Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke to the press ahead of his side’s derby match against Chelsea tomorrow. He said that midfielder Aaron Ramsey and defender Hector Bellerin will start against the Blues. Here are the excerpts:
Team News: We have no injuries and we left Ramsey and Bellerin behind. They integrate into the squad again. Mertesacker may still be a bit short, I have to decide that today.
On his relationship with Mourinho: No special relationship (between any manager) is my worry, all I worry about is our performance. I respect everybody in the job and focus on what I love and that is football. All the rest honestly does not concern me much. ‘Realistically people come to watch football and all the rest is a little bit secondary. What is important is the quality of what we will see tomorrow morning at 12.45 and you want people to focus on that.
When asked about shaking hands with Mourinho: I don’t want to talk about that. I have nothing more to say about this situation.
On whether Chelsea are in a decline: I don’t know, I leave that to the specialists. I take care of my team and my own problems.
On loss to Dinamo Zagreb: Overall the numbers were quite good for us as long as we were 11 against 11. Even 10 against 11 we had some chances but it was more difficult. I stand up for my selection and take responsibility for it, but I believe you can repair what happened. We are on a good run in the Premier League and it’s important now to look at that.
On Petr Cech returning to Chelsea: It is always difficult to go back to your club and play but I believe that he has fortunately handled that this season that is why I decided to play him as well in the Community Shield. It is the first step that is important and he has dealt very well with it.