Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed the departure of Vitor Pereira as head coach following their 2-0 away lose to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Wolves currently sit bottom of the Premier League table without a win from their first eight games and look to be favourites for relegation. The club have acted fast in replacing Vitor Periera with unknown manager Josh McEwen taking the reigns must to the disappointment of Wolves fans who are concerned that an unknown manager with no experience has been handed the tough task of saving Wolves from relegation woth a number of supporters clubs already criticising the appointment. A statement from Wolves was released earlier this morning.
Wolverhampton Wanderers can confirm that Vitor Pereira has left his position as head coach by mutual consent. The club wishes to express its gratitude to Vitor for his dedication and hard work during his tenure at Molineux.
This decision comes after a period in which results have unfortunately fallen short of both the club’s and supporters’ expectations. After careful consideration, the club’s leadership felt that a change was necessary not only to address immediate challenges on the pitch, but also to lay a stronger foundation for the long-term progress and success of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In light of this, the club is pleased to announce the appointment of Josh McEwen, as Vitor’s successor. The club believes that Josh’s fresh approach and vision can help to turn the season around, instil renewed confidence in the squad, and set a positive course for the future. Wolverhampton Wanderers are committed to supporting Josh as he takes on this role and look forward to the next chapter under his leadership.
Josh added a brief statement saying “I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to manage Wolves, it is a club that belongs in the Premier league and our whole focus is on helping improve both performance and results on the pitch to ensure the club is still in the Premier League next season. I know concerns have been raised about myself being appointed but I urge our fans to get behind the players and give me the chance to show that I can turn this season around and keep this fantastic football club where they belong.”
A harsh reality at this point of the season. One poor game and you're out. Still, it's quite rare for Arsenal to be in a Champions League semi final, so I don't believe it's too bad to have that benchmark ahead of you still. Something to aim for next season, I suppose.
Subs: Musso, Gimenez (On 84), Cardoso, Raspdori, Lenglet, De Paul (On 70), Espi, Almada (On 73), Pubill
Q: Josh a humbling 3-0 loss today how costly was the mistake from Kepa just before half time that gifted them a goal?
Josh McEwen “It was a tough game which is what we expected, obviously going behind just before half time made things a little harder but we weren’t good enough today. A couple of the goals maybe Kepa will be disappointed with especially the first but other players had bad game sand when three or four players aren’t at it against a team as good as Atletico Madrid are your going to struggle. We have ninety minutes left to play and we will give our all to come back and show what this team is about.”
Q: Marcelo after Diego Simeone decided to walk away from Atletico during the international break how difficult was preparation for this game?
Marcelo Lucero “Diego is a legend of this club and any game without him will always be hard. I said to the players win this game for Diego because he has done so much for the club and although this season wasn’t our best everyone loves Diego so much. The way we played was outstanding against a top team who cause everyone problems but they didn’t have many clear cut chances and Julian (Alvarez) was in clinical form he is unlucky not to have a hat trick but the form he has shown this season he is one of the top strikers in Europe for sure he is the top scorer in La Liga and now he is joint top in the Champions League we are so lucky to have him.”
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Di Lorenzo, Konsa, Torres (Off 90), Alaba, Kamara, Tielemans, Guessand, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins
Q: Cristian a quite remarkable game you hit the bar twice and within two minutes Arsenal went down the other end and scored. How have you failed to win that game?
Cristian Cuesta “Crazy game crazy moments, I can’t believe twice we hit the bar and then twice they score on the counter. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves with these chances an switch off because it has cost us two points that we deserved if we win 4-0 and them chances go in there can’t be any complaints we hit the bar and they counter so again we can’t complain but we have to win when we have a two goal advantage at home.”
Q: Josh the second time you’ve faced a team whose manager has just left. Your team was much changed and a couple of individual errors in the first half saw you trailing 2-0 at half time what did you say to your players?
Josh McEwen “Yeah individual errors were the difference at half time twice our midfield let the defence down but the team showed the character they have to come back and fight for a point. It is always difficult to come to Villa park and today was no exception but when you make mistakes it gives them confidence and they had a lot of chances but we also dug deep at a time when we could have panicked and again we have shown what we are made of. We made a lot of changes to the team so maybe this is the reason for the slow start but a point is not a terrible result.”
