Sarri on Higuain deal, Hudson-Odoi, Loftus-Cheek, Arsenal, Bielsa spying and the Man Utd resurgence
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri spoke about a number of issues at a media conference ahead of the game against Arsenal. Here’s what the Italian had to say.
On whether Gonzalo Higuain is close to signing
“I don’t know. I want to be clear because I cannot help you.
“I spoke with Marina (Granovskaia, Chelsea director) two weeks ago, so Marina knows very well my opinion on how to improve the team.
“Then I decided to be focused on the pitch; on matches, on training. So now I am confident because I know very well Marina is working very hard but I don’t know anything about the market because I want to be focused on the matches.
“I don’t call her every evening, otherwise I would spend all my mental energy on the market and I think it’s better if I spend all my mental energy on the pitch.
“So I am not able to help you. I don’t know.”
On needing to replace Cesc Fabregas
“You know my opinion about the replacement of Cesc – we need a replacement in my opinion.
“Marina knows very well my opinion so I am not frustrated at the moment.”
On whether he has spoken to Callum Hudson-Odoi about his future
“No. I don’t want to talk with him about something I cannot resolve.
“I am very happy with him, because one month ago we worked with him for the defensive phase and he improved immediately.
“Now we are working with him for movements without the ball and in my opinion he is improving.
“So on the pitch we are really very happy with him because he is improving a lot in the last two months.
“I think he is in a very positive moment mentally. For the attitude, for the way he is training, I think that mentally he is in a very positive moment.”
On Alvaro Morata
“I don’t know if he will play, but he is training with us of course.
“Of course for him I think it’s a very difficult moment. It’s normal for a player in January to be involved in the market.
“He’s available, but like in the last match I can try something different.”
On the latest injury news
“At the moment we have out only Loftus-Cheek for his back.”
On Manchester United’s resurgence
“We know very well we will have to fight for the top four until the end.
“United will fight for sure until the end. Tottenham will fight. Arsenal is close to us in the table.
“So I think there are four teams for two places. We will have to fight until the end.”
On facing Arsenal
“This match for us is a risk and it is an opportunity. It’s a risk of course because they are doing very well at home, so it’s a very difficult match and a very dangerous match for us.
“The match is very difficult because they are really a very good team. In the offensive phase I think they are one of the best teams in the Premier League. They are really very dangerous.
“In August it was a very different match. They changed in the last seven or eight matches.
“But we learned that they have really very dangerous movements in the offensive phase, especially when our full-back is out of the line to cover the ball.
“So we have to be careful. We have worked during this week on this. They are really very dangerous.
“I think we can be dangerous against these opponents but we have to defend with a very high level of attention and application for 95 minutes.”
On whether Olivier Giroud might play against his former club
“I don’t know at the moment. I have to decide. I think Giroud in the first six months played very often. Then it’s normal that sometimes I can choose something different.
“It will be a very difficult match for the defensive phase so we need our team to be balanced.”
On Chelsea fans forming Chelsea Together in order to oppose racism
“Of course I am really very happy. In 99% of cases our fans are really wonderful. Then, as in every community, there are some who are stupid. But we only to analyse the stupid ones, not the other fans.”
On whether he has come across something like the ‘Spygate’ controversy involving Leeds
“In Italy, yes. I don’t know what to say. I prefer to study my opponents by video.
“I don’t like this (what Leeds did). Of course every coach tries to have information about the opponents, but I don’t like this way.”
On whether he has ever adopted similar methods
“No. Because I don’t have a very good spy.”
