We scour the post-match press conferences this Wednesday afternoon and roll out some pertinent soundbites ahead of double Gameweek 33. Manuel Pellegrini discusses Kevin de Bruyne’s central role, Arsene Wenger praises Alex Iwobi, Roberto Martinez talks up Aaron Lennon’s versatility, whilst Rafa Benitez explains his decision to bench Aleksandar Mitrovic against Norwich.
Pellegrini explains De Bruyne central role
Owing to Yaya Toure’s knee injury and David Silva’s poor form, Kevin De Bruyne instantly established himself as the prime choice among Manchester City’s midfield contingent with a goal and four attempts in just 56 minutes on his comeback against Bournemouth. Although prospective investors will be wary of the Belgian’s playing time during the Sky Blues’ double Gameweek 34 (che & new) – given the length of his layoff – Manuel Pellegrini’s revealed he may continue to field De Bruyne through the middle to help the Belgian gradually build up his match sharpness:
“He is a very important player. Before he was injured he was coming up with good performances and was one of our top scorers, as well as playing very well. He had an injury for two months which was unlucky but he came back today and showed what he can do. Playing near Kun gave him a little more space as a midfielder and meant he didn’t have to work so hard as a midfielder – after two months it is not easy to keep up a good pace. That will be very useful for him to come back in that way. His return, and that of Samir Nasri, will give us a lot of important things. When you have all your important players together, it makes a difference.”
Wenger hails Iwobi impact
Alerting us to his budget prospects ahead of Arsenal’s double Gameweek 34 (CRY, WBA), Alex Iwobi (4.5) has netted in successive starts since being inserted into the Gunners’ starting line-up. Moreover, no midfielder mustered more shots inside the box (six) or shots on target (five) across the previous two Gameweeks. Speaking on the Nigeria international, Arsene Wenger expressed surprise at the rate of Iwobi’s development:
“These people have seen many good players over the years and they know straight away when a player has something special, so they acknowledge that. You cannot cheat people. They’ve seen how quickly he’s improved and how well he’s played. It’s surprising how quickly he’s integrated into our game. He’s worked with us since the start of the season and he has grown, gained confidence and when he came in he had an impact straight away. That’s benefited from the fact that he knows everybody and they trust him as well. I didn’t expect that level of efficiency or impact on the scoresheet.”
Benitez explains Mitrovic bench role
Despite scoring the equaliser for Newcastle United in the Tyne-Wear derby, Aleksandar Mitrovic was subsequently demoted to the bench for their trip to Norwich last weekend. The Serbian frontman then went on to bag a brace in a second-half cameo, raising questions marks over the manager’s selection policy. Discussing his decision not to start Mitrovic, Rafa Benitez said that the player’s exertions during the international break factored into his thinking:
“He [Mitrovic] came late after the international break. We have players flying around the world and players training with you. When we were 1-0 down we had to play everyone in attack. The substitutions worked well but you have to decide before the game who is in form or who has done well in training during the whole week. You need to see who can help. It happened like this but it was good for Mitrovic because he scored two and it can be good for his confidence and the rest of the season if he keeps scoring goals.”
Hiddink on giving youth a chance
With only pride left to play for, Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink is keen to afford some youth players a chance to impress before he departs at the end of the season. The Dutchman started Kenedy and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the attacking midfield berths away to Villa last time out and also handed debuts to Matt Miazga and Jake Clarke-Salter in the 4-0 win. Although the Blues have a double Gameweek 37 (and also play in Gameweek 35), many Fantasy managers may be deterred from investing after Hiddink admitted his team selection over the run-in will have one eye on the club’s future:
“The young players will [have the chance to play], as we have done already with Kenedy. He was unlucky he got hit in the last game because they are good experiences against good teams like West Ham. You can see he has the potential to grow rather fast, the same as with Bertrand Traore at the beginning of my spell. We did some work with him to focus on what to do and especially what not to do, and he responded and got his chances. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had a few chances too and may get some more options but without any guarantees. I don’t want to give guarantees but we have options. It is good to have the development of young players and every now and then I talk with the directors and they are also very open to this philosophy. They don’t say just get us the three points, they think development is good in the strategy of clubs.”
Flores unhappy with Hornets
In response to Arsenal cruising into a 2-0 lead by the 38th minute at the Emirates, Quique Sanchez Flores hauled Etienne Capoue off at the 41-minute mark, before benching top scorer Odion Ighalo at the break. In the wake of an eight-match barren streak, the latter has dropped by 0.7 on the Fantasy market, negating his appeal prior to the Hornets’ double Gameweek 34 (wba & whu). Having substituted two of Watford’s star performers this term, Flores insisted he’ll continue to be ruthless with his team selection over the remainder of the campaign:
“They are players [Capoue and Ighalo] and professionals. They understand if they’re not playing then another of their team-mates is. I don’t ask the players after a substitution whether they are angry or not. It’s part of football. Some times they play and some times they don’t. Some times they are substitutes and other times they stay out of the [squad] list. This is part of football. If you are angry try to recuperate as quickly as possible. If I have to explain the substitutes I would have to give an explanation every single week why one player goes out of the list, one player is not in the first XI and one player goes onto the bench. No this is not the way.”
