Jack Wilshere’s future, Harry Kane’s goal tally in 2017 and the prospect of facing a much-improved Crystal Palace side.
All that and more were on the agenda when Arsene Wenger faced the media on Wednesday.
Catch up with some of the key quotes here:
on having a Christmas break…
It’s a good feeling and a new one for me, but overall it was quiet and gives you a little bit of time to reflect on what happened in the game before, when usually you have no time over Christmas to prepare for the next one and to think about the next game.
on Mourinho saying that £300m isn’t enough to win the Premier League…
Look, I have been in that position for 21 years so I will not start to complain now. There is always one team, sometimes four, who were richer than I was, so I learned to cope with that and to deal with that. I think what is most important is you deal with your own situation as well as you can and, yes, Manchester City are richer than us, yes, Chelsea are richer than us and Manchester United are richer than us. But I still believe we have to find a way to be successful.
on the latest on Wilshere and his contract…
I will sit down with him, yes. I believe that, if we can meet a point of agreement financially, he will want to stay.
on if it’s true that Giroud turned down Everton because of not wanting to move north…
No, I don’t think so, because he could have joined Everton and stayed basically in London. I don’t think that was the problem.
on if he’s surprised Palace have pulled clear of trouble…
No, they were a bit unlucky at the start. They had many injuries at the start. If you look at their team, they have quality players. Roy Hodgson has experience of the Premier League, so I’m not surprised.
on Hodgson not ending in a nice way with England…
Look, for me, the opinion of Roy Hodgson was as high as it is now. It can happen that you have a bad experience and that’s what happened with him in the European Championship. But that doesn’t question 40 years of working in the game.
on if Wenger thought it was possible to score as many as Kane has in a year…
Yes, because he’s done it. Would I have predicted it? I would say no, because what he’s done is to beat people like Messi and Ronaldo, who were unbeatable in my head. What he has done is absolutely fantastic.
on the games in England being more competitive…
Yes, they are. That is why what he has achieved is absolutely amazing.
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