Arsenal is a great team with a rich history. But in recent seasons the club has struggled. This season, on the other hand, the team from North London has come to life, with seven out of eight victories and top of the table in England. One point ahead of the otherwise superb Manchester City with Haaland on top. Therefore, by all accounts, this will be Bodø/Glimt’s toughest test. Visiting a sold-out Emirates with 60,000 spectators in the group stage of the Europa League. Der Glimt has started brilliantly. After a very strong draw against the Dutch giants PSV in Eindhoven, a 2-1 victory at Aspmyra followed against FC Zürich. Thus, the club from Bodø is on track to be able to progress from the group. But now two games are waiting on the rap against England’s, according to the table, best team. See the entire press conference in the video window at the top. See similarities between Arsenal and Glimt Kjetil Knutsen and goalkeeper Nikita Haikin met the press, and received several questions regarding how to prepare for such a big game. – How do you avoid not being kicked out of the stadium, as you said you were against Dinamo Zagreb? – I don’t feel that we were left out of the draw, but standing in games that mean a lot, being raw and free enough to be Bodø/Glimt and represent our DNA, regardless of whether you play against Junkern, Zagreb or Arsenal, that’s what I was talking about. In that sense, this match will be an absolutely fantastic test for what Bodø/Glimt is. We are looking forward to testing it against the highest level, Knutsen told news. Knutsen was aware that this was going to be the single biggest challenge Glimt has under his leadership. Runar Espejord and the other flash players are training before the meeting with Arsenal on Thursday. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news – Being out in Europe is a fantastic learning experience, and we have played against some very good teams, such as Roma and Zagreb. But now we face an even higher level. Their DNA and our DNA have a lot in common. You have to love and stand in the challenging battles. Arsenal are going to go out for a hundred, especially if you watch the game against Tottenham they play them low after three minutes. Then we have to see if we can handle it, but I have a lot of faith in the players and the group, who have good experience with them, which is worth its weight in gold. We will get the answer after the game tomorrow. Arsenal have important games in the near future, such as Liverpool at the weekend and Leeds and Manchester City shortly after each other after the game at Aspmyra. Therefore, Arsenal can find themselves rolling in the team, but it is not necessarily a major weakness, according to Knutsen. – If you look at Vieira and Ødegaard, they are very similar. They find the same type of players who can go in and do a job, and it’s much the same as what we do. Of the team that played against Zurich, only three of them played against Tottenham. It is difficult to say what will be their starting eleven. Knutsen believes Glimt must look for the spaces Arsenal leave when they attack with many players. – It is our job to exploit it. We must have an aggressive playing style in the low pressure, in the high pressure, we must also have the ability to control the game with the ball. If you only defend yourself, you have no chance. Tottenham tried that, and it doesn’t work. Elias Hagen plays tricks with the ball on the grass at the Emirates. The midfielder has been relegated to the bench following the return of Patrick Berg, having been a fixture in the team earlier in the season. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news – Don’t tiki-taka the first few minutes Bodø/Glimt always talks about being yourself and playing your own game. It does not necessarily mean that Knutsen & co. going to be naive at the start of the match, considering how aggressive the opponent tends to be. – There is something about being smart. Maybe you shouldn’t play tiki-taka within your own penalty area for the first few minutes, spend more time throwing, and so on. Absorbing intensity we must take together. Ola Solbakken was not in the squad against Lillestrøm, but will now be in full training again. One who, on the other hand, has signed himself into the starting line-up is Nikita Haikin. He says that the entire playing group is looking forward to the match, and that they do not feel the pressure before the big game at the Emirates. – When we found out that Arsenal would be in our group, we were happy. It’s as close to the Champions League as you can get in the Europa League. The boys are looking forward to it, and we are looking forward to the match. Haikin was asked if he will extend his contract, which expires after this season. – We’ll see. At the moment I’m just living in the moment and enjoying my football. I’m not going to lie, we’ve had some big challenges this season, but right now we’re in a good place, he says. Nikita Haikin and Kjetil Knutsen met the press on Wednesday. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news – Won’t notice any change Someone who has been on the entire sensational journey to Glimt is mental trainer Bjørn Mannsverk. He is a former fighter pilot and has worked for Nato. In addition, he has just been employed in a similar role as mental coach at the Oil Fund, where he will help the fund earn even more money. Mannsverk says it is important not to think too much about who the opponent is. – First, I would like to say that we are not doing anything special in terms of which match they will play. We believe in doing things the same and we stick to it, he says and continues: – Doing things the same means that you will not really notice any change in terms of what is going to happen. In this way, we avoid the chance of you stressing yourself out because of that. – Glimt have not been as good as the last two years, how has the atmosphere been in the squad? – There has been quite a lot of frustration about what they have faced in the Norwegian league this year. To me, it seems as if Glimt is only facing another team, because everyone plays the same. It’s not how they want football to be, but it’s how reality is. So that frustration has been quite big. Bjørn Mannsverk in the streets of London before the match against Arsenal. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news In the previous round, Glimt had a joint meeting where they talked through that part and how they have to be careful in order to play the victim role. – In a way, we have to “work the issue” or “work the problem”. We have to find solutions, otherwise this will continue. I think we managed that, we made sure that we are in the challenger role. It was very pleasing to see what they did against Lillestrøm, says Mannsverk, referring to Glimt’s 1-4 win at Åråsen last Saturday.
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Bodø/Glimt meets the press before the meeting with Arsenal at the Emirates – news Nordland
