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All the key lines from Friday's press conferences

18 Oct 2024
Managers

See what Guardiola, Howe, Arteta, Postecoglou and more had to say ahead of Matchweek 8

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Catch up with all the team news and main talking points from the Premier League managers’ media briefings.

Pep Guardiola (Man City)

On his future at Manchester City: "I have to decide. I have not taken a decision, when I do I will inform you. There is no news, I have nothing to add. My concern only is for Wolves."

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On if he was approached about the England job: "It doesn't matter. Thomas Tuchel is the manager, I must congratulate him and The FA. It's a big job, after nine years here I wish the very, very best for him."

On the departure of director of football Txiki Begiristain: "Part of me is leaving. A friend of mine, an architect who created one of the best teams at Barcelona and here."

On if Kevin de Bruyne could feature at Wolves: "No chance, not ready. Manu Akanji today was day off, today we see how he feels." 

Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)

On Bukayo Saka's injury: "It’s not a serious injury. He’s evolving well. He was probably good enough to play with the national team's second game. We have some big tests today so we are hopeful."

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On captain Martin Odegaard's progress: “He is not going to be fit for this game. Next week will be a different story. He needs to clear some markers. Next week will be crucial to understand how close he is.”

On no clean sheets in three matches: "There is room for improvement there, it’s about being very consistent and making sure that we play with a level of urgency, cohesion and focus in the reaction. In the last few games, especially at home, we have conceded goals that I wasn’t very happy with."

On Kai Havertz's chances of playing: "He had a few issues but we’ve been dealing with that. We have great communication with Germany. If he trains well today he has a good chance to be fit and available."

Arne Slot (Liverpool)

On whether Chelsea are Liverpool's toughest test so far - bigger than Manchester United: "If you look at the league table, it is. I think Man Utd is a very good team, a top club in England that has spent a lot of money to even make the team better again. Same for Chelsea in this season. If you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent."

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On a possible return for Alisson: "He is for sure not with us in the upcoming weeks, that’s clear. So, that’s a blow for him and for us because I think he did really well this season and did so well for this club for so many years."

On key player contracts coming to an end: "There will always be talks about our players. It's a good thing that everybody wants their contracts to be renewed because that tells me - and I also see this - that they do really well."

Unai Emery (Aston Villa)

On the availability of Amadou Onana, John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey: "I think it is the first time this year we have more or less every player available to play. Only still out is Robin Olsen."

On the progress of opponents Fulham: “Last year, they competed very well and kept in the middle of the table. This year, they are being an option to get into the top 10 and threatening the top seven teams. Tomorrow it’s a very important match because this team is one of the teams I’m analysing like a rival for us to try to keep a top position in the table.”

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On the club's busy schedule: “We are excited and motivated for how we can face the different competitions for the next month. On Tuesday we are playing Champions League and we have to manage, firstly, the match tomorrow and then take the best decision with the players who are playing more minutes than others."

On Tyrone Mings' return from a long-term knee injury: "Boubacar Kamara and Mings, they are getting better. They are available, they are going to travel with us to Fulham."

Eddie Howe (Newcastle)

On Alexander Isak's chances of playing against Brighton & Hove Albion: "Alex has trained and trained well, he trained at the start of this week and looked good. He will be in contention for the weekend."

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On Tuchel's appointment as England manager and if he spoke to The FA: "No. I was lucky enough to go and see him work at Chelsea when I was out of work. What a brilliant guy. What a great person. What a great coach, My preference would have been for an English coach but if you are going to go foreign then go for the best - and Thomas is certainly that."

On what's to come from his side: "We haven’t hit top gear, but we have been resilient and hard to beat. We do need to find our best form to get some good results. There are some tough games to come."

On Callum Wilson's continued absence: "He trained, but with Callum we'll continue to assess him day-by-day. When we get him back we want to keep him back for as long as possible so it's about making the right call."

Erik ten Hag (Man Utd)

On media reports surrounding his future: "The noise is only coming from the media, from you guys. From some of you, not all of you, but some of you. Bringing up stories, creating stories, creating fairy tales, making noise, bringing lies. Because I know we are all on one page in this club. I told this before the break, they didn't believe me. Internal in the club it's quiet."

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On the next few weeks: "We have to climb a mountain, that's top football and sometimes you have to face challenges. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down, but I am sure we will make it a success like we did the last two seasons."

On Man Utd's current 14th-place position: "I think we are in a direction, underneath I see good things, I see good patterns, I see also good stats that confirm we are in a good direction, but the ranking is not lying. We are where we are and it is not good enough."

Kieran McKenna (Ipswich)

On Axel Tuanzebe almost losing his thumb in a freak domestic accident: “It’s a household accident, very, very unfortunate and very, very serious. He was very close to losing his thumb. He’s had surgery to repair the tendons in the thumb that was damaged, I think the recovery is going pretty well, but it’s a long-term injury."

