Press conference

Denis Suarez - ready for a starting place?

Denis Suarez has been working his way through the gears since his January move from Barcelona. In Dubai, he accelerated.

Our loan signing started against Al-Nasr and grasped his opportunity, neatly setting up Carl Jenkinson for a goal and making a number of telling contributions throughout the game.

Suarez also shone in training and Unai Emery believes he has stepped up ahead of the Premier League run-in.

“I think yes [he is doing well],” said the head coach. “It is normal to take time [to settle].

“I think he is okay for starting in the first 11 or for giving us this impact after. But I think now, our focus is collectively very strongly focused on helping in 90 minutes, or 50 minutes, or one minute. We are going to need every player for the next matches.

“We have a lot of players ready and with a big mentality and a big performance for playing and helping us. For me, like that, we can be stronger, more competitive for taking big performances. With Denis, or with another.”