Everton boss David Moyes previews their Premier League clash with Arsenal, speaks on his relationship with his former player and now Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and addresses any injury concerns
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
Finch Farm, Liverpool, UK
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00:00Is it too early for him to start and any chance of Dwight McNeil being involved?
00:04Look, they're both back in training. Illy's been back in training. Obviously, we got him some minutes the other day there.
00:12Yeah, look, he's getting closer. It's just that he's probably lacking real match fitness.
00:17But, look, he's back in the frame and we're considering him. Dwight's back in training.
00:22Been back in, he's probably had about three or four days now on the grass.
00:27We'll get closer. If we can get him involved, we will do.
00:30Obviously, the club has released a statement today about James Tarkowski and his family receiving online abuse after the Merseyside derby.
00:36I just wonder how James and his family are and what support the club's been able to give?
00:41Well, I think the club have issued a statement and, look, it's not acceptable for Emdy in any walk of life.
00:50But, look, we have to hold our hand up and say after looking at it again, you know, I believe that it could have been a sending off.
00:57But I don't think that means that you get abused online because of that.
01:03So, it's part of football, you know, and he made, which looked at the time, I thought a really good tackle.
01:10But in looking at it again, I think that was a bit reckless.
01:13The other big moment was obviously the goal that decided things.
01:16Is it the offside law, interpretation, or the way the law's worked, ultimately?
01:21Well, you can always hide behind words, can't you?
01:23I think ultimately, Emdy, who really has followed football over the period of a lifetime, would have seen that as offside.
01:31So, it's an easy thing for them to come out and now say, hey, there's a rule.
01:35I think the big thing, as it says, they have to be in his vision at times.
01:38Well, I don't know who's deciding that Tarky hasn't seen him.
01:42I mean, nearly all the clips you see shows that he's offside.
01:46So, I find it really incredible.
01:48And it's interesting that we're just about to go into the new semi-automated.
01:54I'd have been interested to see what they were going to do on the decision.
01:58Because it looked as if he's offside.
02:01If the pass wasn't aimed or going to him, I could maybe understand that he was...
02:06You know, we're seeing it all the time.
02:08We're seeing people blocking from behind, free kicks getting given.
02:15People are not talking about it in a visionary line.
02:17I feel as if they've had to justify the decision now by words.
02:21When I was growing up, it was always interfering with play.
02:23And Tarky's clearly scanned it.
02:26He has, yeah.
02:27Yeah, he has.
02:28And look, it's now gone.
02:32So, we can ask all the questions.
02:33It's gone now and we've moved on as well from it.
02:37But you've asked me the question and I've tried to give you my thoughts on it.
02:40How does it feel for you now, though, with just four games to go at Goodison Park?
02:47It feels as if we're getting to the end of probably a long season.
02:51I've had a short season because I'm only in a few months.
02:54But I think for everybody else who've followed Everton,
02:57it's getting to a stage now where there's not many more days you're going to be at Goodison.
03:01So, people who've followed the club for a long, long time will be pretty sad, I think, that it's going.
03:08But I think also really excited about the opportunity to move to a new stadium.
03:12When it's teams like Arsenal, Man City next at Goodison after that as well,
03:18it feels like they're the kind of occasions that really can bring the best out of Goodison as well.
03:22Yeah, I hope so.
03:23I hope it brings the best out of the team more than anything.
03:25I hope the crowd bring the best out of the team.
03:27Because they've played such a part in us getting results.
03:31Not just now, but over decades they've done that.
03:34So, let's hope that the crowd get right behind the team and help us in those games.
03:39What good memories does it bring back for you with Mikel Arteta in the opposition this weekend?
03:43Look, I'm thrilled for Mikel because he was one of our ex-players.
03:48I think any manager is always quite pleased when they see their players go on to have careers in management or coaching.
03:54I've had a lot in my time now going into the job.
03:58So, I think Mikel's done unbelievably well.
04:02I think he's probably worked under arguably the best manager in the world since Sir Alex in Pep,
04:10which has given him a great chance to see other things as well.
04:14Culturally, he was always from Spain, which would always give him a slightly different feel than here.
04:20But most of his football has been played in the UK.
04:22So, he's got a really good balance of seeing what's required in the UK and from the Spanish side as well.
04:29Did you see a coach in him?
04:32It's always difficult. People ask that question quite often to me.
04:36Who do you see as being future coaches?
04:38I think Mikel always had his own thoughts about it and he was good.
04:45He was a good leader as well, Mikel at the time, and became captain here for a long period as well.
04:51So, maybe looking back, I'd say, yeah, I do see that.
04:55But at the time, I don't think you ever really think what one's necessarily going to go on to be a manager.
05:01Has he changed then?
05:02Has he changed? No, I think he was always a bit grumpy as well as a player.
05:08You've seen that in his management as well.
05:11But I think that overall, he was a competitive player.
