In the aftermath of our 2-2 draw at Sporting Lisbon on Thursday night, Mikel Arteta swiftly turned his attention to Sunday’s game against Fulham.
He took some questions from the journalists in attendance about the game against the Cottagers, as he provided an injury and fitness update, and discussed Bernt Lenos’s displays since he swapped north London for west London in the summer.
Here is everything he had to say:
on if Gabriel Jesus will be fit enough to play a part:
Let’s see, he will only have one more training session. He really needs to feel confident and ready to do that, and he’s got a big say in that.
on if he has any problems with our players’ behaviour after we were charged with over-celebrating:
When you win in football, you celebrate because it’s very difficult to win.
on if he was surprised with the charge:
If you want passion and emotion, there is nothing better than scoring goals and winning football matches. It is not on me to judge.
on if he will tell his players not to celebrate if we win on Sunday:
No, for sure no.
on Bernt Leno’s displays for Fulham:
I’m really happy for Bernt, he’s a really good goalkeeper - we knew that. I’m really glad we went somewhere where he’s happy and performing.
on whether we sold him too cheaply:
I don’t know.
on players struggling with illness:
We lost Martin [on Thursday] and he could not make the game, and Kieran as well as the injured players, but hopefully nobody else picks it up and we have a full sqaud to face Fulham.
on whether Martin will be OK for the weekend:
I hope so.
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