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): Costa, Llorente, Le Normand, Gimenez, Hancko, Kubo, Barrios, De Paul, Baena (Off 86), Alvarez (Off 76), Vlahovic
Subs: Musso, Pubill, Cardoso, Raspadori, O’Reilly, Simeone (On 86), Espi (On 76), Almada, Lenglet
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, Laimer, Saliba, Mosquera, Kiwior, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard (Off 76)
Q: Marcelo a draw on the day but your through to the Semi Finals of the Champions League how pleased are you over the two legs?
Marcelo Lucero “Today we draw but we deserve to win again but it is ok because we are into the Semi Finals which is a fantastic achievement for the club and the fans. Arsenal are a tough opponent and we saw this today and I think it really shows how impressive we were last week, to go to the Emirates and dominate like we did was massive but now we focus on the next round and trying to win this fantastic team this trophy because we have come so close in recent years.”
Q: Josh out of the Champions League there are reports the board are unhappy with the performance of the team this season do you feel your job might be under pressure?
Josh McEwen “I think when your at a club like Arsenal pressure is always on but I don’t think there is any risk of me being let go at the moment. When I joined the club the intention of the board was to try and win a trophy that's true but the priority was to ensure Champions League football was at the Emirates again next season and to then challenge for more trophies next season. Obviously everyone is disappointed to go out but we will bounce back try and finish the season strong and we’ll go from there but I don’t plan on leaving after a tough Champions League campaign.”
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, Laimer, Saliba, Gabriel, Pienczak, Zubimendi (Off 72), Rice, Odegaard (Off 72), Saka, Jesus (Off 58), Nwaneri
Subs: Kepa, Mosquera, Kiwior, Eze (On 72), Trossard, Madueke, Norgaard, Gyokeres (On 58), Bouaddi (On 72)
Subs: Vladimarsson, Kayode, Outtara (On 56), Meite, Pinnock, Munetsi, Igor Thiago (On 58), Gustavo Nunes
Q: Josh after a tough week where you were eliminated from Europe and some have questioned your role as Arsenal manager is this the perfect response?
Josh McEwen “I don’t pay attention to the outside noise that I can’t control, I trust the board have been honest with me and that my players show that they support me and they did that with a fantastic performance which I would rather talk about. Gabi (Jesus) has had a lot of injuries the last few years and for him to score today I am so happy for him because he works so hard and hasn’t had as many chances as he deserves because of Gyokeres form but today we decide Viktor (Gyokeres) could do with a break and Gabi worked hard and deserved to start and he scores a great goal. The display was perfect from all my players.”
Q: Vasco how hard is it to face a team when their manager has been questioned and they have been eliminated from Europe midweek?
Vasco Seabra “It’s never easy playing Arsenal especially at the Emirates but you could sense the Atmosphere their today they got behind their team and manager and it was a tough game for us. I’d be amazed if they changed manager after just bringing him in but football is a funny old game but obviously he has them in a strong position to finish in the top four but we can’t think about that we are in a really tough position with five games left we need to start winning games next week we have no game so we have extra time to work on getting things right and keeping Brentford where they belong.”
Wolves (4-3-3): Agirrezabala, Garcia, Goes, Krejci, Bueno, Florentino, Doyle, Toth, Esse, Arokodare, George (Off 83)
Q: Dylan not the performance you wanted that result all but ends your hopes of Champions League football how important is it to bounce back and try and get some European football at Molineux next season?
Dylan Herbert “Yeah its crucial we bounce back from this defeat to put ourselves in the best position to try and get into Europe. When I took over I knew it would be a tough challenge I know we were in fourth but you look at the quality in the Premier League and no games easy and we just haven’t found the form we’ve needed to maintain that push but with four games left we know if we win them we could still be in Europe and that would be a fantastic achievement for this club. Arsenal are a top team we saw that today but we started brightly and on another day could have nicked a goal but look they deserved to win in the end.”
