Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Well, Michael, thank you so much for joining us.

  • First of all, I have to ask you because you were the one of the very first people that we knew about that that had grown of Paris.

  • How are you?

  • I'm fine.

  • I'm completely recovered.

  • I have some symptoms.

  • Then we go tested and I just it positive.

  • And you took me 5 to 7 days to get back almost to normal.

  • But mine he was in a very, very strong virus or my human system was pretty good.

  • But that must have been a very strange time for you hearing so much about it and then testing positive yourself.

  • Yes.

  • Are basically the same day that we were told that we were in reason.

  • Because we were in contact with the owner of Olympiacos is exactly the day what?

  • I started to feel some symptoms and then I felt suffuse responsibility because I knew the next day we're playing Manchester City, and I had a feeling inside myself that something was wrong and we had to make a point and make it clear on exposed to the Premier League and bring the case forward because we could expose that all the people.

  • So you were.

  • You were on sort of the front foot with that Mikhail.

  • You're telling people I don't think it's right that we play this game?

  • Absolutely.

  • I pulled the doctor through my house.

  • Then I put the zero to my house and I told them we have a situation here.

  • I have some symptoms.

  • There are some place that they've been in contact.

  • We cannot make that decision is too big, You know, we have to refresh their Premier Li.

  • We have to communicate Manchester City about the situation on we have to be protecting.

  • Everybody know just in our global around the global war because there's a lot of people are gonna be in both in the game tomorrow.

  • So we made the right call.

  • Absolutely.

  • You did.

  • And of course, what Will Has taken a back seat quite rightly since then.

  • And how you're your friends and family back in Spain because we know they are suffering terribly at the moment.

  • Yes, absolutely.

  • We're festival.

  • I had obviously my wife and some of the people living with me and they go the virus times got they all went through it.

  • They're really, really good and the kids are fine.

  • Back at home is very complicated.

  • On dhe, they'd have taken even a stronger measurements to try to deal with.

  • The situation on now is looking good, but the situation is critical at the moment.

  • And what about your great friend Pet Guardiola?

  • Of course he lost his mother.

  • And have you been able to speak to him?

  • It'll be absolutely brilliant.

  • Talked with him.

  • Um, he was worried before about his parents because obviously they are getting all their bond.

  • They've been trying to isolate him, but he's really son years.

  • I I know the family really well.

  • I send my condolences to them and hopefully they can.

  • They can go through that all together.

  • And of course, we all echo those thoughts.

  • A cz.

  • Well, Michael, what about the Arsenal players right now?

  • Are they dispersed?

  • Are they back in their own countries?

  • Are they're all still around London?

  • They always still around here.

  • We have a very few cases for some personal issues that have a core in this period.

  • But they always been very respectful with the rules.

  • And while we respect him from them at the moment on dhe Toby Fair.

  • They've been really helpful.

  • Very understanding.

  • We're doing work with them.

  • We trying to engage them.

  • We're trying to make them feel that we are close to them, you know, But option.

  • I was being a really positive response from them.

  • Can I ask how you're doing that, Mikhail?

  • Well, using this technology, you know, we cannot touch each other at the moment, so at least we are looking at each other.

  • We're doing this more grows within individual talk, something.

  • I talked to the whole group.

  • We have to maintain them connected.

  • You know, they have to see that while we are doing our purpose for AIDS, they have to see there's gonna be a relation to what we're doing now to when we start training.

  • Give them active.

  • Busy on Yeah, they are bored, you know, They have a lot of energy.

  • They have young players on.

  • They need something to do.

  • Well, that must be the biggest challenge for us as their manager.

  • Because you do have a zoo, say a really young group.

  • This this current arsenal team.

  • Do you think it's it's actually harder for them than the experience players right now.

  • I think so and experience play.

  • They have families around on kids, and that's always New York opine.

  • And we realize now that's that We have so much away from home.

  • How are these how hard it is for our wives and the people looks after our Children, but for the young ones here, and some of them are on their own in the apartment and their long days.

  • So, yeah, we have to be carry for them.

  • You know, we have to keep them busy and try to do things to improve their development.

  • That's what we're doing on their education.

  • Basically, this is this is the really interesting bit.

  • I want to sort of try and get to Mikhail.

  • You know, you can only do so much as we found ourselves over this kind of technology.

  • So are you getting them to do training drills at home?

  • Are you sending them videos to watch?

  • How does it work?