05:15He was a really good player as well. He'd done a great job for us here at Everton.
05:20You've seen him in action, so it's not just me.
05:24Will there be a wine afterwards?
05:26I'll always invite Mikel in. He's an ex-player and if he wants to come in for a drink, he'll always be welcome.
05:38You talk about Pep and his influence. Mikel talks about the influence that you had on him as well in his career.
05:45Do you ever see any of your influence on him?
05:49Maybe those antics in the touchline!
05:52But I think back in the early days, maybe that's what it was.
06:00I think that to be a manager in the Premier League, you have to be able to deal with so many different situations.
06:07Different teams going to different stadiums and teams playing different ways.
06:13I don't think there's ever been any easy games in the Premier League in my time.
06:18Mikel will have understood that from a player and he'll have taken it into being a manager as well.
06:22But he hasn't half-grown as a manager. He's getting to the stage now.
06:26He's getting into a group of managers who are challenging for trophies.
06:31He's obviously got a huge quarter-final coming up against Real Madrid.
06:37It's the sort of thing that you want when you're a young coach.
06:41You're hoping that you can keep progressing, climbing the ladder and getting much closer to success.
06:46There's someone else that you know as well in terms of Declan Rice.
06:51I hope he's not!
06:56Can you envision him in people's eyes?
07:01I used to get criticised when I said he should be £150 million.
07:06When I see Arsenal supporters, I tell them they still owe me £50 million because we only have £100 million for him.
07:13I think he's proven exactly what we thought he was. He's going to become a top player.
07:21He was an unbelievable example to young players at West Ham because of his stature and how he went on.
07:29How he conducted himself. You think of a player coming out of contract nowadays.
07:34He was planning to leave at West Ham and he was applauded everywhere he went because of his actions.
07:43He dealt incredibly well with it.
07:47I've said I think he'll eventually be an England captain and I think everybody would probably agree he's going in that direction.
08:00Unbeaten in 9-10 to win this in 5, does it show how quickly the narrative can change?
08:07Yeah it can. I don't think we're actually looking at that.
08:12I think what we were looking at is the points total to be honest.
08:15Getting the points to make sure we were a Premier League club was always the most important thing.
08:19Whether it came in a bunch of games that we won or a bunch that we drew, it doesn't really matter.
08:26We're having to get the points total. We've got a good points total. It's not mathematically safe yet.
08:31But we believe it will be a tall order for a lot of the teams to get to the level we're at at the moment.
08:37As you mentioned, 14 players, eight years to play. Do you think there's a danger that this season might peter away for the Cyprus?
08:46There's a danger but I'm going to do everything I possibly can to try and not make that happen.
08:52I think when I first came into Everton years ago, I used to think Everton got safe round about Easter time and then didn't perform.
08:58So I was always banging on the door that we changed that, that I wasn't accepting it.
09:03Let's be fair, I think if you look at the history after that, it showed that we went on to trying.
09:07We were closer to finishing near the top end of the league than the bottom.
09:11I think there's a lot to play for for us, for the players. A lot of players out of contract.
09:18We've not done particularly well in the first half of the season.
09:22So I don't think we're in a position just to say that we're going to play well for half a dozen games and then that's OK.
09:27So keeping the players' focus right and them keeping their mentality good, which they've shown to be fair.
09:35Just secondly, I wonder if you saw Ang's comments last night on Barlow.
09:39He said he was getting the spectre of the game and not standing around the field for what we're going to get.
09:44What do you make of that?
09:46I think Ang is a really good coach and a really good manager.
09:51And I think that his points are pretty clear.
09:55I don't think MDU people as well, as we all don't want to stand around on tight decisions.
10:01I think offside, I did used to believe that that was the one thing they got right.
10:09But after what happened the other night against us, I'm not sure that they do.
10:12And I actually wondered why.
10:14I think even on the Beto goal the other night, I don't think the lines were painted at any time on Beto's run through.
10:22They never put the lines up. VAR never challenged the lines, never looked at it to see what he's positioned.
10:28And hey, they may prove to be right there.
10:30But if that was an absolute clear and obvious one where the referee could put it up,
10:35I can't understand why there wasn't a flagging up for the other one.
10:38And it would be challenged as well.
10:40I don't know if I went off course there a little bit, sorry.
10:49Just to go back to the Tarposki issue briefly.
10:51Social media is something that massively changed the game for players.
10:56Certainly in your time as manager, I'm just wondering if you've ever had calls to speak to players or advise players about their activities on social media,
11:06what they get on social media or whether you would consider doing it this time?
11:10No, I don't see, I think I get enough criticism off these press boys over here on the right without going anywhere else.
11:19So I don't feel as if I need to do social media and I've not really got a great interest in it.
11:25I think life for the younger ones is certainly part of that.
11:29I've got family who do social media, I'm sure.
11:37But I don't think that means that it's right.