Martinez on fielding Lennon centrally
Roberto Martinez deployed Aaron Lennon at the number-ten berth in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Man United last weekend. This facilitated Gerard Deulofeu’s return to the side on the right wing, before Lennon moved back to the flank after the Spaniard was withdrawn just after the hour-mark. Ahead of the Toffees back-to-back double Gameweeks, Martinez spoke highly Lennon’s ability to operate in a variety of roles:
“I was very pleased. I think Aaron Lennon is in a very good moment of his career. His experience allows him to play in different roles. We wanted to isolate Romelu in one v one situations and use his pace and penetrate. I think at times we got in terrific positions and maybe we didn’t take advantage well enough. I think Gerard Deulofeu is going to be very strong between now and the end of the season. He’s played a lot of games this season and probably after 60 minutes there was a bit of a need to get new energy on the pitch but I thought Aaron did extremely well in that role.”
Allardyce hails Kone impact
Sunderland’s goalless draw against West Bromwich Albion last time out ended a run of 16 matches without a clean sheet. Patrick van Aanholt (five goals, three assists) would feature on our radar if the Black Cats’ schedule was conducive to further defensive returns, yet their tricky run-in – which includes match-ups against Leicester, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton – deters investment in their rearguard. Following Sunderland’s stalemate at the Stadium of Light, Sam Allardyce lauded Lamine Kone’s robust performance at the heart of their defence:
“When you see how Lamine handles the off-the-ball situations and the opposition centre-forward, he makes the game look so simple. He doesn’t do anything miraculous or over-extend himself. He just plays the right simple ball at the right time, and plays in the right area. That’s why he’s done so well. For me, he does something which coaches have ignored for many years – teaching defenders how to defend.”
Mertesacker determined to win back starting role
Per Mertesacker has slipped down the centre-back pecking order at Arsenal, with Gabriel Paulista emerging as the favoured partner to Laurent Koscielny in recent weeks. Considering that the Gunners have just recorded back-to-back clean sheets, Gabriel – who has started seven of the last eight – looks to have cemented his slot for the time being, making him an enticing budget option (4.3) for their double Gameweek 34 (CRY, WBA). Regardless, Mertesacker maintained that he’s still pushing hard to get back into contention:
“I have to admit that this is something new to me. I have been around for quite a while and this has not happened to me before. I am fully match fit, but I am not playing as much as before. But I will not give up. I might get another chance. Things can change very fast in football. I am listening to the manager and he knows he can count on me, regardless of what happens. I want to show on the training pitch that I am ready whenever the manager needs me. I have to remain positive. That’s the best way to deal with the disappointment of warming the bench.”
Klopp explains Sturridge withdrawal
Handed his second successive league start for the first time since Jurgen Klopp’s arrival, Daniel Sturridge provided the assist for Philipp Coutinho’s opener against Spurs before being withdrawn on 71 minutes. Although Sturridge – who now has two goals and an assist in his last three league outings – was visibly annoyed after being subbed off, Klopp remains adamant he is likely to make alterations up front later on in matches in order to boost his side’s attacking prospects:
“He has to think ‘leave me on the pitch and I can decide the game’. That’s true, but in this moment we need other help in the game. We needed ways behind the line. We needed Divock’s physical strength so I changed. I could have changed Adam Lallana and gone with two strikers. But in my opinion, and only my opinion counts, it didn’t make sense so that’s it.”
Van Gaal praises Martial consistency
Having scored the winning goal against Everton at Old Trafford, Anthony Martial lays claim to three strikes and two assists in his last seven starts. The Frenchman’s name is on many managers’ shopping lists ahead of the Red Devils’ double Gameweek 34 (AVL & CRY) – particularly with a home clash against Aston Villa (16 goals conceded in six) on the agenda. Having started 24 of his side’s last 26 league fixtures, Martial has seemed almost immune to Louis van Gaal’s rotation – a fact that the Red Devils boss attributes to the summer signing’s high levels of consistency:
“I have already said in many press conferences after matches that Anthony Martial with his age is an exception, because he has also played every match. To play every match then you have to be very strong and consistent because every week I shall compare every player with his competitor. It is fantastic what he is doing.”
Smalling praises Blind partnership
Man United boast one of the form defences in the league, given that they registered three clean sheets in their previous quartet of league ties. Moreover, they chart bottom for goals conceded (seven) and top for clean sheets (10) on home turf, which bodes well for their shut-out prospects during the double. Chris Smalling believes that he’s forged an excellent partnership with Daley Blind, silencing any critics that doubted the latter’s capacity to excel at centre-back:
“He has been able to bang out the games and have a very high consistency. He is a joy to play alongside. It is a good partnership. We know we can rely on each other. When there is a situation you don’t have to over cover because you don’t trust your partner. We trust each other fully and we bring out the best in each other as the games have gone on and the more games we have played together. By each performance he is putting any critics out there to bed. He has been one of the top centre backs this year.”
Pardew hints at more minutes for Gayle
In a season hampered by injury, Dwight Gayle notched his first goal of the season as Palace grabbed a vital point against West Ham on Saturday. With question marks still hovering over the pitch time of both Connor Wickham and Emmanuel Adebayor ahead of the Eagles’ back-to-back doubles, Alan Pardew was quick to talk up Gayle’s impact as the Selhurst Park side look to clinch survival with home clashes against Norwich and Everton next week:
“Gayle’s probably our most natural finisher and we’re going to need him. He looks bigger, stronger, more muscular. That period he spent out injured working in the gym [earlier in the season] may have actually helped him.”
