud.
04:48Give us some memories of him.
04:50Great. Well, we were teammates.
04:52First of all, a great character and a great person to have around the dressing room.
04:57And then the players.
04:58And I remember when he came in, he won the League One with Montpellier.
05:03He came here and he really impacted the team in a very different way.
05:09Like a completely different profile that we were used to it.
05:11And what a career he had and definitely earned it as well.
05:15There's one similarity I'd have with him and Kai Havertz actually.
05:19I think both are underrated.
05:21I think both, certainly Olivier was very underrated.
05:24Not from his teammates, for sure.
05:27Or Asen in this case.
05:28I don't know the rest.
05:29But he was extremely intelligent first and he was really, really harmful.
05:36I mean, every time you had him on the pitch, you had a massive threat inside the box.
05:39And he was very smart.
05:40He was so good at connecting with other players as well.
05:42And his world rate was phenomenal.
05:45So, certainly not by us.
05:48Hi, Michal.
05:49Hi.
05:50It looked like William Saliba was doing some individual stuff by himself out there.
05:53How long has he been back on the grass and how's his recovery going?
05:57Now it's over a week, I think.
05:59And obviously we're managing that load and how many repetitions and sessions in a row he can do.
06:04But he's building now his capacity to good standards.
06:09And in the next few weeks we can start to introduce him with the team to see where we are
06:14to actually make him available for the squad.
06:17I think there's an international break in the middle of November.
06:20Do you think it's realistic he could be back after that?
06:22I don't know.
06:25We're still talking about weeks.
06:27And when that happens, it's very different whether he would play just before or after that because it's a very
06:34specific injury that the healing process, I cannot tell you exactly how he's going to react to.
06:39Hi, Michal.
06:40Just on Pierre, it looks like it was his ankle.
06:43Is that right?
06:43And also what was the issue with Martin Zubmendi?
06:46Both.
06:47Both ankles.
06:48Okay.
06:48Yeah.
06:49In terms of something you just mentioned before as well, emotional dominance.
06:54I was just wondering what you meant by that and how important is that in these big games?
07:00Owning the moment and leading that moment and making sure that we are in an emotional state that the game
07:10requires and not something else.
07:12If the game requires a reaction, energy and spirit, a boldness, a courage to deliver something else or change it,
07:21that's the way we have to act.
07:23If the game reminds everybody to bring the temperature down, we have to be able to do that.
07:28And in order to do that, we need to really understand what is happening.
07:33Hi, Michal.
07:35You said earlier in the season that if any of your attackers were unhappy with their minutes to come and
07:40knock on your door,
07:41I was just wondering whether Ibiray has spoken to you and outlined his desire to get back into the team
07:46and what he needs to do?
07:49He hasn't done it.
07:50I think I've been very proactive as well to try to speak to everybody, to be really engaged and to
07:57make them understand
07:57what we need from each of them, what the standards are and be very specific if I can, when they're
08:06going to play, when they're not going to play.
08:08And so far, it's been good.
08:10But we need to maintain that because we're going to need the players that start or finish the games to
08:16be very ready, like they've been, to change games or to impact games, which at the end is what we
08:21need to win for matches.
08:22And just on Max, he's obviously already made big history in this competition.
08:26You've mentioned that you need to kind of protect him and use him in the right moments.
08:30Do you see him as someone that can maybe play on that left or do you think specifically centrally and
08:35right are his best positions?
08:37We haven't seen much of Max on the left and I think especially the way we have evolved him and
08:43training in those two positions probably at the moment is easier.
08:47But with the talent that he has, we need to throw him in a new position at some point.
08:53I think he will have the capacity to adapt it.
08:55Last one in the live section, Chris Daniel.
08:57Hi, good afternoon, Mikel.
08:59You spoke about pain in your tummy ahead of him this weekend's game.
09:02Do you start pain in your tummy from the Champions League final?
09:05And in terms of a consistent message to your players, reminding them how they're going to get over the line
09:10when you eventually or hopefully get to the final in the Champions League?
09:13What has it been?
09:16That you're going to have to earn the right to get in that position again.
09:19And we know how tough it is and how many times we've done in the history of our club.
09:23So first of all, realise that and tomorrow we're going to have a really tough opponent in front of us.
09:28They are very, very well coached.
09:30What David has done, I think, is remarkable.
09:32You can just see the way that they are competing and playing and the problems that they have caused to
09:41big teams.
09:42And tomorrow is not going to be defence until we are ready for it.
09:45And this weekend you managed to bring on Bruno G to bring the winner.
09:48In terms of looking at players winning games and players in training, what weighs more on your mind when picking
09:56your squad or picking substitutions?
09:58In terms of?
09:59So picking players, looking at players in training and looking at match when they are a bit like Bruno G
10:04coming on, what weighs more on your mind?
10:06Sometimes I'm going to pick a team or players in relation to what I expect, especially at the beginning, that
10:12can finish the game.
10:13Because that's where most of the games are decided at this level as well.
10:16And we have the bench and the players that are capable of doing that.
10:21And we're going to use, obviously, that resource.
10:24Phil from Pierre.
10:25Phil, you mentioned the two interplayers.
10:27Do you have a timeframe as to whether how will they be happening?
10:30No, they're both going to miss tomorrow's match, that's for sure.
10:34And today they're going to have a further scan.
10:36And probably tomorrow we will know more and then let's see how they're going to go.
10:40So, Piero's one looks a little bit more serious, I think.
10:44But we have to wait and see.
10:45You mentioned it was ideal that they picked up the injuries.
10:49Is it something you could reconsider going forward not to do those?
10:53Well, the temptation is now, oh, we don't want to take that risk and we do something else.
10:56But we were going to do that anyway the next day.
10:59And when you play this kind of small-sided games, there is contact and these things have happened.
11:04They did happen once last season and we did it 37 times, I think it is.
11:09So, yeah, the fact that it's there, that people are watching and then you think it raises other doubts.
11:17But now it's very difficult to do.
11:19My question was if we had to do this again, the way we planned the seven days that we had
11:24in that period
11:25with the players that didn't have enough load would have been the case.
11:28The answer is yes and it's a sport of contact and this can happen.
11:32What we can do is, guys, they are so competitive.
11:35When we do that, please don't touch each other too much.
11:39Throw away any kind of things.
11:41So, that's it.
11:42OK, we're now going to 10.30 tonight.
11:44Kick off with John from the road.
11:45Hello, Michael.
11:46I was just going to ask you about that.
11:47I mean, the competitive nature.
11:48I guess that talks to the players, you know, setting standards and being competitive in those warms down.
11:55I'm showing 2017 greater than buying a normal Lakavarhara.