Q: Josh booed when you came out the tunnel by the Wolves fans does that hurt?
Josh McEwen “A little bit but thats football, they don’t know the full story behind me leaving but look we had some good times together I got them to a cup final and left the team in a stronger position than when I took over but they can boo me thats their choice a lot of fans clapped a lot booed it is what they have the right to do. I thought my team were excellent again today against a tough Wolves team Julen (Agirrezabala) was at his best first half but we kept creating chances and got our breakthrough in the end."
We are into the quarter finals and we have Atletico Madrid in the next round. The FA Cup and top four was our aim Liverpool really put us to the sword in that game we tried matching fire with fire and had to switch up to get the better of them the first leg we were so unlucky one shot one goal a freekick from thirty yards exactly the same as the one he scored vs them this season.
Tough spell with the Sunderland draw and successive home defeats to Liverpool, sending you out of the FA Cup. Bummer. But you've bounced back with the wins against Leeds, Liverpool and Man United, though I wasn't particularly pleased with the latter. So the last two Liverpool games were in the Champions League, right? At what stage are you now, and whom do you have next?
Subs: Madueke, Gabriel, Mosquera, Odegaard (On 67), Saka (On 67), Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Zubimendi
Q: Cedric a massive point for your side how happy are you after that game?
Cedric Veenstra “I am delighted with the performance of my team, we played against a really top team and I thought that we worked so hard on and off the ball to make the game so competitive and I thought we deserved that point. Patterson had a great game made a couple of really good saves but I thought we also created a couple of chances where if you can take one of them you could end up with three points but we’re happy with a point.”
Q: Josh a 0-0 draw Viktor Gyokeres having the biggest chance. Some have said they worry if he can fit into your system do you think he can?
Josh McEwen “Viktor knows this chance he should do better but how many top strikers miss chances, he is such a fantastic player we are lucky to have him and I am sure he will score a lot of goals for us. The young lads today were amazing I am so proud of them especially Ayyoub (Bouaddi) and Marek (Pienczak) the way Ayyoub was so composed in midfield made many great passes and protected the defence and Marek where the striker was trying to bully him but he was strong won a lot of headers and made some key tackles. We want to win obviously we deserved to but the young lads were great and now we have a couple of tough games with Liverpool to prepare for.”
Arsenal (4-2-1-3): Kepa, Laimer (Off 45), Gabriel (Off 45), Saliba, Zinchenko (Off 45), Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Subs: Madueke, Kiwior, Mosquera (On 45), Pienczak (On 45), Nwaneri, Vieira, Merino, Jesus (On 45), Bouaddi
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Marquinhos, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Andre (Off 62), Salah (Off 56), Gakpo (Off 52), Wirtz, Isak
Subs: Jaros, Militao (On 62), Szoboszlai (On 52), Ekitike (On 56), Gomez, Elliott, Chiesa, Fofana, Tsimikas
Q: Josh out of the FA Cup after a tough defeat to Liverpool. What went wrong today?
Josh McEwen “It is a difficult one the first half we got off to a terrible start and never really recovered from it. Half time we changed shape to try and get more control but on the counter and in transitions Liverpool were so much better than us and we can have no complaints that we lost. We worked hard but the quality wasn’t there today when we had the ball and it must improve for the next game with Liverpool in the Champions League.”
Q: Arne a dominant win for your side that sees you go into the next round. How much confidence does that give you ahead of your Champions League tie here midweek?
Arne Slot “A lot I think, we dominated the game against them last month but only drew today we won 2-0 and we could have scored a couple more goals. Arsenal are a tough team and we expect another tough game midweek but if we play like we did today we have a great chance and we will try and do the same on Tuesday which is to start fast force them into mistakes and try to win the game.”
Subs: Madueke, Zinchenko, Mosquera, Odegaard (On 66), Nwaneri (On 66), Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Bouaddi
Liverpool (4-2-3-1):Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Marquinhos, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Andre (Off 66), Salah (Off 73), Gakpo, Szoboszlai, Isak (Off 73)
Subs: Jaros, Militao (On 66), Wirtz (On 73), Ekitike, Gomez, Elliott, Chiesa, Fofana (On 73), Tsimikas
Q: Josh a much better performance from your team but you still end up on the losing team. It was a special freekick from Szoboszlai but how much does it hurt losing so late?
Josh McEwen “Of course it was a special free kick similar to the one he scored at Anfield last season but it hurts because they have had one shot all game and they beat us 1-0. I thought today we were so good we deserved to win the game but we lose Bukayo (Saka) has two one on ones where their keeper has made outstanding saves and we dominated the ball it is just not nice to lose. I thought Jakub (Kiwior) was outstanding at left back he was the best player on the pitch by a mile I am so happy with his attitude and today he got his chance and he was outstanding the whole defence was but unfortunately we lose and now we have a tough tie at Anfield next week.”
Q: Arne a dramatic late win. What a goal to win any game what are your thoughts?
Arne Slot “Yeah well we saw the same goal last season from Dominik (Szoboszlai) and he picked another huge game to score it again. He is a special player and today he showed again he can deliver in big moments. We knew Arsenal would be a tough game especially after the game at weekend where we beat them but we dug in and maybe we didn't deserve to win but we deserved to win last month and didn’t so I think this is football we take a 1-0 lead and next week at Anfield will be an exciting game I am sure.”
Subs: Meslier, Justin, Ampadu (On 78), Nmecha, Bornauw, Gruev (On 49), Joseph, Ramazani, Byram
Q: Josh back to winning ways after a winless run. Viktor only had one touch in the first half which was him kicking the game off. What did you say to him at half time to get that reaction?
Josh McEwen “To Viktor we said we were sorry we didn’t create him a chance and when we created them for him he scored two goals, he has had a tough run lately hes missed a few chances but we haven’t created the amount of chances his workrate deserves but today we did. Again Ayyoub (Bouaddi) was outstanding he was the best player on the pitch especially after their goal the way he dominated the midfield every challenge he won and his passing was near perfect he is going to be such a great player for us over the coming years. It was great to have David on the bench hopefully he is back playing soon but Kepa has played well so we will see but he won’t be in net Wednesday it is to soon for him.”
Q: Jagoba a tough game against one of the top teams in the league what are your thoughts on the match?
Jagoba Arrasate “Arsenal have a lot of talent in their team and we saw that today, the first half I thought we kept them at arms length allowing them to pass without really causing us any threat. To concede two goals in the first ten minutes of the second half after that half really disappoints us because I told the lads at half time that they would come out and progress the ball up the field faster and that is what did us for the first goal and from there the second quickly followed from a great through ball and suddenly your 2-0 down and chasing a game against one of the top sides in Europe you have little chance of coming back but we fought back got a goal but just couldn’t create a second chance.”
Liverpool (4-2-3-1):Mamardashvili, Frimpong, Marquinhos, Konate, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Andre (Off 61), Salah, Gakpo, Wirtz (Off 81), Isak
Subs: Jaros, Militao, Szoboszlai (On 81), Chiesa, Ekitike, Elliott, Gomez, Jones (On 61), Tsimikas
Subs: Raya, Mosquera, Gabriel, Eze, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Bouaddi
Q: Arne a humbling defeat did their change in shape surprise you?
Arne Slot “In the first half it did, we didn’t expect them to play Martin (Odegaard) deeper and it took us a little bit to long to adapt to it, the players said they thought he was just dropping deeper but playing in behind but it was also the fact Declan (Rice) was further forward it caused us more problems. We weren’t good enough over two legs to qualify when you analysis it but we let our fans down the atmosphere they created we can’t say we lose because their shape surprises us because they score twice in the last ten minutes although their third was obviously a counter when we pushed up but they deserved to go through over the two legs so congratulations to them.”
Q: Josh a change of shape and what a result by your side how proud are you of coming to Anfield and turning it around?
