Press conference

Emery's press conference: read every word

Unai Emery

Unai Emery insisted he was not frustrated but "proud" after our 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Our head coach faced the media afterwards and discussed the performance, Ron Holding, Aaron Ramsey and Laurent Koscielny.

Read on for a transcript of his press conference:

on whether it was a missed opportunity...

Good evening. I am very proud of our work and how we played and how we responded in the 90 minutes because when we were winning it was a good moment but they equalised very quickly and then we got up after the two goals. In the second half our players worked and fought to win and I think we were closer than United to getting the third goal but I think De Gea saved two or three times with good actions.

on Rob Holding and Aaron Ramsey...

The worst for us today was the news with Rob Holding. We are going to wait for what the doctor tells us but it is maybe a big injury. We are going to wait, it is his knee. The other is Aaron Ramsey, but it is a small injury with him. After the two injuries, every player played with good commitment and mentality to keep the performance [going] in a difficult moment and we could not control the game like we wanted for the 90 minutes, but for the second half it give us confidence this draw. It is not the best, but it is not the worst and I think if we win on Saturday, it is a positive. I say to the players that we need to finish this week, but first is a good rest because the players finished very tired, and that is normal after Sunday's game against Tottenham and today, because they were very demanding on us physically.

on whether he is frustrated...

No, I'm not frustrated, I am very proud of the players because they had a very good match for every supporter. Everyone who loves football will see that this was a good match for us.

on whether the first United goal was offside and the Rojo incident...

Yes, I know that and when VAR comes in, you can't equalise something like this, it is difficult decision for the referee. Sometimes it is for us, sometimes it is for the opposition. But I think the referee's decision was not [decisive] for the result. I think we controlled the game and if one team deserved to win I think we did more.

on whether Rojo should have been sent off…

I don’t know. Usually, it’s difficult for the referee. I am over here and the referees have a lot of personality. I respect them a lot, and their decisions. If that’s their decision then it’s OK with me. They can also make mistakes sometimes, but I think he was fair to both teams. In the tactical analysis of the 90 minutes, I think we improved a lot in the 90 minutes and in the second half, I think we were better than them. But we know that we can do better and if we play like that on Saturday against Huddersfield, we will win three more points.

on the spirit of the performance…

Away, our challenge is against a team like Manchester United and today that was probably the best point. We were playing against a very competitive team and I think our spirit is good. We got up after conceding twice in the 90 minutes and we tried to find the victory every time. I think this is our spirit. Usually United create a lot of chances here, and I don’t think we conceded a lot of chances. For us, for our confidence, our level in the competition and our way, I think we can think very positively.

on Laurent Koscielny…

Laurent is very close to playing for us. He played two matches for the under-23s - the last one was on Tuesday. When are we thinking he will start playing with us? I don’t know if Saturday is a possibility, but we’re thinking the Europa League game against Qarabag could be a good match for him.

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