Interviews Archives - Football transfer news

Belief is the Difference – Arteta

Arsenal skipper, Mikel Arteta, believes that the Gunners are in with a genuine chance of lifting the Premier League Trophy this season and that their early season form has laid down a marker for their competitors.

With the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City still coming to terms with managerial changes, Arsenal have delighted fans of live football commentary by stealing a march at the top of the table. They are currently five points clear, having remained unbeaten since the first week of the season.

Over the summer, the only real instability at the Emirates came when Mesut Ozil arrived on transfer deadline day but, according to Arteta, he is already part of the furniture.

“Mesut has been fantastic; he has fitted into the team so well and that is not easy, especially when you are a creative player,” the 31 year old said. “I can’t think of too many who have made such an immediate impact; it is as if he has been playing for Arsenal for years,” he added.

Arteta arrived at Arsenal from Everton in 2011 and, in his two full seasons with the club, they have finished third and then fourth in the Premier League, securing Champions League football but delivering little else for their success-hungry fans.

For Arteta, however, this season feels different and he feels that the Gunners have what it takes to turn their bright start into a title-winning run, a belief echoed by many football betting websites.

“There is a belief running through the team,” the Spaniard said. “There is a long way to go in the season but we have shown already we have the quality and desire to challenge for the title, which is what we should be doing each season,” he added.

Redknapp about transfers

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that he wouldn’t splash unnecessary cash when the January transfer window opens next month but will search the market for a “special” player.

Redknapp told Sky Sports News: ”We’ve got so many players here it would be hard fitting anybody in. We’re not too desperate for anything. We’re more than strong everywhere so unless it’s someone who’s a bit special I don’t think we’ll be doing too much.

”If someone’s there that we feel can make the difference – it might just be a character or leader or somebody who can give you something at the club. If that type of person’s available then we’d be interested, but at the moment we’re not closing in on anything.”

Redknapp, though, expects Newcastle United striker Andrew Carroll to remain at St. James’ Park and explained, ”He’s got fantastic potential. He’s a top player, no doubt – he’s a real handful and he’s taken the Premier League by storm the first half of the season.

”If he was available I think there’d be plenty of people want him because he’s an old-fashioned centre-forward, but I see [Newcastle manager] Alan Pardew wants to keep him and I don’t blame him so I don’t see him moving.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has rubbished talk of Luka Modric making a move to Chelsea.

Zdravko Mamic, the vice-president of the Croatian midfielder’s former club, Dinamo Zagreb, had previously been quoted as saying that Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti had made Modric his top transfer target.

But the White Hart Lane gaffer insisted otherwise, as he told reporters: “He [Modric] wasn’t going nowhere.

“He is just such a fantastic player, if we start selling Luka Modric we may as well all go home.

“He’s different class and he’s not going nowhere, not a chance, not a chance.

“He [Ancelotti] might have his eye on him but he isn’t going to get him that’s for sure.”

Redknapp also confirmed that striker Robbie Keane can leave the club, with the forward having been linked with moves to Birmingham City, West Ham United and Aston Villa.

“Robbie would like to move and he wants to play,” said the former Portsmouth boss. “He is a boy who has played all his career. He is not used to not playing.

“He is still a top player and would grace most clubs. It’s just that he has been unfortunate with Rafa [van der Vaart] coming in and I’ve been playing one up with him. I have Defoe, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko and Robbie so it’s been difficult getting him in the team. I haven’t heard anything about any offers for him though.”

The Spurs boss also ruled out the possibility of making a move for Blackburn Rovers defencer Chris Samba, who recently came out speaking of a desire to leave the club in protest of Sam Allardyce’s sacking.

“He [Samba] is a good player who has done a great job,” Redknapp said. “He has been a fantastic signing for Blackburn from Germany. But I am okay; I am strong at centre half. So he is not a player I would be looking to do anything with.”

David Silva: English league is more interesting then Spain’s

Manchester City midfielder David Silva says that the Premier League is “more entertaining and enjoyable” than the Spanish Primera Division.

Silva, who joined the ambitious English club from Valencia in the summer, told Man City’s official website, “Barcelona and Real Madrid are going well and have built up quite a lead. In England it is far more hard-fought.

“You could have any number of teams getting up there near the top. That makes for a more entertaining and enjoyable league.”

The Spain international reflected on his time at Eastlands so far and explained, “I have settled in but I owe a lot to my team-mates because they helped make the process a lot quicker.

“The games in England are very competitive. So many sides can make life very hard for you. It is a real challenge. But we are going OK at the moment. Now we must continue so we are in the final shake-up.”

The 24-year-old also remarked on his move from Spain to England and said, “City showed a real interest in me from the outset and they were the ones who made an offer for me.

“There was talk about Real Madrid, but it was never anything more than that, certainly nothing concrete. But I wanted to experience playing in the Premier League. It was something that really appealed to me.”

Jose Mourinho about Rafa Benitez

“Benitez should have the intelligence to take advantage of my work that preceded him instead of wanting to change everything.”

“I have always done well whenever I got a new club and that is what Pep Guardiola did. For me, it means being a smart coach. A coach can not impose style he likes if it collides with the tradition of the country and the society in which they work. In any country club where I trained, I had to adapt to local philosophy and not vice versa. You can not go to coach in Italy and want to impose a Barcelona-style game, because it won’t work.”

Messi about Gutierrez

Leo Messi spoked about Newcastle’s Jonas Gutierrez:

“The Premier League have not seen it yet but Jonas is one of the best players in the league. I know you guys have Rooney, Fabregas, Torres and many more stars – but Jonas is as good as any of them. I am backing him to show it this season. Maradona calls him one of the three most important players in the Argentina squad and I think he is right – that is how good he is.

“It takes time for a player to adjust to a new country and he has now been there long enough to show his true form. By the end of the season I would expect the very best teams in Europe to be trying to sign him. But he told me during the World Cup that, as long as Newcastle stay in the top-flight, he would like to finish his career there.”

“I would expect the Spider-Man mask to be out quite a few times this season but his real talent comes in creating goals. He is a fantastic winger, can beat players with ease and is a fantastic crosser of the ball. If Newcastle have one or two good target men, I think they can have a really good season because Jonas will create a lot of chances for the strikers.

“He can fire Newcastle to a top-six finish and win the player of the season award above names like Rooney.”