Josh McEwen “I can’t take the credit it goes to the players they went out there and they dominated probably the best team in Europe at the minute. Martin (Odegaard) and Declan (Rice) in front of Martin (Zubimendi) all three of them today were perfect and it made the rest of the teams jobs easier because they worked tirelessly they were always wanting the ball off a team mate or off the opponent and then Viktor’s (Gyokeres) finish at the end to seal it absolutely unstoppable right into the top corner I am proud of all my players what a performance.”
Subs: Kepa, Mosquera, Gabriel (On 65), Eze (On 65), Nwaneri (On 65), Martinelli, Merino, Jesus, Bouaddi (On 65)
Manchester United (5-2-3): Lammens, Henrichs, Mazraoui, Yoro, Maguire (Off 65), Carlos Augusto, Ruiz (Off 88), Mainoo (Off 65), Mbuemo, Sesko, Cunha (Off 88)
Subs: Bayinder, Mendy (On 65), Johnson (On 88), Hojlund, Leon, Amad (On 65), Zirkzee (On 88), Rashford, Fredricson
Q: Josh an absolutely dominant performance from your side. You changed back to a 4-2-1-3 formation is that the best your team has ever played?
Josh McEwen “It is up there I think the Liverpool game midweek away at Anfield with the circumstances being a goal down maybe edges this one but no doubt this is up there I think between them two games. I am so happy for both Viktor (Gyokeres) and Bukayo (Saka) that they are scoring goals because the work they have put in is unbelievable. We went back with Martin (Odegaard) pushed up because we know they play with a two in midfield so we thought if Dec (Rice) and Martin (Zubimendi) can do what they do there it will free Martin up but what a goal by Martin it is the best goal a player has scored for me from that distance to go in off the post it was magical and he is another player who works so hard he deserved it.”
Q: Goncalvo a disappointing result for your team a humiliating 6-1 loss against a big rival. What are your thoughts
Goncalvo Alvares “I am sorry for our fans who travelled so far to watch our team. Manchester United can not lose a game of football 6-1 against anybody. The first half was very even we had more of the ball but they scored a unstoppable goal from thirty yards before half time to make it 3-1 which wasn’t a fair reflection of the half but the second half we self destructed in that initial ten minutes and at 5-1 down it was just to easy for them and it shows how far off the top we are right now. We had injuries to our defence but the players that came in must do better like I say 6-1 loss for this club is never going to be accepted.”
Great start as Arsenal manager. Especially the Palace win, keeping them - and former club Wolves - behind you in the race for top 4. Defensively the team has improved too, now with 5 teams having conceded more. Hate to see Man United so low though - and their two rivals on top. Where's the unfollow button? 😉
Q: Sean a tough day at the office. How hard was it going down to ten men so early?
Sean Dyche “Yeah it is worse then going a goal down losing a man so early but then four minutes later we went and got hit with the double whammy and we were chasing the game from there. For me that early into the game I think people would have forgiven the ref for showing a yellow but it was a stupid challenge to make from behind I don’t think he was trying to hurt him but bring him down but you give the referee the chance when you make that challenge and VAR aren’t going to overturn that one. I thought we worked hard though and had a few chances but it was always going to be difficult with ten men.”
Q: Josh a win in your first game in charge all be it you haven’t had much time with the team. What did you make of your clubs performance?
Josh McEwen “I think the coaches have done a great job in preparing the lads this week I sat with them this morning and the elven that were selected was due to the coaches and what they saw this week and I think you can see they made the right choice. I thought we should have had a clear penalty Bukayo (Saka) has played the ball to Viktor (Gyokeres) who has chested in and their guy in challenging for a header has fallen and brought him down with him I cant understand how it was not given. We’ve got a tough game midweek away to Liverpool that we are preparing for now.”
Q: Josh not a great performance from your side but they kept going and managed to secure a point. What did you make of your first home game?
Josh McEwen “Yeah it isn’t an easy game playing the league leaders so early in my tenure here but the lads kept battling with the full support of the fans and we managed to get a point in the end. We don’t appear fit enough right now to play the style of play we want to play for a full ninety but we are picking up results and we are working on many things in training today was a new shape to add more in midfield which helped the defence a little bit and today we had a couple missing after playing ninety against Nottingham Forest who will hopefully be back at weekend but it maybe wasn’t a point we deserved but we will take it.”