11:39And I think that every one of you, whoever's in here, should be absolutely condemning anything of that sort of stuff.
11:45So they have education, we have people who come in, they talk about it every year.
11:52There'll be people come in either from the Players' Association or from the League Managers' Association,
11:57or the Premier League, I should say, and explain what can happen.
12:02So they're well educated and I just think that probably people are wrong if they're coming back the way they have done.
12:14From the experience of what you've seen being in and around dressing rooms, are the players, because of their education,
12:22are they well equipped to deal with this sort of stuff? Do you find that they are easily able to switch it up?
12:28Well, it might be a subject that I'm not an expert on here because I don't do it, so I don't really know.
12:33But the answer is I do know that the clubs I've been at, they're pretty well educated through the Premier League,
12:39through the League, the Players' Association, so they should know whether they should do it or not.
12:48It's their choice to do that.
12:58Hi David, I just wonder with opponents coming up in obviously the recent Merseyside derby,
13:02but the likes of Arsenal and the likes of City and Nottingham Forest and Chelsea,
13:06do you feel like you're going to get a more accurate gauge of where your squad is at when you face these opponents?
13:12I'm looking forward to finding out where we're at. I don't know if accurate means beating Brighton or beating Tottenham.
13:20If you're saying that those ones don't really matter, the truth is they were great results in their big teams themselves.
13:27But I think the point is the names you're mentioning are teams who over recent years and at the present time are doing really well.
13:35Big test for us. I thought we put up a good show the other night. We ran Liverpool close recently,
13:42so we've got to try and do something similar against the teams we're coming up against.
13:48After scoring five in four games, Beto's now gone four without a goal, but he's had chances including a few one-on-ones.
13:55I just wonder how much does that concern you and are the likes of Brogier and Cimitti knocking at the door for a starting place?
14:02Yes, they're knocking at the door. I think it's great news that we're talking about us getting chances to score.
14:09Probably us gaining our points was mainly because of Beto taking those chances.
14:15If you look back at the games and the goals you've talked about, I think he was a little bit unlucky the other night.
14:24I think he has, you're right. He's had one-on-ones. He certainly had three at Brentford, I think.
14:32If you look at the points we've taken, it's quite often been because of Beto's goals.
14:37If you look at the points and his goals in the run maybe a month or so ago, it was a lot to do with his goals.
14:44We've just missed that bit. The truth is there's not been an awful lot of difference in how we've done.
14:49We've just maybe missed that last bit. But yes, certainly Brogier and Cimitti are getting closer to match fitness than they've been.
14:59I just wanted your thoughts on Charly Alcaraz as well, how he's done so far.
15:03Where do you think his best work has done given he's spent time out wide and playing through the middle?
15:08We've tried to find a way of getting him in the side with Di Curi as well because we think the work that Di Curi does is very good, especially off the ball.
15:17He's also come up with a couple of goals. Charly we've got on loan, we've got a chance to have a look at him.
15:23We'll see what he can do. I agree, I think he'd probably be better more central than where he is at the moment.
15:30But again, trying to fit him in the team and get the best players available for us is something we've tried to do.
15:37But I've been quite pleased with him. He's done a lot of good things. Still got other things we'd like him to do better.
15:44We'll just go to Will finally.
15:48Hi David, just check on Jesper Lindstrom.
15:51No, Jesper's not available. He's going to get checked with a specialist. He's got a groin problem.
15:58We're half looking to see if it could be a hernia, that's why we're just checking it to see if it's anything like that.
16:05He's not available, no.
16:07In terms of Willemijn Dijk, how much do you think you have missed him over the past two months?
16:11Going forwards, a lot of supporters maybe would like to see him in that number 10 role. Do you think that's a role he's capable of playing in?
16:17Yeah, I think it's something which if we can get the opportunity to see him, we'll try and get him there at some time between now and the end of the season
16:25to see if we can get him in that position. We've needed him in other positions and we've got other people who maybe can do jobs in different ways,
16:34maybe more off the ball than on the ball. But I think we've had actually good results without Illy, so you need to forget that we've had some pretty good results.
16:46I thought when we lost him in the first Liverpool game, I was thinking, my goodness, we've lost our main attacking threat really.
16:54But let's be fair, other people had stepped up to the mark as well and got a few goals.
16:59But I'm glad to have him back and you're right, I think we'll try and find at times the opportunity to get him more central.
17:06Just on Armando Rose, he's a player who has had a really frustrating season, coming in injured and having a medical injury again.
17:13I suppose he's a player you are aware of at the time in the Premier League, so what qualities can he bring to the team?
17:20I think he's got some really good qualities. He's got ability, at times he can hold on to the ball, he can stay on the ball and give us opportunities.
17:31He's got some speed about him as well. I think we need to try and get him an opportunity to see what he can do.
17:41Ultimately you can only pick the lemon and the sour, then you have to pick whatever ones you think are going to get you the best result.