00:00What's the latest position with Mateo Reidy, what's his prognosis?
00:09It's like we expected, a bad injury. He needs a surgery on his ankle. I can't say how long
00:19we expect him to be out. We have to look how the rehab will go. But of course it's a tough
00:27one for us but we try to support him the best way we can. We try to get him as fast
00:33as possible on the pitch and let's hope he will be back soon.
00:38It's terrible luck for Mateo and the club of course. How is he? Have you spoken to him
00:43since Tuesday night?
00:44I had a small chat with him yesterday. Of course it's not the best situation, he's very
00:51very disappointed. But he's a good character and he's a very positive guy. He looks immediately
00:58in the future and says he will be back soon and he'll come back stronger. That's a very
01:04positive thing, what I like. This attitude is very important, that you also stay mentally
01:08strong in tough moments like this because you can't change it in the end. That's why
01:15I think he will come back stronger.
01:19You publicly said you want Billy Gilmour to stay and he'll be at the club. Does this
01:25have any input or is this a factor on him? Is he now definitely going to stay because
01:32of the injury to Mateo Reilly?
01:36All the decisions we do, we discuss them together internally with the chairman, Tony, Paul,
01:44with David. All the decisions we do, we do them together. We discuss sometimes of course
01:52but there are always arguments for both sides. Then we always decide what's best for the
01:58club and then we make the decisions and then the public will see it.
02:05In terms of the summer spending at Brighton, nearly £200m spent, unprecedented for Brighton.
02:13How does that make you feel personally, that you feel backed and how important is it in
02:18terms of the club fulfilling its ambitions for this season?
02:24I feel grateful, I feel thankful for Tony for his decision because it shows the ambition
02:32from the club, it shows that we want to make the next step together, that we tried to build
02:40a foundation that was built in the last recent years but also tried to improve in some ways.
02:48That's what I really like because I'm also a very ambitious guy and for me it's the right
02:54sign and the right moment. Now hopefully we can achieve something big together.
03:01Will we expect to see quite a few outgoings in the next 24 hours?
03:13There will be outgoings but again these are all decisions that are internal and when they
03:20get to the public then we will let you know as soon as possible.
03:24Does the injury to Matt O'Reilly impact how you'll now use Ferdi Kadioglu?
03:36That's a good question. That's something that is positive from Ferdi, he's very flexible,
03:43he can play a lot of positions. Now we have to see because he couldn't train with the
03:50team a lot. So we have to see today, tomorrow, how he gets integrated. Maybe he will be an
03:56option in the squad, maybe not. We just have to look together at the situation and then
04:03we'll make a decision.
04:05So he could be available on Saturday?
04:07It is an opportunity, hopefully yes.
04:11On Saturday Arsenal are still unbeaten, what do you make of their start, albeit not many
04:16games yet?
04:19One of the best teams in the world at the moment. I think they don't have a lot of weaknesses.
04:26They have in all their positions individual quality, they have solutions for all phases
04:32of the game. They're good in set-pieces, they're good out of possession, good in possession.
04:38We need a good day, we need a very good individual performance but also a great togetherness
04:44on the pitch. Now it's up to us, we try to confirm what we did the first two games.
04:51That is not like a surprise, it should be a confirmation for us to go there and make
04:57a good game and we go there to win. I think my squad has the potential but of course we
05:04have a lot of respect for Arsenal because for me at the moment, one of the best teams
05:11in the world.
05:13In terms of specific Arsenal players that could cause you a problem, are there any that
05:16you're pinpointing?
05:19I could mention every individual player from them. Of course, Udegaard has something special,
05:28Havertz, I like the way he plays. He's for me one of the best German players we have.
05:37He's complete in all his acting and behaviour on the pitch. Saka can decide a game with
05:44one situation, they have Martinelli, they have Trouza on the other side. They have a
05:49very good defensive player, they have Reis, a good box-to-box player. So I can mention
05:55all their names but in the end it's a team sport and hopefully we can present there as
06:03a good team because we have to go there and we also have to make sure we can suffer together
06:09because there will be phases where we have to suffer, there will be phases where we have
06:13to defend together but I also want that we bring our style of play there and that we
06:19have also our situations in possession because that's very important, not only to defend
06:26there.
06:28When you first arrived at the club, did you feel like you had arrived at the first international
06:32break with a chance to still be unbeaten?
06:35When I arrived here I didn't think so much about the game or how the situation would
06:43be after Arsenal. I think it's a daily business, this job. You have to try to be the best version
06:50of yourself every day and thinking step for step. We had now a great start. I think for
06:57me the win against Crawley was very important, it was in the League Cup. It was not an easy
07:01game but that's our thinking, step for step, trying to make the next step, trying to continue
07:07in the process and now we have a big challenge ahead of us. We are looking forward and let's
07:12see what happens on Sunday.
07:17Fabian, Pervis Estupinjan has been such a big part of the football club over the last
07:21couple of years. How good was it to see him back after such a long lay-off and what does
07:25that mean for you going forward?
07:29Another great opportunity for us. When he's in his best shape, he's one of the best left-backs
07:36in the Premier League. He's full of energy, he's full of power and now we have to reintegrate
07:45him as quickly as possible because he had a long injury and after long injuries to come
07:49back is not easy. He missed a lot of content, a lot of technical things in the pre-season
07:55so it's important now to get for him a mix between video sessions and then the pitch
08:01sessions and that's why I think that he will be a great player for us again but we shouldn't
08:11put pressure on him because after a long injury the players need time to adapt and that will
08:17be now important.
08:18So he's another defensive option. A lot of the signings have been attacking players during
08:22this summer window but how happy are you? It's been a great start defensively but how
08:27happy are you with the defensive set-up and the personnel you have at the club going into
08:32the post-transfer window period?
08:37I think let's look at the situation with Adam Webster. For me, a role model of leading,
08:45a role model of how to be the best version every day, how he trains, how he behaves,
08:51how he's there for his team-mates. For me it's a shame to put him on the bench because
08:56it's an unbelievable character, an unbelievable player and that's why you see the situation
09:00also in the defence is quite good. I don't want to put a player like him on the bench
09:05but at the moment there are Lewis and JP and we have a lot of options also in the defence
09:11and I think against Crawley.
09:14We also kept a clean sheet. Of course in some situations we were a little bit lucky, we
09:18have to be honest, but in the end there are also great options in the last line. We added
09:24now Ferdi who can play left full-back, right full-back. We have Iguo, Adam, we have still
09:33Derek Lamptey. We have a lot of options in the defensive line and that's why I'm also
09:38happy with this part of the squad.
09:41Welcome return for Bart Verbruggen as well. Does that give you a good dilemma but Jason
09:47Steele has started the season very well as well.
09:51For me it's clear that we will have a number one in this season. There will be clear roles
09:58for them and I will be very straight with this communication. I will be very honest
10:06with them. That's important for me that they know their roles in the team, not only in
10:10the goalkeeper position but also in the other positions. Every player knows his role in
10:15the team. I'm very happy to have both of them. Jason made some really good games for us in
10:24the pre-season, especially in Everton. Here in the Amex against Manchester he had a great
10:32impact on the squad and on the pitch. That's why I'm really happy to have him and as well
10:37Bart. I think Bart, especially in the Euro, how good he is, which potential he has. I
10:46think he can get one of the best goalkeepers in the world. If he keeps going, if he keeps
10:52improving, together with my goalkeeper coaches, then he has a great future.
10:58When you look at all the sides in the Premier League,
11:03you mentioned togetherness and all their individuals,
11:06but are they one of the most complete teams and squads in the Premier League?
11:11At the moment I would say yes. For me it's a role model what Ateta did there. I think
11:19start was also not so easy but the club stayed calm. What is nowadays not so normal anymore and
11:27then you see what you can achieve. I think what I see from outside, they are so good in the details,
11:35they have an answer for everything. They take care of their set-pieces, of their throw-ins,
11:41of their kick-offs. They have clear patterns in possessions, they have clear patterns out
11:48of possessions. They will have an answer and a solution on the pitch for everything. That's
11:53something that comes through hard work, what comes when you focus on the process.
11:58So I think Ateta and his team are a role model for everyone. I also follow their way,
12:07what they did in the last years, because it's something special.
12:12Of course I can also learn a lot from this.
12:16How has Ateta transformed Arsenal from a mid-table mediocrity to a winning machine?
12:28Unfortunately I'm not there, so I would love to see some insights.
12:33I was not there the last years when they worked together.
12:37But for me what I see, how they developed in the last month, that's something very special.
12:49You can only develop like this if you are focusing on the details, if you trust the process,
12:55if you really work hard. I think also how they improve the players individually,
12:59you see small elements in their games that are helping the individual players.
13:06That's something I really like to look at.
13:10How they transform it to this machine, I don't know.
13:15But I think sometimes there are no secrets in football, they are just out working and
13:22just trying to improve every day. That's also my thinking. I'm really looking forward to
13:29compete with Arsenal, to compete with their coaching staff, because it will be a great
13:36challenge for us. We have a lot of respect, but again we go there to win the game.
13:42We go there to show our style of play, even when we play away.
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