GARY O’NEIL: ARSENAL V WOLVES PRE MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE

Are you ready? Are you the team for the start of the new season?

Yes, we’ve had a really good pre-season. The boys are in very good spirits, good understanding of what we’ve been trying to do. I’m pleased, obviously.

Matheus Cunha is back fit and trained this week, so he’s back with the group. Nelson missing from his red card in the last game of last season, which is… Nelson is very important to us, but Doc and Pedro Lima have both shown excellent qualities throughout pre-season. We’re in a good spot and we’re ready to go and give a good account of ourselves.

So Matheus Cunha is potentially in the squad for the game? That’s a big boost, right?

Yes, Matheus Cunha is fine. Raring to go. He’s worked really hard to get back as quick as he has again.

He’s feeling very, very good. He’s had a great week’s work. He’s trained every day on the grass, so no concerns around him.

So, yes, a big boost for us.

Compare this to this time last season. Obviously, you were renewing the job a couple of days coming into the first game. Now you’re here, full pre-season, new contract. Do you feel a lot more positive and able to plan not just for the next game, but long-term as well?

Yes, we’re working very hard on all of that. Obviously, the club have had a plan in place.

The two main outgoings were sort of foreseen, really. The ones that we had a fair idea would happen very early. Obviously, you never want to lose your best players, but for Pedro to leave, there was always a concern around maybe it coming later.

So, the fact that it’s been done early is helpful to us. The new contract and the commitment to the club was a no-brainer for me. I love being here.

I loved every moment of my year, just over a year, that I’ve done. I’m looking forward to doing the best I can with everything that we have here and how we’re trying to move forward. Is there a gap in the squad in terms of experience and that little bit of extra quality needed? Myself and, as I say, we knew fairly early that Max and Pedro, there was a fair chance that they would leave in this window.

Myself and Matt Hobbs have worked really hard on identifying what we think can help us from there. That is currently being worked on. As far as I’m aware, things are still moving forward.

We’re doing our best to enhance what we already have. Really keen, and I know it’s difficult for you guys in this moment, but my focus is solely on the ones that I have in the building and working my socks off with them to get the most out of them and give them the best opportunity to show what they are. I don’t really like talking about new arrivals and what might or might not happen.

As I say, we knew the window would potentially go this way. Myself and Matt have identified targets that we think are realistic and that can help. Hopefully, they’ll arrive before the end of the window.

Do you feel more reassured with VAR coming into the new season, or do you still have concerns?

No, I’m not concerned at all. I think I just judge everything by how it goes. I have faith that they’ll have worked to try and improve it.

We’ve had discussions with them. I’ve sat with them at a manager’s meeting. They’ve come in and sat with the players.

They’ve explained how things will work. I think there’s always a chance that you feel hard done by during football matches. Last year, there was maybe a few in quick succession that made us feel like we were more hard done by than others.

That can just be bad luck and the way it goes sometimes. I think this season, I fully expect us to be treated the same as everybody else. I expect it to be 100 per cent fair and I do expect it to have improved from last season.

I have no concerns around VAR, the referee. They’ve tried to clear things up for us, so it’s a little bit clearer for us. Hopefully, that will be the same for the fans and the people at home watching.

It’s a new season, so I think I’m really looking forward to all aspects of it. Our part of it, the officiating, the Premier League itself, the new players that have arrived. No concerns or negative feelings about anything.

I think that would be not a great way to start a Premier League season. More upbeat from me and I’m looking forward to a really good Premier League campaign. Arsenal are expected to be one of the title contenders.

Is it good to play them EARLY or is it difficult when you’re still trying to get everyone back up to speed and get the squad together?

I don’t think it makes too much difference when you play them. They’re a good side. They’ve had a good pre-season.

They look equally as good, if not better, than last year. Obviously, it can depend largely

On the transfer window. If Arsenal sign four or five after we play them, then they’ll potentially be stronger when they play others.

If we sign four or five, then we’ll be stronger. These early fixtures can sometimes be misleading, but it’s a tough fixture. Nevertheless, you go to the Emirates, you know what to expect.

It’s going to be full-throttle. They’re going to be in your face. They’re going to be desperate to go one step further than they did last season.

That starts with a home game for them that will be very important. From our side, we’re really looking forward to seeing what we can do down there and what problems we can cause them, how well we can cope with the issues that they will pose us. Just really looking forward to it, as I know the players are.

A great opportunity for us to see where we are on week one.

You say you’re looking forward to seeing how your team shape up. You’ve talked about changing the style, the structure in this closed season. How confident or nervous or excited are you about seeing that in a full Premier League game against one of the very best?

No, I don’t feel any way about it. It’s flexible, as always. Last season was flexible.

We were back five twice against Arsenal, I think. Maybe one of them was a bit more in between the two and lost both. We could go there as a back five tomorrow and win or lose.

We could go there as a back four and win or lose. There’s a lot more to it than that for me. The style and what we’re trying to change isn’t as drastic or as big as what people outside would want to make it out to be.

