Interview

Emery - Bournemouth play with joy

Unai Emery says he is quickly rediscovering the competitive element of football since starting in the Premier League.

We travel to Bournemouth on Sunday, and our head coach says he is expecting another huge challenge on the south coast.

"I think one of the characteristics of the Premier League is the fact every game is very demanding and you need to overcome that if you want to finish in the top four," Emery said.

"In terms of the difficulty of the teams, it’s not just the top teams but all of the teams in the league are very difficult because they all have good players and I think that’s what makes the Premier League as far as I know the most competitive league around. 

"I think in comparison with the leagues in France and Spain, taking Spain for example, that was a league in which every team was very tricky and it made sure that you needed to know a lot about them. It meant that your preparation had to be spot on and it meant that your instructions to the team throughout all 90 minutes had to be very good.

"That was unlike France in a sense that PSG were so superior that the competitive aspect wasn’t so apparent, but it’s something I am rediscovering here in England and so in terms of my competitive level, I need that to be very high and I want to convey that to the players so that we get the best out of them.

"In terms of Bournemouth, that’s been my focus ever since the end of the Wolves game, I know that we are going to have to play at a very high level in order to get the three points because Bournemouth are doing some great work, they have some fantastic players. I think that most of all, they have that confidence at the moment which is making them a truly tough proposition."