00:00I'll kick off with Simon.
00:02Michael, obviously you get these midweeks,
00:05and it's a very rare few where you haven't played a week.
00:07You were speaking to us before the Wolves game, I think,
00:09and you said it would look a bit difficult
00:11or you would do something different.
00:13I just wondered if you could give us an insight into what you've done.
00:15You guys tried to understand what we were doing.
00:20It's been different because obviously we haven't had the time to do that,
00:23so we had some time off.
00:25After that we had a little bit more time to train as well.
00:28We gathered together in different ways.
00:31For example, last night we had the Arsenal Foundation event,
00:33which it was magnificent to be part of that as well,
00:37and all the boys were there together.
00:39So it's been a different one.
00:41Very good for our preparation, I believe,
00:43and hopefully we can show that on Sunday.
00:46Was there a temptation?
00:47I know we've seen with City and Chelsea players
00:50that have been going off.
00:51We saw Harlem and Paris this week.
00:53Were the players allowed to do that
00:55or did you prefer to keep them closer?
00:57What was the reasoning around?
00:58Yeah, we had times throughout this period as well
01:01when the players had the opportunity to do that as well.
01:04We are constantly talking to them about their needs
01:06and what they want.
01:08We believe that this time it was better to stay here.
01:11We changed it a little bit differently
01:14to what we've done in the past.
01:16Hopefully it was the right decision.
01:23The confidence is so vital for any striker.
01:27I just wonder if you can talk about
01:28he looks like he's playing with a lot more freedom now.
01:32Whether you agree with that
01:34or what it does to a centre-forward?
01:37Well, I think confidence is the fundamental pillar for any person.
01:43I think in general, whatever you do in life
01:44and when you feel like you belong somewhere,
01:48that you are liked, you are loved even better
01:50and if you feel the trust of the people around you,
01:53I think then you can really hit the levels
01:57that everybody expects from you.
01:58and I think Victor now is in a moment
02:00that he starts to get those kinds of feelings
02:02and that's a really positive thing obviously to perform.
02:05Does that mean it was a big move forward
02:06and wasn't it from Sporting to Arsenal?
02:09Do you think that was, I don't know,
02:10did we underestimate how big that step was maybe?
02:14I don't know, we didn't
02:16because we tried to explain all the new circumstances
02:19and context that he's going to have to adapt
02:22and embrace when you come here
02:24and the big one was obviously a different league,
02:27a different game model,
02:29players that he never played with before
02:30and on top of that,
02:33you come with the expectation
02:34of bringing that 9-9 shirts in your back
02:36and that's a big one.
02:38And are you glad to find that
02:39the more he scores,
02:41the more money you owe Sporting in add-ons?
02:46I think, I hope,
02:48that the owners and everybody at the club
02:50are very happy if that's the case.
02:52Yes, I am.
02:53I'm a club.
02:54Yeah.
02:54Again on Victor,
02:56he seems quite an intense kind of guy.
02:58What's he like behind the scenes?
02:59Is he really intense and how to manage it?
03:02Intense in what sense?
03:03Just his eyes.
03:04No, no.
03:05He wants to kill you.
03:08But it's a really, really nice guy.
03:10He's really open,
03:11really demanding and transparent.
03:13I mentioned it a few times,
03:14but yeah,
03:15he's looked at eyes.
03:16When he looks at you,
03:18he can look a bit intimidating.
03:21And separately,
03:21in terms of on the pitch,
03:23from 2026 this year,
03:24Arsenal have made four errors leading to goals.
03:27Declan has been the latest one against Spurs.
03:29Is there any Spurs
03:29or more errors this year,
03:31which is fine?
03:32What are the reasons behind this?
03:33Is it pressure?
03:33Is it just luck?
03:36It's football as well.
03:38So, Declan made one in the second half.
03:40It was a very similar action
03:42and didn't end up in a goal,
03:43but it was very close to that.
03:45So, very, very unusual.
03:47Obviously,
03:47you want to eradicate anything
03:48that is a gift to the opponent,
03:52but sometimes it happens.
03:54But hopefully it happens now
03:55and it won't happen again.
03:56Is that pressure or is that something happening?
03:59I think the other day,
04:00for example,
04:00Declan's action,
04:01I think it's confident enough
04:02to take the ball
04:03and try to clean the action
04:06in an area
04:07that has not much reward
04:11and a lot of risk,
04:12I would say.
04:12So, probably a different decision
04:14would have been better,
04:16but I think that shows confidence
04:17and the player can still unlock
04:18a situation like this.
04:21A couple of years ago,
04:22when you went to the bye,
04:23you had all the families there
04:24that were very much bonding
04:25and the squad bonding.
04:27Yeah.
04:27But this week,
04:28they've pretty much seen each other
04:30every three days this year.
04:32This week,
04:32did you feel they almost needed
04:34not to see each other
04:35and actually have a break?
04:36To kind of see the families
04:38and then come back refreshed?
04:40That's the theory
04:41and I wish we could be in Dubai.
04:44So,
04:44if we have one or two days,
04:45I guarantee you
04:46that we were in Dubai
04:47for a few days
04:48even if it was for a few days
04:49because everybody was dying for it.
04:51But then you get very surprised
04:52because sometimes
04:53when I give them the day off
04:54and you think
04:55that they don't want to see each other,
04:56no?
04:56Then I find out
04:57that eight players
04:59or ten were having dinner
04:59in somebody's house,
05:00they spend the whole afternoon together.
05:03And that's the beauty of it,
05:05the fact that they want to be together
05:06because they feel like being together
05:08is the best thing that they can do.
05:09And that was the case this week as well
05:11in a lot of cases.
05:13Do you do barbecues?
05:14I don't have parties on the barbecues.
05:15With this weather.
05:16We only have one day.
05:17One day.
05:19Wednesday it was, yeah?
05:21So, no barbecues,
05:22but the barbecues coming.
05:23And then I'll have a quick one.
05:24City and you have covered more ground
05:26than anyone else.
05:27Well,
05:28in the top three
05:29covering ground
05:29in the Premier League
05:30and Zubermendi's covered
05:31has run more than anyone else.
05:35Is there any correlation
05:36to that
05:37and that's where you are
05:38in the table
05:39in terms of the running
05:40or can it have any bearing
05:41in the running?
05:44I think we'll go game to game.
05:46Obviously,
05:47it's the efficiency of how far you run,
05:50where you run
05:50and especially when you run,
05:52which is the most important thing.
05:54Obviously,
05:55the intensity of those actions
05:56and the sprint distance,
05:59a lot of things.
05:59There's a lot about that
06:01but putting a bit of perspective
06:02sometimes is important.
06:03But the will to do the work
06:05when it's necessary,
06:06that's for sure something
06:07that a winning team should have.
06:09Okay,
06:10last couple now.
06:10Josh.
06:11Hi.
06:12To bring it back to Emma,
06:15there's been a lot of talk about
06:16what's pushing the bridge
06:17at Palestine
06:17about him being...
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