Press conference

Every word: Unai and Stephan's press conference

Unai Emery and Stephan Lichtsteiner faced the media on Wednesday ahead of our Europa League opener against Vorskla.

The head coach and our experienced right-back discussed a range of topics, from team selection through to leadership - and you can read every word below:

on team selection…

UE: Good afternoon everybody. For me, every match, each moment, is about finding the best performance with the players. We have four competitions this season. Tomorrow is the Europa League, Sunday is Premier League, then it’s Carabao Cup and then we’re going to play in FA Cup. I want the same thing for every player because each match is important. The second situation is that we need to give minutes to the players who can produce the best performance for us. The best 11 will play tomorrow so that we can continue to improve in our way both tactically and individually. What’s important for us is to produce a winning performance but also to continue to improve.

on how he approaches three games in a week…

UE: I told the players the same thing that I’ll tell you. The Premier League is the first competition because it’s giving us a big responsibility, maybe bigger than the others, in the season. There are 38 matches, so your first analysis is like this. Other competitions are very important too. Today, we are only thinking about giving our supporters the first performance and a good 90 minutes on the pitch at the Emirates. We are excited about every match. I want to give the players the same excitement when they are at the Emirates. Then we are going to think about Sunday. First is tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to change things to give players the opportunity to find minutes, to find confidence on the pitch and then maybe tomorrow’s players can play on Sunday too.

on winning Europa again...

UE: Yes, sure. Every title for us is very important. In 2000, Arsenal played the final against Galatasaray but didn't win. And also, Arsenal played the final in 2006 in the Champions League and also didn't win. In my career, the ambition is very important for continuing to improve and continuing to achieve the objectives in my career personally and with the team. I want to play for every title going forward.

on Gazidis leaving and the impact it has…

UE: The first three months with Ivan were very important for me because he’s a big person, and a professional person too. The relationship between us was very close for three months. We spoke a lot about football, about management, about how big Arsenal is and our responsibility. His decision is a private one which I respect. I know Ivan is giving us the best next people [successors] to take the responsibility to continue to do good work.

on coming from Juventus and not playing...

SL: I’m not frustrated but of course I’m not used to being on the bench more than three times in a row. It’s also a new situation for me and I’m curious how I’ll manage it. I’m here to work, to get better personally, to get better with the team and I think we are in a very good way. I’m trying to start more and for that I have to work, that’s the only thing I can do in this moment to show the coach that I’m ready to play. We are in a good way, I’m in a very good way and ready to play.

on moving from the Champions League to the Europa League…

SL: One thing I learned with Juventus is to have respect for each competition. In the last four or five years with Juventus, we tried to play for all the titles, for all the trophies. While the Italian Cup wasn’t that important beforehand, we started to play for it with the best team possible. I think in football you have to respect all the trophies. Of course the Champions League is a more glamorous title, but the Europa League is a really good chance for the team, for the club and all the players to win this nice trophy. I think for that we have to respect all teams in all competitions to give all games 100 per cent.

on whether he feels he has added leadership to the group...

SL: I’ve already seen good personalities in this team. I don’t see that, what they wrote or what they said. I think of course if you have experienced players in the team, it’s good for young players who can use you as an example of how to work. I don’t feel that there’s not a big personality in this team. I see a very good team with a lot of quality, a lot of good players and characters. I don’t see a problem.

on his debut v Man City…

SL: It was no problem, I can also play on the left. If you come in after some minutes, it’s not easy. I have to be ready and I’m prepared for that, I have to be ready to play left back, right back, striker, goalkeeper, so I will do everything for the team that is possible.

on the fight with Hector Bellerin for the right-back spot...

SL: It’s not Hector v Stephan, it's Hector and me for Arsenal, so we have to work together to improve each other, to get better each day, to make the team win and Arsenal as a club win.

on how important it is to get back into the Champions League...

SL: To come back to the glamour games, you need to win the other games first. Now we’re in the situation where we need to win the Europa League, so we’re going to try to win the Europa League. Then, next year I hope, we can talk about the Champions League.

On whether last night's CL games make him more hungry...

SL: I am hungry to get back to the Champions League but it is a long way. We have two chances, between the Europa League and the Premier League so we have to try and I am sure we will want to play in the Champions League next year.

on how he has 'the body of a 28-year-old'...

SL: The secret is work, work, work every day. To prepare good, to sleep good, to eat good, to be hungry each day. Even with many titles and at 34, I am still hungry to win, I am hungry to come to training each day, so this is the recipe for that.

On how long he can go on...

SL: We will see, let's take it year for year and then we will see.

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