On the search for a first win this season against Everton: "Confidence is high at the club."

On Republic of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea's availability: “He had an issue in his back (against Greece on Sunday) that is having to be assessed. We’re going to have to see how that goes over the next couple of days.”  

Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)

On Reece James' return and how to keep him fit: "He is available, finally he is back. The solution is to go slowly, slowly. Reece's body cannot play, for instance, twice a week, so one of the solutions is that we are going to try and manage him the same way we are doing with Romeo [Lavia]."

On the importance Sunday's match: "I don't think Sunday's game defines where we are. In this moment, we have to be focused on things we need to improve. The Premier League is the best league in the world and the toughest league in the world."

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On Liverpool post-Jurgen Klopp: "They are doing fantastic. They have very good players, very good manager, very good club. They are continuing and that is important for them."

On potentially losing a staff member to England: "I know that one of them has been approached, one of the analysts. We are quite open for people to take their chances. The other one, Hilario, I heard something, but there has not been an approach yet. We are open-minded to allow people to take chances and also we are happy to keep people."

Gary O'Neil (Wolves)

On his team's winless run: "Points-wise it's been very bad. We sit here seven games in with one point. There's two very tough games coming up in the next 10 days as well. I understand one point from seven isn't good enough and we need to prove we are better than that. That tipping point will come soon."

On the reasons behind a poor start: "If you don't look into the depths of how and why it looks like a disaster. If you do take the time to look into the situation and the fixtures you will easily see there is enough there to have a real clear view we can turn this around."

On if he can turn the situation around: "I have 100 per cent faith in myself and the playing group to show everyone we can compete at the level. Really confident and really comfortable I can help the group in this moment and turn things around."

Ange Postecoglou (Spurs)

On why beating West Ham United is important to the fans: "I was made very aware of it last year. I know what it means. An important game. Last year we played really well but didn’t win at home. Tale of that part of our season a little bit. Challenging game. They have some fantastic players in the team and a new manager. They are doing things a little bit differently."

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On a possible return for Son Heung-min: "Sonny is good. He's worked hard these two weeks. He's worked really hard, had a good solid training week and he can't wait to get back out there. He's good to go."

On the stat showing Spurs have let a 2-0 lead slip for the 10th time: "It's irrelevant. Who cares? It doesn't matter. You say it's 10 times but it hasn't been 10 times with me, so give me a break."

Marco Silva (Fulham)

On what he is aiming for this season: "My ambition is top. Keep working with this great group of players. Keep making the fans proud. If we keep doing this, we can take this club to the next level."

On Joachim Andersen's chances of lining up against Aston Villa: "Andersen felt something, but not serious, he will be available to play."

On talks with Adama Traore: "We didn't lose [against Man City] because of Adama. We created four clear chances. He didn't score but we did work with him to create those scenarios he may experience in the next few games. I had meetings with him, and I show the trust in him." 

Andoni Iraola (AFC Bournemouth)

On not respecting Arsenal too much: "When you face this kind of opposition, you have to respect them, but maybe not so much. You have to focus on what you can do to hurt them."

On Bournemouth's recent shot-shy encounters with the Gunners: "They are the team in the last two seasons we have created the least against. We haven't been the team we want to be against them."

On how to beat the title-chasers this weekend: "We will probably not get the chances we have had in the past games, so we have to take them, and we have to win duels against strong defenders. We have to impose ourselves, especially at home, and show we are at this level. It's a challenge for us."

Nuno Espirito Santo (Nott'm Forest)

On his three-match touchline ban: "I'm surprised. It's a big sanction, but there's nothing we can do. It's not for me to judge, my job is to move forward and make sure the coaching staff are ready to help the team. The sanction has been decided. Let's go."

On Morgan Gibbs-White's injury: "He went out with a lot of pain [against Chelsea] and is still recovering. He's getting much better, but it's still going to take some time. For now, he's not available against Crystal Palace."

Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace)

On possible groin surgery for Adam Wharton: "He's ready, but it's the same. We have to manage him. It does not look like it will disappear. We are looking for the right moment for the right break. As long as he can deal with the pain, we will try to keep it as it is. When it gets worse, maybe he will need a longer break and surgery."

On reasons behind Palace's winless start: “Of course we are not satisfied with the points. The points are clearly a problem. I think the performances were often better than the points. We are missing a few percentage points to turn the games to our advantage.

"But the fact is, and we have to be honest with ourselves, that we just did a lot of transfers very, very late. Yes, only four on the deadline day. That certainly didn’t all go well."

On player availability against Nott'm Forest: "No new injuries, so that's a positive thing. They all came back from their national teams in good shape."

See: Latest Premier League injuries

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