Pusic: We have to act almost perfectly to achieve a result with Arsenal

Head coach Shakhtar Marino Pusic said that his team will play to win the match with Arsenal in the third round Champions League 2024/25.

“Every match has its own story, every opponent has its own story. Therefore, everything is different every time. Of course, we have a strategy and a game plan. Sometimes this is not enough. There are many circumstances that influence the result.”

“We have to be almost perfect to get a result against this team and we understand that. But we are here to compete. We will demonstrate our game, as we always do, and stick to our philosophy. And this philosophy will never change as long as I am Shakhtar’s coach.”

“Perhaps some details will be different, but I am focused on winning. We always play to win, we don’t play to lose. If our opponent is much better than us and forces us to defend, of course we will have to defend. This is normal and logical. But we are here to compete.”

“In fact, I must say that we play all matches away from home – unfortunately, we’ll start with this. Yes, we drove for 13 hours: this is a very difficult journey that takes a lot of time and energy. At the same time, we are a very motivated team and we are mentally prepared. Therefore, despite all the circumstances, we did not come here to complain. This is simply a fact that we, unfortunately, constantly face. I think we are the only club in the world at this level that is in such conditions. This doesn’t make it any easier for us, but as I said, we are a team that came here to compete, not to complain. And we play football.”

“Sudakov is a great talent, an excellent football player, so for me it is quite logical that many clubs are interested in him, but tomorrow it will not be his game, it will be our game. As I always say, an individual player can only be at a good level if the team is at a good level, so an individual player does not make the team better, the team makes the player better.”

“So, it’s not just about Sudakov, it’s about all of us. And I hope that if they all enter the game well, they will show their individual qualities and show themselves. And about Sudakov, I can say that it’s not only about his qualities as a football player, but also about his mentality, because the way he works, the role he plays in the team, this makes him special for me.”

Shakhtar scored one point in two rounds and is in 27th place in the overall 2024/25 Champions League table. The Gunners have four points.

The match of the third round of the Champions League between Arsenal and Shakhtar will take place in London tomorrow, October 22. Starts at 22:00 Kyiv time. The match will be officiated by a French team of judges led by Benoit Bastien.