Say What?

This week’s batch of significant soundbites finds Per Mertesacker praising Petr Cech’s impact on Arsenal’s improved defensive resolve, whilst Louis van Gaal’s quest for goals has him hinting at minutes through the middle for Anthony Martial. Elsewhere, Manuel Pellegrini is looking for more from Wilfried Bony and Roberto Martinez talks up Romelu Lukaku’s understanding with Arouna Kone following Everton’s 6-2 thrashing of Sunderland…

Mertesacker Hails Cech influence

After 11 Gameweeks of the current campaign, Arsenal remain neck-and-neck with City at the summit thanks to an impressive 3-0 win at Swansea last weekend. The Liberty win took the Gunners’ tally to six clean sheets for the season and with just eight goals against, Arsene Wenger’s side have the most impressive defensive record in the top flight along with Man United. With some excellent fixtures to follow this weekend’s north London derby (wba, nor, SUN, avl), Per Mertesacker has cited the arrival of Petr Cech as key to his side’s resilience:

“You know that if they get a really clear chance Petr can do something about it. He’s always someone who can save your day. That gives everyone a big lift, not only the back four. The way he is commanding and vocal makes him vital. He is one of our leaders and he deserves it. He has played at a high level and he is still very hungry and, no matter how successful he was at Chelsea, I think he gives our team that hunger we maybe need. He is an experienced player that everyone looks up to and he’s important for our structure as well.”

Van Gaal discusses Martial versatility

A forward by trade, Anthony Martial bagged two goals and an assist in a trio of appearances at the lone-striker berth but has since carded three successive blanks while operating from the flank in Manchester United’s favoured 4-2-3-1 set-up. It’s a move that’s served to diminish the Frenchman’s Fantasy appeal, causing over 200,000 managers to jump ship over the previous three Gameweeks. His remaining 23% ownership will be hopeful that a return to a more advanced role is on the cards for Martial, given that Louis van Gaal fielded him up front against CSKA last night. Prior to the 1-0 win, the Dutchman went on to say:

“I think his best position is the striker’s position but he needs to develop himself still. He is very young but I think it is better he develops in the striker’s position. I’m always thinking in the team’s benefit and not in the benefit of one player and I have said I have to make all the decisions around the game plan and the opponent, so it’s not I have said left wing is his best position, but he can play in three positions in his eyes – left, striker and No.10. I think his best position may be the striker’s position.”

Klopp on starting Firmino

Roberto Firmino has made a relatively subdued start to the life in the Premier League following his £29 million switch from Hoffenheim in the summer transfer window – although he was forced to sit out three Gameweeks by virtue of a back complaint. In light of the fact that Christian Benteke wasn’t fully fit, the Brazil international was fielded as a false nine in a 3-1 away victory over Chelsea and went on to pick up his first assist of the campaign. Jurgen Klopp – who also started Firmino against Bournemouth in the cup last midweek – hailed the Brazilian’s qualities, though admitted that there’s much more to come from the attacking midfielder:

“The decision between Roberto and Christian… Christian is not 100 per cent, so he needs time to play. Now he is a big step ahead so we can plan with him. He played against Southampton, then Bournemouth he couldn’t – little problems. We could bring him on with fresh legs. That’s perfect. Roberto is very important in this position for us because he can hold the ball, he plays between the lines and he is very creative. He can do much better, that’s the good news, but it was not too bad.”

Pardew Discusses Zaha’s Lack of Consistency

Wilfried Zaha has struggled to cement a starting berth in Crystal Palace’s starting line-up and fend off the competition form Bakary Sako. Despite turning out impactful performances against Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion, the Ivory Coast native only lasted 45 minutes in the subsequent fixtures, before being consigned to a bench role at Leicester in Gameweek 10. Ahead of some kind home clashes against Sunderland and Newcastle, Alan Pardew said that he’ll continue to demote Zaha if he doesn’t rectify key issues in his game:

“I’ve told him what I think he needs to do and I’ve told him about a couple of issues within the game that managers are going to keep citing unless he corrects them. I’ve left him out twice now. Both times I’ve sat him down and spoke to him very methodically about why I was leaving him out. I think he needs to understand why but I’m not going to do it again. Next time I won’t speak to him. He’ll be out the team because he didn’t do what was asked of him.”

