Athletic Club (Athletic Bilbao) will face Arsenal in the first round of the UEFA Champions League group stage. Ernesto Valverde, head coach of Athletic Club, attended the pre-match press conference.
Reporter: Arsenal will be a tough opponent. Seizing opportunities is crucial against a team like this, because they rarely miss chances—you must stay highly alert tomorrow, right?
Valverde: Obviously, when you’re up against one of the title contenders—like Arsenal, who are also strong candidates for the Premier League title—you have to be extremely precise. Whenever you get a chance, you must hold onto it tightly, and at the same time, you can’t afford to make easy mistakes. Teams of this caliber won’t tolerate any errors. What’s more, Arsenal are characterized by their extremely fast tempo, which will force you to defend deep in your own half and keep pushing you back toward your own goal. Whether it’s in organizing attacks, set-piece situations, or battles in open spaces, they are a team with an extremely rich tactical repertoire. We have to acknowledge this and clearly understand what we’re up against. It’s like when Real Madrid or Barcelona come here to play—they’re a team of that level. So we need to put in a perfect performance: we must showcase our own strengths while doing our best to limit theirs—and their threat is indeed significant. We already faced them in the pre-season, so we have a general understanding of their style of play and level.
Reporter: For a highly anticipated match that the team has been working toward all year, the fighting spirit in the dressing room is evident, isn’t it? This kind of emotional tension or extra motivation—do you think it needs to be reined in, or should this motivation be displayed on the pitch without reservation?
Valverde: Of course, this motivation should help us; it must not become a burden. After all, in this match, our fans will also come with great enthusiasm. This is the opening match of the Champions League, and the opponent is a top-level team—Athletic Bilbao fans love to watch duels like this. We hope to face this first match as our true selves, and just as we will do throughout the entire Champions League campaign, we will show the true nature of this team. We want to prove that, despite being well aware of the many difficulties we may face, Athletic Club’s football philosophy is strong enough to hold its own on the European stage. As I said before, we can’t overlook the opponent in front of us, but our goal is to compete with all our might.
Reporter: Talking about motivation, do you think Martín Zubimendi and Mikel Merino will have extra motivation when facing Athletic Club? Do you believe they are currently in the best phase of their careers?
Valverde: I have always thought highly of both of them, whether it was when they were at Real Sociedad or now. I don’t think their ability has changed; obviously, this experience will help them improve further. They have both integrated well into Arsenal, mainly because they are accustomed to the high-intensity rhythm of matches and have the ability to deal with various situations. As we can see, Zubimendi has already shone brightly since he joined. I don’t know if they will have any special motivation, but they know us—and that could be an advantage. However, we also know them. We hope this will be a wonderful match. We wish they wouldn’t perform as well as expected, but obviously, facing players of this caliber is in itself a kind of motivation.
Reporter: Continuing the topic of former Real Sociedad players, I want to ask about the duel between you and Mikel Arteta on the touchline. You did face each other in the pre-season, but this will be your first official match against each other. How do you evaluate this coach from Guipúzcoa, and the way he has rebuilt Arsenal into a top European team?
Valverde: He is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the world, right? His achievements at Arsenal are more than enough to prove that. I say this not just because Arsenal have excellent players—they have always had good players—but more because of the team’s performance: their style of play, the mentality they show, the intensity of their high pressing, the pressure they exert to prevent opponents from organizing calmly, and their tenacity in every challenge. Moreover, from a tactical and technical perspective, they have an extremely high level of skill. It’s not easy to press them high, because they have ways to escape pressure through possession and passing, and then launch counterattacks in open spaces. This is a team with a clear stylistic identity, and that style is shaped by Arteta. I’m happy for him.
Reporter: Do you think it’s time to start rotating players, or is it still too early? If you do rotate, will you make major changes to the lineup or just replace a few players? What’s your thinking?
Valverde: Certainly, this match comes very soon after the last one—only three days apart. For various reasons, we may make some adjustments. I need to assess this, but yes, we will likely rotate players, because we need to maintain a high-intensity match rhythm, just like our opponents.
Reporter: What kind of form do you think the team is in heading into this match against a strong opponent like Arsenal?
Valverde: After just suffering a defeat, it’s definitely not a good feeling to face the next match. But in a whole season, losing is inevitable—sometimes in one way, sometimes in another. A few days ago, we lost in a strange phase of play, but that’s football. Personally, I like facing strong opponents right after the team has lost, because it can bring out something in us. Currently, we are not satisfied with the result of the match a few days ago. It was a strange game—the opponent didn’t really do enough to deserve the win, but at the same time, we might not have done enough to fight for the victory either. That’s football: sometimes luck is on your side, and sometimes it’s not. Maybe luck will be on our side tomorrow, but to make that happen, we have to take the initiative to fight for it.