It’s just trying to move the team forward, trying to make it. What we have, which is the job really, you need to get your best players in their best positions and try and give them the best opportunity to hurt teams and look as good as they can. Just using what we have and trying to get it in the best position possible.

Fundamentally, last season you were bold, you were brave, you scored a lot more goals than you had previous seasons. The systems that you were playing allowed those attacking players to really enjoy their time on the pitch. Can we see that continuing this year?

I hope so.

Obviously that’s the plan, to try and keep being aggressive and front foot and try and create as many chances as possible. Trying to be ruthless when we get them. All of that is of course part of the plan.

I’m sure the other teams that we’re about to face will all have their plan and the way that they want it to go. That’s why I say week one is always interesting because you go into it, you’ve seen pre-season but pre-season isn’t the same. We go there tomorrow and we get to have a real good look at where we are against maybe the second best team in the country.

We can see everything that we’re doing well and everything that isn’t going so well under a huge microscope in week one. We can see exactly where we’re at.

When you studied Arsenal and their work in pre-season, what have you made of it?

Very good.

Good team. One of my favourite teams actually for style and what they’re about. I’m really impressed with the job that Mikel’s done.

Just the behaviours of the team. Very humble, honest, hard-working as well as having so much quality in there. The combination of them obviously makes them a very tough team to play against.

The home game, especially last year when we were obviously weakened at that point, we had a real good go. It was 1-0 for a long, long time and an unfortunate goal to concede at that. We do know that we can compete.

We know that we have to be as close to perfect as possible to give ourselves the best chance. But we can compete and we go there looking to do so. When you go to one of the big sides that are going to be competing for the Premier League title, which Arsenal will this season, you know that you need things to go your way, but you also know that you need to take care of your own business.

That’s been our focus this week. There’s a real belief in the group that we can go there. We went to places last season where people didn’t give us much of a chance and caused some real big upsets.

We’re looking to start off this season in the same fashion.

Given how focused you are on details and working so hard, this was your first pre-season as a head coach. In terms of how you mapped it out at the start, how you wanted it to look and feel and how it all went to now, the last day, how satisfied are you?

Yeah, really pleased with how it went.

The America trip, maybe we trained slightly less than I would have liked, potentially, but got a lot out of the games while we were there. So there was a slight trade-off. But in general, I loved the Spain trip where we got so much work done on the grass.

It’s my sort of trip, really, where it’s just all about the grass and making sure that we get into the players what we get into. I saw a real steep learning curve and a huge improvement in that area. And then it’s gone well since we got back.

Obviously, losing Mateus halfway through it and not having him complete his full pre-season was a blow in it. Because in a pre-season spell, when you’re in control of the load and stuff, it’s disappointing to pick up muscle injuries. So that was a disappointment from our point of view.

But the fact that he’s managed to recover makes us feel a little bit better about ourselves. Obviously, the international boys have come back well. 

Bouba Traore is back with us. So, yes, a good group that are willing to go and willing to fight and hopefully create the same sort of feel that we had last year with our fan base, which was like a real united front and togetherness and trying to push forward together.

Just finally, on the fans, they enjoyed a couple of trips to the capital last year. What’s your sense from talking to them, hearing from them over the course of these last few weeks? The predictions seem pretty optimistic in terms of league finishes. Is that what you’re feeling from that?

Yes, I think when you travel around the country, the local supporters are always extremely optimistic and excited for the new season, new signings and new kit. I was in the club shop actually a few days ago when I bumped into a load of the fans and we were having a chat and they were extremely excited about the push for Europe.

So, yes, that will be most of the Premier League teams at this moment. Obviously, further around the country, it will be a lower level of expectation probably of Wolves, but we’ve dealt with both. Last season, we dealt with being relegation favourites from first kick to charging for Europe in January and then not quite making it.

So, we’ve dealt with all of those sort of emotions and expectations and what people think from outside before. What we think on the inside is that we have a group that feels really good and is really determined to go and do the best that it can do. Whether we’re around 11th and we push and fight for every point and we manage to squeeze 10th out of it, that will be a huge success.

If we’re 16th and we have to fight and scrap for every point to get 15th, then we’ll do that. So, we’ll just try and maximise what we have in here and keep a real clear focus around ourselves and what we’re trying to do.

Did you get the new kit in the shop?

My kids did.

They all got the new kit, yeah. Although, I think they were out a couple of sizes, so the new shop needs to get some more stock, if you’re listening, guys. But, yeah, no, all good.

I like the new kit. Very good. Thank you.

Cheers. Who did they have on the back? Their own, actually. Yeah, no, their own. CJ thinks he’s a player already, so 10 and CJ on the back of his, yeah.

Team news-wise, it’s great about Matheus. Are there any other issues? How’s Mario Lemina? Is he going to make it?

Yeah, Mario’s good.

Obviously, the preparations for the Vallecano game were different. The hangover from the America trip, the jet lag and the time difference, and then we had to train three days on the trot going into the game, which we wouldn’t normally do. So, there was a few flat performances, a few feeling tired towards the end of the game, a few felt a bit leggy in the warm-up.