Allardyce cites Pantilimon as key

Despite the fact that Newcastle United were reduced to ten men at the halfway point of the Gameweek 10 Tyne-Wear derby, Sunderland shot-stopper Costel Pantilimon was forced to rebuff waves of attacks from the visitors, who amassed more than double the number of shots (21 compared to nine). The Romanian keeper racked up eight saves in all, engendering two bonus points and an impressive 10-point-haul as he hints at returning to the form that made him such a Fantasy favourite in 2014/15. Sam Allardyce hailed Pantilimon’s key role in earning the Black Cats their first clean sheet of the term and reckons the big stopper will be vital to his side’s chances of beating the drop:

“Costel’s save just after half-time was the biggest chance Newcastle created on the day, and it was a match-winning save. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. There would have been a massive lull in the team and in the crowd if that goal had gone in. Everyone would have said ‘I can’t believe we’ve conceded a goal against 10 men’. All the negatives and doubts would have come flooding back in the players’ minds. That save was critical at the time and it’s what you want your goalkeeper to do. A good goalkeeper can win you eight, 10, 12 points a season when he makes those critical saves at the right time.”

Defoe Praises Big Sam’s Impact

After scoring just eight goals in the first nine Gameweeks, Sunderland have found the net five times in the last couple of fixtures as their attack starts to quickly improve under Sam Allardyce. Last Sunday’s trip to Everton saw Jermain Defoe handed a first start since Gameweek 6 as the Black Cats opted for a 3-4-1-2 formation at Goodison. Both Defoe and strike partner Steven Fletcher bagged a goal apiece in the 6-2 defeat and, despite the heavy loss, the former has hailed Big Sam’s approach as he steps up his match sharpness in a bid to boost the Wearsiders’ relegation battle:

“Even before games, he gets things across really simply – ‘this is what it will take to win the game’. The last two games are probably the fittest I’ve felt in a long time and I think that’s due to the training which we’re doing. I’m sure he’s done that at other clubs, with the intensity and the things we do in the gym. We do a lot of 11 v 11s, so everything is match related. Leading up to the game, you know exactly what you’ve got to do. He keeps it simple and gives us an idea how to win the game. I’ve enjoyed it. I sat down with him and he said he just wants to get me in the team, scoring goals. It’s as simple as that. In the last two games, me and Fletch up front has felt good. Fletch is on fire at the minute – strong, holds the ball up well, and we play off each other. The weekend was good when we both scored. It’s just frustrating the way we gave the game to Everton in the second half, when we could have come away with a point.”

Martinez Lauds Kone and Lukaku Partnership

Having been a peripheral figure in the preceding four Gameweeks, Arouna Kone netted a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over Sunderland last weekend. As detailed by Roberto Martinez, he and Romelu Lukaku formed an effective partnership in the Toffees’ attack, with the Belgian grabbing a goal of his own and setting up two of Kone’s strikes. Both men will fancy their chances of delivering further attacking returns as Everton continue with their excellent schedule (whu, AVL, bou, CRY, nor, LEI, new, STO):

“Their relationship is vital. When you have a defensive unit where the opposition are going to mark one of the two strikers with precision, the other one is going to benefit by having a little more space. That has been the case this season. Sometimes it has been the other way round – Arouna grabbed their attention and Rom has had a bit more space. The understanding that they have between them has been important. The assist shows that Rom has got that quality. It’s one thing seeing the pass, but another to execute it with the outside of his foot. To do it with that precision is quite impressive. But it is another example of players enjoying their football, having the freedom to try things with the quality we always knew they had.”

