Bob Bradley: Swansea City must play on the front foot at Arsenal

13th October
Bob Bradley admits he will be full of pride when he leads Swansea City out at Arsenal this weekend - and has urged his team to play on the front foot.
After more than 35 years in coaching, Bradley takes charge of his first Premier League game when the Swans face Arsenal on Saturday.
The 58-year-old will savour the moment when he walks out at the Emirates - but insists the focus will be on making sure his team deliver a performance.
"I don't usually look back at those kind of things, but for me personally, this will be up there (as a career highlight)," Bradley said.
"I will take a few seconds to look around, to look into the stands and take it in. 



"It's something I have done before. When you lead your team on to the field in the World Cup, you have to take a second and look around.  
"But then very quickly I will get my mind back on the game - you put that away and get ready for the whistle.
"I am aware that Swansea have a good record at Arsenal, and I like that because we can go there with confidence.
"To win there we will have to play well - all the details need to be right. Arsenal's football speaks for itself. All of us know what they are all about as a team.
"We have to make sure that defensively, the distance between our lines is right and our awareness is right.
"But we also have to go there with confidence when we have the ball. We have to go to play - to play passes forward.
"When you go away, you have to have the confidence to have people in front of the ball and play passes that break through the lines and create advantages."



Bradley revealed that Fernando Llorente (knee) and Jefferson Montero (calf) are both doubts for the Arsenal clash as they continue to battle the injuries which ruled them out of the Liverpool defeat 12 days ago, while Nathan Dyer is definitely out.
But the Swans' international players have returned healthy after stints with their respective countries, and Bradley has been encouraged by what he has seen on the training ground in his first week in charge.
"The response of the players has been fantastic," he added.
"Training has been sharp and the mentality of the players has been really good.
"Training is important. The intensity has to be right, but you do not want to be on the field for hours and hours.
"The players have been excellent, and I can also see there are a lot of nice guys in the group.
"You can see they all get along well and have good camaraderie. That's a good starting point.



"Now it's about making sure we are all together and restoring confidence. The way to do that is to re-establish good habits.
"Sometimes when a team go through a difficult stretch, it's easy to slip a little in your reactions or your closing down, or when you're on the ball it can be your movement or the quality of your passing.
"It's about reminding the players what the best teams do well, not coming in with a whole lot of new ideas."



Bradley on his management style

"I think about our team and our players. What they can expect is somebody who is going to work every day to try to make them better.
"I like to think that over time, the way we play will tell people about who I am.
"Swansea City has been a passing team. I don't want to lose that.
"But I mention over and over, the best passing teams play forward. They find the right windows and they play through the lines."


Bradley on Arsene Wenger

"I met him once when I was US manager. I want to watch Arsenal train and sat with him a little bit afterwards. 
"It was a very good experience. He is obviously very bright and he is fun to talk football with. 
"I have managed against some pretty big names - