- 5 months ago
Leeds boss Daniel Farke reacts to 5-0 defeat at Arsenal
23/08/2025
Emirates Stadium, London UK
23/08/2025
Emirates Stadium, London UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hi Daniel, it's a difficult evening, it started well in the first half, but what's your overall assessment of the whole game performance and what have you said to the players after that?
00:11Yes, I think it's fair to say that Arsenal deserved to win this game today, they were the better side, they deserved also to win this game with a good, proper goal difference.
00:19I'm not sure if it was actually a five-null because, yes, five shots on target and they scored out of all these five shots.
00:27Long story short, it's more like when a team like Arsenal is on it and it's a team who was probably in the last three years the best team in the whole of Europe,
00:38at least in consistency, you could argue with title winners anyhow, but no other team has shown this consistency, always ending up as a runner-up, then it's always difficult.
00:47Of course you wish for this fixture to be after the Champions League game perhaps, but if it's on their first home game during the season when everyone is fully on it,
00:58on the back after for them an important win away at Man United, then the whole new signings are there, even before kick-off new signings are present,
01:06the whole stadium is buzzing, they are on it, it's always a difficult game then for newly promoted side.
01:12I think you could feel this in the first ten minutes, they were all over us, we were a bit nervous, but we survived this period without giving one chance away.
01:21Then we got a foot into the game, got more and more confident, had good situations, also counter-attacks and also with Daniel James with a few set-pieces.
01:30I think after 35 minutes we had probably the best chance in the game with Pascal Stroik's header and a fantastic save of Raja.
01:38Yes, and a bit annoying how we conceded the goals, because two goals out of set-pieces two times, more or less in the same way,
01:45timber in between my strongest headers, would have wished for a bit more awareness level.
01:50And obviously also two goals, two times at a time. First half, after promising win of the ball, we were looking at the counter-attack,
01:58we were underestimating their counter-pressing of Rijs and then they scored, I would say also out of a bit difficult angle.
02:05And then obviously also the 5-0, the same, promising winning of the ball, underestimate the counter-attack, they also scored at a time with a penalty,
02:13I haven't watched it back, looked a bit soft if I'm honest, but if for such a team like Arsenal everything comes together, more or less,
02:21and they are on it and they are effective and score out of five shots on target, five goals, it's always difficult.
02:27And for that it's not a season-defining game for us, we accept that they were better today, they deserve to win this game.
02:32And for us it's not a season-defining game, we are disappointed today, but we won't overanalyze this game too much.
02:38Yes, there were one or two things that we could have done better, yes, there's no doubt about this.
02:42Otherwise we wouldn't have conceded two times at a time in two set pieces, but apart from this, it's not a season-defining game for us.
02:49How important is it that the players don't get too down about it?
02:52Because when you say it's not a season-defining game, obviously it's a brilliant start on Monday night,
02:55and obviously when you lose five by five it can have a big effect, but what's your message to the players about that sort of thing?
03:01Yes, it's also difficult for them, because we have not lost one game in pre-season, we have not lost, I think, one loss in the last 30.
03:07Last season we're not used to lose a football game, especially also not with such a result.
03:13But we wanted to play in the best league in the world, and if you play in the best league in the world against the best sides,
03:18you have to accept that days like this could happen, and then you don't have to dwell on it, you have to move on.
03:24But I liked also during the game, after the 4-0, sometimes you fall apart, and then everyone is playing his own game,
03:30and the body language is bad anyhow, and then you are down.
03:33No, we stick together also with the new substitutions, and we didn't allow them, after the 4-0, more chances.
03:40It was more the other way around. We nearly get the food back, perhaps with the consolidation goal.
03:45It was clear that we would lose this game, but I quite liked that we showed this mentality and didn't fall apart for that.
03:51I feel a bit for the players that we then allowed, sadly, this unnecessary loss of the ball,
03:56and conceded a soft penalty in the 93rd or 94th minute was a bit unnecessary.
04:00But also the feeling during this period, and then also the unity together with our supporters,
04:06I think they had a good feeling today that, yes, it was just a bit too much,
04:10or it was not the mentality or character or the fight.
04:13It was just that it was one of the days when, yeah, the opponent was just better, and we have to accept this.
04:18So the unity together with our supporters, and the end of the game, I think this says a lot,
04:24and this is what we take out of this game, but not too much analyzing of this stuff.
04:29You knew that Joel was going to be quite isolated today when you were defending the Ebert period.
04:33Why did you choose Joel over Lucas, who we probably agree is slightly more physical,
04:37maybe a better hold of man against Gabriel into Liebling?
04:40Yes, because, of course, we also wanted to keep the ball a bit better,
04:44because if you just defend, it's also difficult against Arsenal,
04:48and also the workload of Joel Pirot, and also the fact that against AC Milan,
04:53against Villarreal, and also against Everton, against really good sides,
04:56we have played with him, and he has played proper games,
04:59and we were unbeaten in these games, and for that we decided then to play him.
05:05Lucas, of course, has a bit different strength, and you could see that he's, of course,
05:10a bit more physical in order to be there, but also against Gabriel and Saliba,
05:16it's also difficult for Lucas perhaps to hold the ball perhaps even a bit better.
05:22I think for each to every striker it would have been difficult today,
05:25and it was, to be fair, and for that no complaints about any of the performance of my two strikers.
05:31Is it an impossible job working on whether to go short with Lucas or long with Lucas Perry,
05:36sorry, when Arsenal are both good at pressing you high when you're playing short,
05:41or, as I've just said, going long to Joel and possibly just giving the ball straight back?
05:45I mean, how do you solve a problem like that?
05:47Yeah, to mix it up, we of course try to play short, and we have our principles also how we overplay a high pressing,
05:57but once a team, and for me also in terms of the intensity of the pressing and the counter pressing,
06:02Arsenal is probably one of the best teams in the world, and they put pressure on you,
06:06and then the first one or two processes doesn't work, then the confidence goes a bit down,
06:10especially also for a new signing, then you mix it a bit up and go for a bit more pragmatical approach,
06:16we have then also played a few more balls into a compact lock,
06:20but yes, if on the other side then there's also Saliba and Gabriel who win more or less each of the header,
06:26it's also difficult, so whatever you choose, this is why Arsenal has won so many points in all of their last three seasons here,
06:34it's so difficult, it's more or less like to find good solutions,
06:38yeah, today we choose a bit more often than we would normally do for the pragmatical one,
06:43because we didn't want to lose the ball too early, too close to our own goal,
06:47and that was the reason we mixed it then a bit more up with more long balls than perhaps we would normally do.
06:53Daniel, does a result like this impact your transfer thoughts?
06:57I'm guessing from your comment probably no.
07:01No, because we know we can have one or two more signings and hopefully we will have also one or two more signings,
07:07but I don't think with one more whatever winger or fullback or whatever we choose,
07:12it's more like it would have been a different outcome for us.
07:14So as newly promoted side, you know there are teams who have better individual quality,
07:19and on days like this when they are on it and everything is also a bit against you,
07:23and you concede even out of set pieces then, of course it's the best set piece side in the world,
07:29I think Man United was also aware, but they also couldn't avoid a loss by set pieces last week,
07:34it's always difficult, you need that everything comes together as newly promoted to have a chance,
07:40and for that they were too good today and we played a bit into their cards with the goals and added time a little bit,
07:47so I would have preferred of course perhaps to go into a half-time with 1-0,
07:52just back, keep the game tight and in the end to take more risk,
07:56but if you take too early too much risk against the Arsenal side it's also difficult,
08:01I think with one or two more signings we wouldn't have changed the outcome of this game today.
08:06Lagi wasn't in the squad today, was that purely down to numbers or could he leave the club before the end of the game?
08:13No, it was just due down to the decision, it was a decision for Noah Okafor and not against Lagi,
08:19because obviously Billy Gnanto has played well in the last game,
08:22it was always clear that he would start on this position, we had a bit more solid defensive worker,
08:27like with Jack Harrison there who can of course at the moment when we are a bit thin on fullbacks
08:31also play on the fullback position, and we had the offensive spark with Noah,
08:35on the bench and he had a good pre-season with Milan, has played many minutes for them,
08:40also was involved in the last game day, has already a bit more minutes under his belt,
08:44it was not a decision against Lagi, it was more a decision for Noah.
08:48Stuart?
08:49Danny, you say you over-analyzed this, but for the boys who are new to the Premier League,
08:53what do you think they'll have learnt today?
08:55I think a lot out of the first 10-15 minutes, because the intensity and the speed of the game is on a different level,
09:02in comparison to everything that they have experienced in the Championship,
09:05or perhaps our signings on Bundesliga, Fantastic League as well,
09:09but not when the Premier League sides are really on it, also in terms of physicality,
09:14so this is good to have this first experience out of the way.
09:20Of course we have played good opponents also in pre-season with AC Milan,
09:24Villarreal had also a strong opponent on the first game day,
09:27but this intensity and the speed of the game was today on a completely different level,
09:31and yes, for that we have to step up if we want to be competitive on this level,
09:36but again, away games at Arsenal or Man City or Liverpool won't define our season.
09:43If we can sometimes win here and there points, yeah, great,
09:47but the 38 points that we need, the one point average that we need to survive in this league,
09:51we have to win in other games, and for that, yes, it wasn't a free hit today, of course,
09:56we wanted to go for it and want the best possible outcome,
09:59but sometimes you have to accept also that the opponent is too strong and then don't dwell on it and don't overanalyze it.
10:06As you've alluded to, you've got players who have played in the Bundesliga and played in Serie A and so on.
10:11Is the Premier League just on another level to these leagues nowadays in terms of that intensity particularly?
10:16I think so, it's for me the best league in the world.
10:19That doesn't mean that all the Premier League teams just win each and every European title,
10:24otherwise they would do this each and every year in the Champions League or the Europa League,
10:30so there are also sometimes other winners, but overall I think it's fair to say the best managers,
10:35the best players, the best teams, the best clubs are working in the Premier League and we know it's the best league in the world.
10:42And for that, yes, we wanted to play there.
10:46If we are not willing then sometimes to accept that you suffer also not like this,
10:51we should have stayed in the Championship there because there we win more or less each every game
10:54and everything is easy and we can celebrate a lot ourselves.
10:58We want to compete with the best teams in the world and also grow.
11:01Hopefully in a few years we are also competitive on this level, but we know as newly promoted side we have to stay humble,
11:09have to stay grounded and we have to keep going also after a night like this.
11:13Yes, after tackling the first half he's got some problems with his MCL and he kept going.
11:28I hope it's not too bad, I hope the assessment is not too bad, but there are a few concerns that there would be an injury.
11:35But normally positive that he could play further on, we have to assess him and we'll see how long it takes to get him back to full fitness.
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