**How are Rice and Calafiori?**
They are both available to be in the squad.
**Anybody close to coming back?**
No Tomiyasu and Zinchenko probably available as well.
**Has Jesus been noticeably different and does he have to start on Saturday?**
He was very happy and everybody in the team was very happy because he helped us to get to the semi finals. What you can see is the immediate reaction of him - big smile on his face, big energy around him. That’s what we need to have from our number nine, the highest level of performance. Gabi certainly had a big one on Wednesday.
**Can he go on a big run with you?**
He’s been looking really good since he came back from pre-season. He had a setback but he had some good performances without scoring. What he did the other day is exactly what we need from our nines.
**Is Kieran Tierney off in January?**
At the moment he is here with us. I wouldn't play a player who is thinking of leaving or not committed to us. He’s fully committed and enjoying after a long period out with injury. Live the moment. He’s a big part of the squad now, he deserves to be in the squad. He played really well after a long time. That’s all I can say.
**Does he want to leave?**
He hasn’t come to me and said I want to move. In the past when there have been doubts he’s come to me and this hasn’t been the case yet.
**How would assess your five years?**
That I really enjoyed it. That it’s gone really fast. I’m really grateful to be in the position I am now. I have a lot to learn and improve. The best is still to come.
**Does that have to be major silverware?**
This is what we want. To win the big trophies right now without losing the rest of what we have built. That’s very important as well.
**Is it easier or more complex to play the same team twice in a row?**
It is different. Obviously we played very recently and we analysed them so you don't have to do that too much. I’m sure that both teams will adjust and probably change a few things and change some personnel as well. Apart from that we know what the difficulty of the game is, we know what it means to go to Selhurst Park and we have prepared for that.
**Can Jesus and Havertz play together?**
That’s possible. With the players that we have and the connection that we can generate it’s very doable to have that kind of situation. I’m really pleased with Gabi’s performance and the team’s performance and most importantly that we’re in the semi finals.
**What’s changed most in your time here?**
From my point of view the unity and the connection and the fact that we’re competing in big fronts right now. We haven’t managed to do that in the past years. That’s positive but there’s still a lot to do.
**What’s your reaction to drawing Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semis?**
Let’s play them. Two very difficult games. We know that the four teams involved are at the highest level. That difficulty was always going to be there.
**You made Arsenal relevant again. Is uniting the club with the supporters your biggest satisfaction?**
That’s obviously a big part of it. I think the other thing is that I really enjoy working with the other people that we enjoy every single day. That we have built something together and so many people have contributed to that. The fact that everyone is hungry and ambitious and now we have to go to a different level.
**How haven’t you got a grey hair yet?**
I have! I think I have changed. Things are different. It’s gone so fast. I enjoyed every minute of it from the bumps in the road to the good moments. That’s about it. I’m here because I’m so passionate in what I do. I love this football club and I want the best for them. Just try to give your best version every single day and think what is the best possible manager for Arsenal football club and it’s players and become that.
**Just to clarify, did you say Tomiyasu was possibly back?**
No, no, sorry. Tomiyasu, no \[he won’t be back\].
**How has your connection to club grown since being manager?**
Obviously those things take time. There was a connection because I was a player here, I was a captain here, I knew a lot of people at the club and that was very helpful. But, I don’t know, going through different situations together that is what has galvanised that relationship, that respect, that admiration from my side and an appreciation of what they have brought to the club and me as well. I think it is a common feeling.
**Given that, could you ever imagine managing another Premier League club?**
At the moment, impossible. I have very limited energy because I put all of it into this football club, to the players and the staff to give my very best. And that’s my only ambition, to make this club more successful.
**What stands out as your most difficult or big decision in the past five years?**
That’s a good question. First of all, I don’t make decisions by myself. A lot of times we share that with the club whether it’s people from the past or people right now. As well with my coaches when we have to make decisions like that.
It’s very difficult to point to one of those. What I would say is probably that I haven’t regretted decisions because we have made them with a lot of analysis and after a very thoughtful process with the right people. Some have been right and some have been wrong unfortunately.
**Any interest in Marcus Rashford?**
No and you know I’m not gonna talk about players from other clubs.
**Could you easily imagine yourself doing another five years?**
No. I think you have to live in the present in this job. Obviously you have to plan for what is coming in the mid and long term, that’s for sure, and we have a lot of conversations regarding that. But I think the energy has to be in the moment, paying attention to every detail and understanding how things are working, putting more processes in place to make better decisions and obviously have that aim to keep everybody fit, to get the best out of them and make sure that they feel part of what we do.
**What areas can you improve as a manager?**
In all of them. Probably when I arrived I was very very obsessed with the tactical aspect of the game, and then straight away two or three months after I took the job I realised that there were no tactics to do, we were sitting at home with COVID, we had to look after the club and the players in a different way, and the emotional and physical part was a very important one.
So just that evolution, probably putting the priorities in other aspects, the focus and spending time in other things. That’s what I think I try to do. The team has always certain requirements, but they can change and they can shift in relation to moments and individual players, or collective momentum that we have in the team, and the coach has to be able to adapt and prioritise those things to help them as much as possible.
**Within the past 5 years, 257 matches under you as Arsenal's manager, what is your favourite memory in the past 5 years? If you have just one?**
I don't know, that's really difficult. The first one \[day\] is always really special because you have a dream to one day manage this marvellous club, and then that day becomes a reality, that day was the day with Bournemouth. And apart from starting my personal story, I value the day to day of each match and the privilege to be here because to have such a long time at a club so big is not easy. I value it a lot and i intend to try and make the most of it and enjoy it.
**What do you your career to continue being, where do you want to take Arsenal in the coming years?**
Maintain a lot of the things we have created. This unity, this culture, this ambition, this connection with the people, so much internally as well as externally and for the club to have an identity that very clear of what we want, how we play, how we behave and apart from that WIN. Win lots and win during a prolonged time.