Q: Arne how have your side not walked off with a win today>
Arne Slot “Against top teams you have to take your chances otherwise in one moment they can counter and score against you. We bombarded their goal with shots but they were either straight at the keeper or we put them wide. We had one shot hit the bar then the post and bounce on the line and then they clear these are the fine margins that cost you points and today it has cost us two points. I can not believe we didn’t score more but at the same time they have one chance and they score it is football we will just bounce back.”
Lincoln City (4-2-3-1): Wickens, Hamer, Bradley, Montsma, Towler, Varfolomeev, McGrandles (Off 78), Ring, Jefferies, McKiernan (Off 48), Draper (Off 65)
Subs: Guy, Jackson, Bayliss (On 48), House (On 65), Darikwa (On 78), Hackett, Street, Thorn, Parks
Arsenal (4-2-1-3): Kepa, Laimer, Gabriel (Off 45), Pienczak, Kiwior, Norgaard, Bouaddi, Vieira, Saka (Off 45), Jesus, Madueke
Subs: Trossard, Odegaard, Merino, Gyokeres, Zubimendi, Martinelli, Nelson (On 45), Eze, Mosquera (On 45)
Q: John a brave effort from your team but you come up just short against Arsenal?
John Carver “It was such an effort from my players, to play against such a talented team and give them such a close game my players can be proud because on another day we could have won that match. The intensity of our player and the way we pressed them we were fair but physical and we really caused them a lot of problems. The ads gave it their all but I think they just had that little bit more quality in the final third that got them over the line but we are proud of our performance.”
Q: Josh not your sides best performance but your in the hat for the next round?
Josh McEwen “Yeah it wasn’t our best performance we obviously made a lot of changes to give more players a chance but I thought a few of the young lads really shined. You have to give credit to Lincoln because when we went 1-0 up some teams would have collapsed but they kept fighting and made things really hard for us. There were a lot of things we didn’t do right or aswell as I know we can but we haven't even had a full week training together yet and I can see the lads are really trying to buy into what we want from them.”
Subs: Kovar, Balde, Andrich, Terrier, Livramento (On 69), Fernandez, Kofane, Ben Seghir (On 57), Lewis-Skelly (On 69)
Q: Josh a dominant win in your first Champions League game in charge. How pleased are you with that performance from your side?
Josh McEwen “Wow what a performance from the lads today, the way that Declan (Rice) and Martin (Zubimendi) protected the defence, the way both centre backs dominated in the air, Martin (Odegaard) dictating just behind Viktor (Gyokeres) and the wingers coming inside to support or drifting wide when we need them to. It was the perfect performance we hit the post twice we had a one on one saved so it was just so amazing I am so happy with everything nobody had a bad game and now we are in a strong position to qualify for the last sixteen.”
Q: Alex not the best result for your team. Your side failed to have a shot on target is the tie over?
Alexander Skovgaard “No absolutely not, they have to come to our ground next week and we have confidence that we have the talent in this team to beat anybody in Europe. Today wasn’t great in the final third but everywhere else on the pitch it was even if we can work harder to find that decisive pass in the final third I am sure we can create opportunities and score goals. We are enjoying a great season we are top of Bundesliga so we know our quality we have to just show it in the second leg.”
Subs: Madueke, Gabriel, Kiwior (On 72), Eze (On 72), Nwaneri (On 72), Trossard, Merino, Jesus, Bouaddi
Q: Vitor how costly was that huge miss by Ademola Lookman just before half time?
Vitor Periera “It is the sort of chance you expect Ademola to score but we can’t criticise him to much the goal was open but he was under pressure and the ball bounced awkward for him but still he thinks like the rest of us that he should score but he has been so good for us this season we can’t be annoyed at him. It was a game where for large periods we were the better team but Arsenal scored two fast goals in the first half and from there we are chasing the game but we deserved to win or at least draw and we have lost football is harsh sometimes.”
Q: Josh a really close game where Crystal Palace caused a lot of problems for your side what are your thoughts on the game?
