Day 2 in the Interlull house, and WOA has been thinking about the season… It’s been a difficult couple of weeks and our squad has been tested to the maximum. There’s been some healthy discussions and some not so healthy discussions, especially on twitter and on yesterday’s comments.
But right now, I’m going to interview Kunal Torres, as you know Torres has moved to Chelski, so, he’s renamed himself Kunal Spidey Suarez… (PS, he’s a Liverpool supporter) We last interviewed him back in July 2010, here’s a glimpse of the previous transcript with regular writer JAT.
[Dev] So Kunal, welcome back to WOA and thank you for coming onto the blog. I know not many fans speak on other clubs blogs, so your time is very much welcome.
[Kunal] Thanks Dev, it’s a pleasure… as you all know, I’m a die hard Liverpool supporter, but I do read this blog quite regularly and it’s amazing to read some of the background around your season.
[Dev] So, Arsenal and Liverpool have had contrasting seasons, but now the season’s coming to an end, how do you think you’ve faired?
[Kunal] Well, at the beginning of the season, I spoke about how both Arsenal and Liverpool would fair, I thought Arsenal would challenge and I thought we would struggle initially, but consolidate to a top 6 position. To be honest, I didn’t think it would be such a stuttering and difficult season. No team has really impressed me, and Chelsea seem to have had a lot of problems – without any real need for them. I’m not convinced that their manager has the players focused as you would still consider them the strongest squad. Man United have done well (it hurts me to say)… without really excelling. They seem to hitting their gear now, and their Mexican striker, Hernandez has been inspirational in the second half of this season – despite them having their weakest premiership squad… ever?
[Dev] Did you see Torres ever leaving? And how do you feel about his transfer?
[Kunal] Reluctantly I did think he would leave, as he had been playing outside the Champions League for a while. When Kenny came in, I thought he’d stay until the summer at least, but the manner in which he left (the day before the end of the transfer window) and going to another Premiership club was hurtful, something he said he would / could never see himself doing. However, I’m not one to dwell on the past (hence the name change) and actually think we’ve got now more options up front in Andy Carroll and of course, the the silky skills of Suarez. Fernando Torres – we hate you so much, because we loved you so much. Now you mean nothing to us.
[Dev] Liverpool are only 4 points behind Sp*rs now and 8 behind Man City, where do you think you will finish at the end of the season?
[Kunal] Well, we’ve played one more than than Sp*rs, but our form is quite decent at the moment, our recent away win at Sunderland was testimony to that. With Sp*rs distracted a little at the moment, we could creep up on them. Man City, 8 points? With 8 games to go… it would be amazing if we caught them… especially considering they don’t have any European distractions. I’ll be rooting for them in the semis of the FA Cup of course. I am naturally a huge fan of King Kenny as manager, and the players seem to be buzzing off his return. It will be interesting to see if we could push for 5th or even 4th. Never give up hope until it’s mathematically impossible.
[Dev] What are your thoughts on Arsenal’s season so far….?
[Kunal] I think they’ve been incredibly unlucky with their season but then again, you make your own luck. When they played reserve teams in the Champions League group stages, then you kind of feel that they let finishing top for granted – and then finished second. So, in a way, they could have avoided Barcelona, and hey, they may not have got them until the final, which could have turned out like it did at the Emirates. In regards to their unluckiness, that sending off for Van Persie was probably one of the worst decisions I’ve seen – at that point it could’ve gone either way even though over the two legs Barca deserved the victory. Injuries have plagued their season and it would be interesting how far they would go if they had their first XI fit for a long period of time. Unfortunately for Arsenal, the pressure seems to have gotten the better of them yet again. I’m hoping that you guys can still win the league but with the recent results it’s looking like the title’s going to be handed to utd on a silver platter. I think there are also quite a few fringe players who aren’t good enough for your squad – Almunia, Squillaci and Denilson always seem to get into the headlines for the wrong reasons.
[Dev] And finally, who do you think Arsenal could do with out of the Liverpool squad…
[Kunal] Our best player on form this season has been Pepe Reina and that’s probably the weakest area of the Arsenal squad. With the young boy apart, Sczcnesy, the other three look very average, if not below average. A world class keeper like Reina could be the missing piece in your squad… he’ll cost you £20m though (which is still a bargain!)… and he wants to leave, unfortunately for us!
[Dev] Well, thanks again for some interesting insight… we’ll see you again in a couple of months!
