Match Details

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

• Sunday, 26th October
• 14:00 GMT
• Emirates Stadium
• Premier League
• Live audio commentary on Palace TV+.

On team news…

It looks like everyone came through physically okay [from the Larnaca game].

For us it is now just about recovery. the weather looks fine, so then we will be on the pitch playing a little bit of head tennis, using all the facilities we have.

The players already started with the recovery, and with the players who didn’t play and keeping them in the rhythm, they’ll do 30, 40 minutes, a little bit of ball work.

It’s just about staying in the rhythm and being best prepared for Arsenal, and this is what I can promise, is that the players will be fit and ready.

On where the squad is at…

Of course, the start was excellent, but I was clear that it doesn’t mean the whole season will be like this, because then we would win all four competitions.

But, again, I have no concerns at all, because the performances are okay.

We are not always on top, and this was our 14th game this season. We can’t always expect to be performing on our top level every game.

And then, sometimes you need to be clinical… score a goal, take a set play and win. We are not that far away at the moment, but we will try to get there, and that we take more wins with the effort that the players show, and the chances we create.

On the challenge of facing Arsenal…

I said before Bournemouth game that I don’t expect a 3-3 and then it happened!

But, to be honest, I think the last result at the Emirates Stadium [for us] was a 2-2. Even there we had great chances before we scored the equaliser, and it was three days before the semi-final of the FA Cup, so we are looking forward to this game.

Of course I watched their game against Atletico Madrid, and you can see they are very efficient, very dangerous in set-plays, and they can always create situations. They make good runs in-behind, with their wingers, and are good in the one-v-ones.

We have many, many strengths. But on the other side, and this will be important there… maybe it makes a click at the Emirates… to be efficient, having one or two chances and scoring one or two goals.

I don’t expect us to have seven or eight big chances. But on the other side, I hope I’m wrong like I was before Bournemouth, and we have seven or eight big chances there.

On sticking together…

It’s easy to stick together after a 2-1 win over Liverpool at home. When you do that it’s easy to be a team, to stick together.

But now it’s important because everybody is disappointed [after the Larnaca result] and when you go in the dressing room, nobody is speaking, and the players are blaming themselves for different reasons.

It’s part of life, it’s part of football, and for me, I saw that they tried everything until the end, but today it didn’t work.

For me, in this period, the players need support and we get all the support, because they are just great guys.