  • I like to make him think I like to make them understand where we have been trained to do.

  • Will since we moved to the club on.

  • Then I want them to a little bit assess what they are.

  • You know in their lives.

  • If they are parent, apparently very a single.

  • What they want to do with the lives, how they see the future, how they're gonna do that.

  • Give me the responses to that.

  • How they look after the parent.

  • The family was a relationship that they are involved with.

  • People at the club, you know, get to know them a little bit more.

  • I've been only here three months and already a month we spend at home here.

  • So is a good opportunity to get to know each other to break some boundaries.

  • Because I think this situation helps the people to be a little bit more open with their feelings.

  • And they need to do that on dhe.

  • Yeah, we're having some really good conversations.

  • Do you think in some ways this enforced break will fall?

  • Some of them make them realize how how blessed they are to be footballers.

  • Well, if they don't realize that, then they have a massive issue.

  • The issues, No, the corner, because they have much bigger reaching the lives.

  • And it's not gonna happen now, but probably in the future, it will happen is a lesson, you know, on a lot of people complaints for the things that day, half already.

  • So imagine when you don't have them.

  • How big of a problem is.

  • You know the challenge we are fencing is unprecedented, and we can be crying or feeling sorry for ourselves.

  • Listen, we have to face it face to face this.

  • This situation, we have to both Really, We're gonna so far is a lot of people suffering at the moment.

  • But there are people that the only thing they have to do to help is a stay at home.

  • So then a stay at home and respect that we could do nothing about the timing.

  • Nicholas, you say it was unprecedented.

  • But what?

  • You were four months, I suppose, into your your new job.

  • But Arsenal, did it feel like you were?

  • You're really just getting started there?

  • Yes.

  • It's a lot of things that I wanted to change.

  • Adapt, evolved since I joining on.

  • I joined in the most busy period of the calendar year in the Premier League in December.

  • So this is a good time to reflect what we've been doing.

  • But as well we we have some momentum, you know, and it's a shame that we have to stop that momentum.

  • But again we have to adapt it.

  • Andi, make the most out of these time that we are not connected.

  • But at least we can see Children and work on things that are relevant to what we want to do on dhe.

  • I want to see the response of the group, the club together.

  • You know how we deal with this situation and was the outcome that's gonna tell me a lot off who we are at the moment, the same connection with the funds, how they feel with the team, the statements that were making and it's important for me.

  • But where did that momentum come from?

  • Mikhail did.

  • Did it feel like to you that your ideas were starting?

  • T get through to the players?

  • Well, I was through a lot.

  • When I go, here I go.

  • Daito template is injured.

  • You know, there are a lot off issues to deal with.

  • The connection between Fansplayer Club was in a difficult estate on the moment, so we have to change that energy that believe you know that commitment as well from players.

  • And and I was very pleased because everybody was on board with what we're doing.

  • On day we started to win 34 games in a row and it started to think I'm much better.

  • Positive mind around the place we have to kick, you get a name and we have the chance with no when I'm forced to.

  • But I can't.

  • We will have some sort of pre season.

  • When we do start again, Will that help you think?

  • Get get more time on the training ground with the place.

  • And perhaps you wouldn't You would have expected to have, General, we don't really know it.

  • That's gonna be two weeks, three weeks a week.

  • It will depend.

  • You know how far the situation drags on.

  • You know, it's a lot of decisions to make and they some of them are in difficult seats, you know, to make this decision because we never been in this situation.

  • So we have to adopt whatever they decide will try for a time, mate the most out of it and get by doing our jobs the best possible way.

  • What about transfers?

  • I guess some Arsenal fans will have Bean allowing themselves to think about the possibility.

  • But the new players might arrive at some point What sort of planning is being done in that direction?

  • I'm flying to three different scenarios that we can face on.

  • Depending on one of those, three will be able to do more or less or nothing.

  • You know, we don't know.

  • We have to react daily to that.

  • Say we don't know the financial situation was gonna be We don't know what the rules.

  • We don't know the timing.

  • We don't know the window.

  • There's so many things that we cannot control at the moment we kill.

  • It's been an absolute pleasure to speak to you.

  • Thank you so much for giving up your time today.

  • Thank you very much, Herb.

  • Everyone's thanks.

  • Stays well.

  • It arsenal.

  • Send them our best wishes, please.

  • Thank you.

  • Same for you.

Well, Michael, thank you so much for joining us.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it