Coutinho acknowledges slump in form

Prior to his brace against Chelsea last weekend, Philippe Coutinho had just one goal to show for his abundance of attempts. Through the opening 10 Gameweeks, only Alexis Sanchez boasted more shots (48 compared to 43) and a quicker shot frequency (one every 16.6 minutes to 17.9 minutes) than the Brazilian playmaker, underlining his wastefulness. Having fired three of his four attempts from inside the box at Stamford Bridge, Coutinho is hopeful that the can kick on at Crystal Palace this Sunday, after acknowledging that he’s not been at his best in recent matches:

“For me, it was great. I wasn’t playing so well and hadn’t scored for a while, so I was glad to score again and help the team. I hope [it can be a turning point for me]. Sometimes when you play things don’t always go well, but I always work hard. I’m always looking to improve and I hope from now on I’ll continue improving, not only me, but the team, which is the most important thing. I’ve been working quite hard, on all aspects of my game. As I said, I haven’t been playing well, it wasn’t a good phase for me, but I always concentrate on working hard. There are many things to work on before the next game, and I hope it continues. As for my left foot, I’ve been working on it in training and it came off…thank God!”

Neil explains Norwich’s Etihad tactics

In the wake of a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Newcastle in their previous road tie, Alex Neil decided to switch up the Canaries’ formation for their trip to Manchester City, deploying Martin Olsson and Robbie Brady as wing-backs in a 5-4-1 formation. The Norfolk outfit ultimately did well to prevent Man City from scoring until the 67^th minute and restrict them to just five attempts on target. Norwich have mainly caught the eye offensively this season but might look to adopt a similar approach as they prepare for a challenging trio of upcoming match-ups (SWA, che, ARS):

“That is the first time I have played the three here and then two wing-backs who dropped in to help us but also had the licence to get forward. We worked on it during the week and I thought it worked really well. Manchester City struggled to break us down and that was testament to how hard we worked and why it was so hard to take. For large parts of games we have been as good as, if not better than, a lot of teams we have played so far. The last couple of results here they have scored five each time and it would have been naïve of us, and of me, to try and go toe-to-toe with Manchester City. The whole gameplan was to sit in, frustrate them and then try to hit them on the counter and to be fair I thought in the first half, although they dominated, we had two really good opportunities.”

Mahrez on Leicester’s Confidence

Since being omitted from the starting line-up at Norwich City in Gameweek 8, Riyad Mahrez has delivered a statement of intent to manager Claudio Ranieri, notching two goals and as many assists across his subsequent trio of appearances. The Algerian winger is profiting from the Foxes’ expansive brand of football and places second among midfielders for shots inside the box (five) and shots on target (three) over the last two Gameweeks. With Leicester charting second for goals scored (23) this campaign, Mahrez hailed the burgeoning confidence within the squad after they recovered from a losing position at the Hawthorns to triumph yet again:

“I’m really enjoying playing in this team because we play very well always, We’re very attacking and we work very hard. I’m very happy with the team, the Club and the city. I know Marc [Albrighton] has a very good foot and he can put the ball wherever he wants. For his cross I went behind the full back, he didn’t follow me and I was alone both times. I’m happy with the two goals but the most important thing is the team. We have to keep going like this because we’re on a good run. All the games, especially away, we keep coming back from two goals and one goal down. We knew [we could again] from one goal because in the first half we played very well and only conceded a goal from a set play. We spoke at half time and said we can do it, we can make it happen again. Then we just played like we did always and scored three goals in the second half, which was very good for the team.”

Pellegrini wants more from Bony

Wilfried Bony announced his return to the starting line-up with a brace and an assist against Bournemouth in Gameweek 9, encouraging 47,000 Fantasy managers to recruit the Ivorian frontman. Bony has since gone on to card back-to-back blanks in match-ups against Man United and Norwich City, having ranked top among forwards for attempts (nine) and shots on target (six) last Gameweek. Prior to last night’s Champions League win over Sevilla – in which the Ivorian found the net – Manuel Pellegrini challenged Bony to show just why he splashed the cash to acquire him from Swansea midway through last season:

“Maybe he needs to score, because he is missing some chances. The way he plays and the striker he is, he normally doesn’t miss them. But I think he needs trust. He is playing after many months of not being able to work normally, for different reasons. Now I have placed a lot of trust in him, he must demonstrate why he’s here.”