Sadio Mane Quotes

With Andy Cole up front they can score at any time. We'll be watching him very closely.

First and foremost my obligation is on the defensive side. But obviously there are times when I need to go and attack, too.

If Messi has the ball, he is fantastic to watch and difficult to stop. You have to double up on him, triple up on him even, stay with him constantly to block his way to the goal.

Any good attacker will always beat a defender who's face-marking you.

Not only the attackers, but the defenders - it's on the attackers to prepare themselves to break through the strong defense.

My favourite position is as midfielder, playing with Xabi and Khedira.

We like to score a lot of goals.

At the end of the day, it's 11 men versus 11 on the pitch.

What I want is to recover the ball as near to the other box as we can, and when we have the ball, play.

Considering Messi's quality and everything he represents, I don't think I've seen him playing with a guy following him around the pitch the entire time with the sole purpose of not letting him play.

When the opposition sits back and defends well and together, it's difficult.

You need to be able to defend. It's massively important, and at Arsenal, we've sometimes been guilty of forgetting that.

Germany are a tough opponent. They are quick and break on the counter at speed, and they are bursting with confidence.

When the manager asks me to play somewhere, I play there. But my best position is midfield.

As a goalkeeper, it is a challenge to face Messi.

As a defender, we take pride in getting clean sheets.

I'm a defender first and foremost - blocks, headers, vital tackles, or even just the communication side of it, which is massive but doesn't really get recognised.

I would have played Tom Finney in his overcoat - there would have been four men marking him when we were kickin' in.

For me their biggest threat is when they get into the attacking part of the field.

I know how to score goals. That's what I've done all my life, and that's what I'll continue doing.

We know it's impossible sometimes to have good defending against Cristiano Ronaldo but we want to keep the ball, with good possession, as then he can do nothing in attack.

My teams have always been dominant about having the ball but having the ball to create opportunities. That's always been the clear way of my work.

I love the triangle. It's a great offense if you execute it well.

It is vital to maintain possession and to win it back as soon as possible, because if we win it high up, then the opposition has to run 70 metres.

I like that defender-versus-striker battle, that challenge.