Read some extra quotes from Arsène Wenger's pre-match press conference. For more headlines, visit our Digest page.
on players surrounding referees...
[Greg Dyke] has my complete support. We all have to respect the referees and make their job as easy as possible. It’s difficult enough today for referees to master the situation because they are criticised a lot as well. I include myself in that as well, we have some improvements to make there.
on reminding players of their responsibilities...
Yes, but I don’t think we are doing that too much.
on strengthening the squad...
"We have good memories at Newcastle but they are always very tight, very difficult games"
Arsene Wenger
We are not in a transfer period. We just have to continue to focus. Ninety five per cent of the players will still be here next season, and what is important is the attitude of these 95 per cent of the players - and how much we improve and how much we can push on now until the end of the season. We are in the semi-final of the FA Cup, we are in a strong fight in the Premier League. It’s important to focus on these targets and that we do that straight away on Saturday.
on having a good record at Newcastle…
We have good memories at Newcastle but they are always very tight, very difficult games. They are in a position where they are not under threat to go down. They always have a very motivated crowd and they always play well against us, which makes it a tight game.
on Newcastle appointing an interim manager...
John Carver is a permanent manager. The length of our permanence today is very difficult to define. The average life expectancy of a manager in England is 12 months, so it is very difficult to predict how long any of us will be in charge. He has the qualities to do the job.
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