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Thibaut Courtois confirms Arsenal fitness and rejects attitude issues – ‘I’m 100%’
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will be back between the sticks against Arsenal in the Champions League, save for a major surprise. The Belgian star has been missing against Leganes, Real Sociedad and Valencia, due to hamstring discomfort, but he has confirmed he is fit to play at the Emirates.
Andriy Lunin, his usual deputy, featured against Leganes and La Real, but is nursing muscle discomfort himself. It led to a bittersweet for 19-year-old goalkeeper Fran Gonzalez against Valencia in their 2-1 defeat, but Courtois told the media he was back and fully fit.
“I’m fine. In the end, I had a minor problem, something that forced me to take it day by day because it was going to take a little longer to recover, but I’ve been training for a few now and everything’s fine. I’m 100%. And the team, too. After the defeat against Valencia, we have to change our mentality… now it’s the Champions League. And we have to play a good game, try to win.”
“Yes, yes, I’m 100%. Whether I’m going to play or not is a question for the coach, but I feel ready. There’s no problem. After some time in the gym, I’ve already had several training sessions on the pitch, and I feel good.”
He noted that his absence from their last three games was precautionary rather than down to the fact he could not have played.
“I’m fine. ‘Various’… I don’t know, I had two at the beginning of the season that were related to the adductor muscle, one against Athletic from a lot of knocks, something normal and that can lead to a tear, and the second, perhaps from coming back too soon. After that, everything has been fine. What happened now has been a minor issue, taking it day by day, and if I didn’t play before, it was because I didn’t take risks, since there are a lot of important games coming up. And we preferred to wait until tomorrow and not Saturday.”
The 32-year-old has never lacked for faith in his own ability and his own side, and showed little sign of being cowed by the fact that Arsenal have not lost at home in Europe for the last two years. That statistic was brought up by Bukayo Saka in his press conference.
“No, I didn’t know that. But I don’t think it’s something that will change much. It would be like saying we’ve won 15 Champions Leagues; it wouldn’t change much. They’re a strong team at home, but so was Liverpool, and we won 5-2. There are teams that are tough at home, and they are, but that doesn’t change much for tomorrow.”
One of the big talking points throughout the press duties for Mikel Arteta and Carlo Ancelotti was Arsenal’s prowess from dead ball situations.
“We worked on it yesterday. We know how we should defend against them, although the first thing is to try not to concede too many corners. But… it’s a matter of concentration and being on edge, although sometimes, no matter how well positioned you are, if the ball goes perfectly to a player’s head, it’s difficult to defend,” he accepted.
Courtois also refuted the idea that there is a major attitude shift in Real Madrid when they go into European games, compared to their showings in La Liga.
“No, I don’t think there’s a big attitude change. Maybe it’s more noticeable because it’s the Champions League, but we take every game 100% seriously. It’s not like we’re just going for a walk in La Liga. Every game is very important, and we give it our all. Maybe it’s that in the Champions League, the adrenaline is higher, and instead of giving 100%, someone gives 110%. That could be the difference. A mistake in the Champions League penalizes you more than one in La Liga, and that’s why there could be a small change. But nothing that big.”
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Nor was he particularly concerned by criticism headed Real Madrid’s way after some disappointing defensive performances.
“These things do not reach us. We have enough with analysing our games and seeing what we need to do better. A journalist can sometimes think one thing… when the job given in the game, to that player, is another. We’re not as interested in outside criticism as we are in internal criticism: players, coaching staff… knowing where we need to improve. And as I said before, I don’t think we choose games.”
“Maybe some nights, in the Champions League, the adrenaline is higher, maybe; but I don’t think we don’t give 100% in some games, because that’s what this club, the shirt, and the fans demand of us. To give everything on the field. And then if you lose, you’ve lost. But I don’t think we, as players, choose the games.”
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