Unai Emery faced the media on Friday as he quizzed at length about the fight to secure a top-four race in detail.
Our head coach also discussed facing Brighton, Petr tech, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and more.
Read on for a full transcript:
on whether we need to win our remaining games...
Good afternoon. We need to win the next match and if we win against Brighton we are going to the last match against Burnley with the possibility to be in the top four. It’s not in our hands, but we need to win our matches and the first is Sunday. It’s not easy to win each match - for us and for other teams - but the focus for us is to win against Brighton for different situations. We are going to play the last match at home. We are going the play the last match with Petr Cech, with Aaron Ramsey and also I think we want to finish at the Emirates with a victory. The first objective is to finish in the top four and it will give us the chance.
on whether Cech will play a part...
We are going to decide tomorrow. But our first objective is to win.
on what it would mean to finish in the top four...
We are in our process. I think we need to be very demanding, but sometimes with calm. We want to be in the CL and it’s first objective for us. We have the possibility in two ways. One is through the Premier League and the other is the Europa League. We are now fighting for the top four but we are with Tottenham who have some advantage, Chelsea and also Manchester United - very big teams and that’s giving us difficulty.
on whether we deserve to finish in the top four...
The process is more doing our steps - and the next step is to win on Sunday.
on whether he is happy with the process...
Yes I am. Our progress I think - when we started the season we lost against Man City and Chelsea and we worked for this process, little by little and at the end of the season now we are with this possibility. I think when we started we would have been happy to have today these two opportunities in the Premier League and Europa League to reach our target.
on the setback if we don't qualify for the Champions League…
Our thoughts are to be positive. We are going to play on Sunday thinking of the three points.
on how Brighton will approach the game…
They are a good team with a very good coach. They are organised and have been in the Premier League for the last years, playing with big performances. It’s going to be difficult for us.
on if he’d prefer Brighton having nothing to play for…
For example, we played against Crystal Palace who were safe, but they played with a big performance and won against us.
on what he thinks about when deciding on three or four at the back…
We speak in our meetings, and 70 per cent [of the decision] is thinking about us and our matches. After, the 30 per cent, we analyse the positions and to share thinking about our capacity against the opposition.
on the psychological aspect of losing three in a row in the league…
The mindset is very important and we are in our process, also to create a big mentality. I think we can be proud of our way. Sometimes it’s difficult but we’ve come back from these moments, creating our strength with his progression.
on Lacazette and Aubameyang…
Without the strikers it’s difficult, and it’s the same with the goalkeeper. Without the goalkeeper it’s difficult, and the midfielders too. Football is about 11, or 18, or 25.
on how important Laca and Auba are…
They are [helping] us with their performances, with their behaviour, with their commitment. We are happy together, sharing this way.
on if they are better together or playing as one up front…
It depends. Sometimes they both play, sometimes one. It depends on each moment, on our tactical idea. Each match is different.
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