Josh McEwen “It was a tough game most games are in the Premier League but I thought the way we dug deep in the second half really showed the true grit and determination this team has. We still haven’t had a full week training with the lads and we don’t want to over work the lads so they have plenty of time to recover, time to work on their fitness and then obviously we try and put in there some intense sessions to try and get used to what we want from them. I’ve never managed a team that has to play this often and we have some sore legs but the lads keep finding a way to get a result and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-2-1): Flekken, Tapsoba, Hincapie, Bade, Tella (On 85), Palacios, Garcia (On 85), Grimaldo, Tillman, Ben Seghir (On 85), Boniface
Subs: Kovar, Balde, Andrich, Terrier (On 85), Livramento (On 85), Fernandez, Kofane, Maza, Lewis-Skelly (On 85)
Q: Alexander a victory on the night but your side are eliminated from the Champions League. A moment for your thoughts please?
Alexander Skovgaard “I thought today that we showed our true quality. We forced them into a couple of mistakes which led to our goals but it is hard when a team just wants to keep the ball without trying to threaten your goal much but when a team is 3-0 up after the first leg why would they come and try to attack and leave themselves vulnerable. I think to beat Arsenal shows how good we are and we are disappointed that we are out but we are happy with tonight's win.”
Q: Josh defeat on the night Gabriel picked up a yellow which means he misses the first leg. What are your thoughts on your teams display?
Josh McEwen “We have defended fantastically over two legs and have made two individual errors that have cost us the goals today but I say to the players be brave on the ball but don’t do stupid things Martin (Zubimendi) he got caught in midfield but where was his passing options but the second goal after Oleks (Zinchenko) mistake what he was doing I don’t know he can pass to the keeper or the centre back and he just holds the ball it is frustrating but we are happy because we qualify and we know we need to improve more.”
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Hein, Coulibaly, Souttar, Disasi, Thomas, Soumare, Skipp (Off 86), Fatawu, Mavididi, El Khannouss, Daka (Off 45)
Subs: Martinelli, Okoli, Njinmah (On 45), Faes (On 86), Holden, Ayew, Page, Vestergaard
Q: Josh before today concerns were raised about how Viktor Gyokeres is adapting to your style do you feel he answered his critics after that performance?
Josh McEwen “Viktor is a world class striker and we are so lucky to have him here. The way he moves off the ball he creates space for other players but he is a goalscorer and our job is to do more to get that out of him but as long as the team is winning Viktor is happy and today he scored and we won last week he didn’t score but we won and again he was happy. If I wasn’t happy with him we have Gabriel (Jesus) another fantastic striker who would be playing but Viktor has been so good since I joined and when we get more time together he will get even better I’m sure of it.”
Q: Jaime another defeat for your side leaving you six points away from safety. What are your thoughts on todays game?
Jaime Bello “I thought we kept the ball well, we got off to a great start and had a massive chance for Daka but he hit it straight at Kepa if we scored that maybe the game would have been different but against a team like Arsenal in the position we’re in we have to score that chance. Second half I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t ask any questions of them but we showed we can control the ball against a top team.”
I didn't feel like I could take Wolves much further whilst keeping it realistic. Real Madrid was offered in November but I didn't think that was realistic so turned it down but when Arsenal was offered it was an opportunity to make history a team that hasn't won the league in over 20 years that have never won the Champions League it is a team where they have underachieved for a long time and I can see myself managing for a long time building a lasting legacy. I really want to keep this story going for as long as possible and I feel Arsenal is the right club for me to be able to do that.
Interesting, leaving a high-performing minor club to join a struggling major one. Almost similar to Ruben Amorim leaving Sporting in very fine form to join Man United in 14th at the time.
I see why Arsenal want a change though. Only two clubs have conceded more, quite contrary to their current defensive approach under Arteta. It will be interesting to see if you can hit the ground running, or if you will need some time to adapt.
I do like these unexpected events in CM stories. I don't usually change clubs midway through a season myself, so I do like to see an approach different from mine. Looking forward to see what happens next...
