Arsene Wenger's Pre-Sunderland Presser

Arsène Wenger's Latest Pre match presser against Sunderland

Arsene Wenger Pre match presser

On Santi's injury.................

"When Santi is out we miss the pass from deep midfield to high midfield, security on the ball, getting out of pressure," said the boss.

"When we are getting closed down, he gets you out of tight situations and creates openings for the team. There is as well a good understanding between him and Mesut Ozil.

"Against Middlesbrough, people said ‘Santi did not play’, but I believe we had enough domination, enough quality to win the game on the pitch, and that’s where we have to find the solution even when Santi is not there.

"No matter how big Santi is, and God knows that I rate him highly, we have as well drawn and lost games with him as well. We have to find a solution with the players that are on the pitch."

On the behaviour of some supporters at West Ham…

I’m surprised even more than disappointed, because West Ham is usually a very strong fanbase, very motivated and as well we are not used, in England, to face these kind of problems anymore. Personally I am in favour of the resurgence of standing opportunities behind the goals and that is not a very good advert to come back to standing opportunities for people in the stands, so I am surprised. Hopefully West Ham will get rid of the problem very quickly.

on whether those scenes damage the argument for safe standing…

Yeah, of course. It gives an argument to people who are against it.

on whether he thinks a game could end up being played behind closed doors…

No. There is nothing more dull than that. I prefer not to play than playing games behind closed doors.

on why he is in favour of safe standing…

I feel the closer you are to the positions of the players, the more passionate you are about it. As well because it would allow lower prices because you could get more spectators inside the stadiums, and maybe a more passionate atmosphere.

on whether too much is being made of the West Ham incident…

I don’t believe there is a problem with hooliganism in England. You cannot say that one minor incident, I heard [it was] about 200 people, is a general problem in the country.

On learning more last season than any other…

I try always to learn and if I have one quality, it is that I try to learn from everything. Every year I learn things, more or less. I think what we learned last season is that a team like Leicester can win the title and only lose three games. Nobody could have predicted that before the start of the season and that is why it will be very tight again this season.

On Ozil contract talks…

There is nothing really concrete enough to talk about, but it is moving along.

on the benefits of only having to integrate three new signings…

We have a big squad, you know. We have a big squad and I believe a competitive squad is where the competition is fair inside the squad. If you have too many, there is no competition because some players will never play. If there’s not enough, there’s not enough competition so it’s detrimental as well. We have opted for a short number and quality, that disrupts less the way we play football and the technical stability.

On facing David Moyes…

David Moyes is an experienced manager who has 15 seasons in the Premier League. I think he will adapt to the strength of his team and organise it so that it defends very well and can catch us on the break and [take advantage of] situations where they have set-pieces.

on whether Moyes has recovered from his Manchester United experience…

I think so, once you are out of an experience you go into the next one and focus only on giving your best for your new club. Why should he not have recovered? You dwell on it when you sit at home and have no job, but once you have a job you focus on doing the best where you are.

On the latest team news…

From Tuesday night we’ve lost Lucas for a while with an ankle injury. I think he’ll be out for six to eight weeks. We have Giroud back available and Aaron Ramsey will be in the squad. We are [almost] in November, they have not played so it’s good to have them back. We have a few uncertainties over Walcott, Monreal and Cazorla, but they will all have tests today.

On Giroud and Ramsey…

They are available for selection. I have to be a bit cautious, especially with Aaron Ramsey, because he has not played at all yet. He has only had one week with the team so I will be a bit cautious with him.

on Lucas getting injured just as he was getting more minutes…

Yes it’s very frustrating because he worked very hard to get there. Of course he is absolutely gutted, because it’s an injury coming from nowhere, and a stupid one, because it was a deliberate kick. It’s a similar tackle to [the one from] Xhaka [against Swansea], but there was no red card. But the red card would not have helped Lucas. What is most important is that he’s out for six to eight weeks.

On whether Theo Walcott is ill…

No, he is not ill. There is a slight hamstring alert, a very minor one. He will have a test today.

on whether Theo will be available to face Ludogorets…

He should be OK for Tuesday. If it’s not tomorrow, it’s OK for Tuesday.

On Nacho’s injury…

He has a little muscle tightness.