Bob Bradley’s appointment as Swansea City manager has created headlines in England and the United States.
As one of the first foreign managers in the Premier League, Arsene Wenger is aware of the challenges he will face and says he has all the attributes to succeed.
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on Bob Bradley…
Bob Bradley has a lot of experience. He’s not a beginner, he has traveled a lot and has accumulated experience in the United States. He has been in Egypt, France recently and is now in England which is certainly a fantastic opportunity for him. It’s also good for the Premier League because the Premier League is taking off in the States. To have an American here will create even more interest for the Premier League in the United States. He is equipped to deal with what is asked of him.
on facing scepticism because of his nationality…
Winning is the best way of dealing with it, just [do it] after playing us! You do not want to create scepticism because of where you’re from. What is important is that you’re qualified for the job you do, no matter where you’re from.
on how far Arsenal have come since losing to Swansea in March…
I think that’s what is at stake now for us. We have a home game on Saturday against Swansea and that’s a good opportunity to show that we have moved forward. We were a little bit in a difficult period at that time and we were a bit unlucky as well on the day, I must say. But it could be a similar game.
on an attractive period of fixtures…
You just told me that I have a lot of experience and because I have a lot of experience I’m very cautious. Last year we had a very negative experience with Swansea who killed our opportunity to win the Premier League. We have a good opportunity to show that we have learned from that and that we are capable of dealing with these kinds of opponents. That’s what is at stake for us. We have to refocus because the players have been away and we’ve basically had nobody here. We have to show that we can deal with the kinds of fixtures where we are the favourites. We were not always capable of doing that last season and we want to show that we have moved forward.
on if the international break disrupts the team’s rhythm…
Yes, but I’m used to that and maybe the quality of a Premier League team is to be capable of refocusing quickly coming back from international games. That’s what is at stake for us - to show that, despite the interruption, we can restart at the same level we had before.
on if Arsenal have struggled in that area before…
Yes, although if I look well at the results after the international breaks, it’s not negative. For us it’s not only that that is at stake. We play in a very difficult Premier League and what is important is to show that we can move up to the next level now and continue to improve. There is some room for improvement and the quicker we refocus on our targets, the more chance we have to achieve that.
on goals being shared among the squad…
If I look back at the teams I’ve had that were very successful, they could score goals from everywhere, even if we had one talisman like Thierry Henry, who scored goal after goal. Around him we have players who could score, so that’s a good basis.
More polls to come later in the season!
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