Press news in...

Dean Smith’s pre-Arsenal press conference is about to begin. Updates to follow.
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DS: “We’ve had some fresh Covid cases but we’ve got others coming back, so pretty similar to other clubs. We have to have PCRs within 48 hours to the game, which will be our last pointer on who is available.”

DS: "'Nobody is left satisfied or happy with the festive schedule. We have been forced to push players quicker through their rehab and that has led to a few breaking down."

DS: "We he had four players who pulled out on the day of the Villa game. Another three who couldn't come on due to illness."

DS: "I feel guilty in hindsight for not pushing harder for the Villa game to be called off".

DS: "Tradition has been put ahead of player safety with the 26th and 28th fixture. I'm not sure how we can do it, it's lunacy".

DS: "I think I've had more conversations with my head of medical and doctor in the last few weeks than I have anyone else".

DS: "We had a player (Gilmour) playing against Aston Villa who had a temperature of 39+ degrees".

DS: "Of course, the current Covid situation makes it incredibly difficult to prepare for any game, with players dropping away at any minute".

DS: "48 hours turnaround is too short. Their bodies need to recover. We want to see spectacles".

DS: “I’m pleased for how Arteta has turned the season around. We’re coming up against an animal that’s playing really well at the moment, so we have to make sure we’re at our best.”

DS: "Mathias Normann has had a setback and has some surgery. He's going to be out for the 'foreseeable future. Boxing Day will be too soon for Milot Rashica but I'm hopeful he will be back for the Leicester game".

Q: I thought managers were part politicians these days?
A: 'Unfortunately, I didn't get any of the cheese and wine.'

DS: "Ozan Kabak is available for selection. He is one of the players who shouldn't have been playing against Aston Villa. He has only just recovered from Glandular fever but then I was forced to play him twice in three games".

DS: "At this stage, I'm expecting both the Boxing Day and the 28th to go ahead. That was the message from the Premier League".

DS: "Grant Hanley doesn't need surgery, but he won't be available for the next couple of weeks".

DS: "Andrew Omobamidele is out for another 10 days with his back injury".

DS: "Christos Tzolis and Josh Sargent have both returned to training".

DS: "Pierre Lees-Melou is back in training. Lukas Rupp has had illness and injury so we will assess him today ahead of Sunday".

DS: "We expect to train with 16-17 players today so above the threshold set by the Premier League but we don't currently have a squad that is robust enough to play twice in two days because of Covid and injury issues".

DS: "'When you've got Jordan Henderson coming out and saying nobody is looking after player welfare, we should all sit up and take notice. Our captain (Grant Hanley) had spoken to him before that statement".

DS: "We are up to 90% Covid vaccination levels. Some haven't been able to have boosters due to recent Covid infection".

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That's it from Dean Smith and me on my Coolknee bike for another year.

Posted By: DrDublin, Dec 24, 09:40:53