So, obviously, that’s come right down this week with an aim to freshen everybody up and make sure that we’re ready for the Emirates. So, expect everybody to be absolutely fine tomorrow.

Now, obviously, the talk is all about new signings and about transfer window. So, the players you are looking at bringing in, are they going to be oven-ready? Are they going to be players you expect to come straight in and impact the first team now, or is it players for the future or a mixture of the two?

Yeah, I think part of mine and especially Matt’s job is to try and take care of both. So, we have a responsibility to make sure that the club’s in a good spot. So, we try and sign assets and players that are going to be able to help the club and carry a value in Pedro Lima and Rodrigo Gomes and obviously Tommy Doyle, who was made permanent.

And then also, the other side of that is we need ones that are Premier League ready. We’ve lost two that we know you can just write their name down, send them out in a Premier League game and we know that they can cope fine. So, of course, me and Matt have been really detailed on how we put this all together.

And those parts of the jigsaw, hopefully, we expect them to be added in the next couple of weeks. So, everyone’s working really hard on them and we’ll see where we get to. Is anything close at the moment? Not as far as I know.

Nothing imminent. So, I wouldn’t expect any announcements before tomorrow’s game.

As regards outgoings, Arsenal have been linked with Dan Bentley a couple of times over the summer. So, is there anything in that and do you still expect him to be at the club come the end of the week?

Yeah, I expect Dan to be here. He’s had a good pre-season. He knows we think highly of him.

We want him to push Jose Sa and make sure that Jose Sa needs to be at the top of his game to keep his spot. Everybody in the squad, we try and get two for every position so that they can push each other. And Dan is important in that.

And Kingy, equally, behind Dan to keep pushing Dan and make sure that Dan stays as number two. So, no, I don’t envisage Dan leaving in the window.

And what about Goncalo Guedes and Daniel Podence?

Yeah, both part of the matchday squad tomorrow.

As I said, the way I manage the group and the people within the group is I take them as I find them. I give them an opportunity to show everybody what they can do. And they’ve done that over pre-season.

They’ve knuckled down. They’ve been great around the place. They’ve worked their socks off.

Although Daniel’s pre-season has been hampered a little bit, obviously, by the injury. Not played as many match minutes as I would have liked him to. But that aside, they’ve both got themselves in the best place possible to give themselves an opportunity to impact the Premier League for us this season.

And as it stands right now, that’s what we’re going to try and do with them.

I know that you’ve said that one of your main aims this summer was to rebalance the squad and to add more depth to it. Obviously, you’ve got a 15-year-old on the bench at the end of last season. So, do you feel as if you’re almost there now? Or do you think it will take more than one window?

No, it takes a while to move things around. But we’ve definitely moved it forward. I think the window is still largely incomplete.

I think we understood that we may lose Max and Pedro. And the reason that we would lose them is because of the size of the money that would come in. So, the size of the money that has come in gives us a real opportunity to help the players that are still here.

So, in the next few weeks, it’s really, really important that we use that money. And use that money well to help the group. Best of luck tomorrow.

Just a quick one on Strand LarsEn. Do you think he’ll start? And how exciting a signing is it? Strand’s 100 per cent fit and he’ll be in the squad.

I’m really excited. I think he’s working hard. He’s hard on himself when he wants to hit the ground running.

Obviously, he’s had a few chances in pre-season and he’s had a few disallowed for offside. So, I know I’m not bothered about the fact that he hasn’t scored yet because of what he does and what he offers. And I know that he’s going to score goals.

But I know that he’s keen to get off the mark. But he is exciting for us. He’s the number nine that can lead the line.

We can go into him longer if we need to. He’s excellent without the ball. If we can get enough service in and around the box for him, he’ll definitely score goals.

So, it’ll be important to us this season. We need Jorgen to have a real good season for us to have a good season. So, it’ll be really important.

And how are you expecting that unity to carry on this season? I’m not going to ask you about season 2, don’t worry about that. But obviously, that caused a little bit of friction at the end of last season. How important is it that you keep that unity this year?

Yeah, we’ll need the fans.

The Premier League is tough. Even when you’re doing well, there are tough moments in it. So, we’ll need them.

Exactly like we did last season, the players will need them. We’ve spoken a lot about the difference between playing in a stadium where the home support is fully behind you. The standout one, and I mention it a lot, was the Brighton FA Cup quarter-final where we were understrength.

We were tired. We weren’t playing very well. We were winning 1-0 and we couldn’t really get out of that half.

The fans just stuck with the lads and saw that they were struggling but they were giving everything. There’s not many fan bases at that point, I don’t think, that would have reacted in that way to that sort of performance. So, we’ll need that at times, hopefully.

My responsibility is to give them more than that and to give them stuff that they can enjoy. And they’ll want to come and watch us and get involved and enjoy some big results. That’s the aim, obviously.

If I can keep my side of it and the fans can keep their side of it, I’m sure it will be another enjoyable campaign for us.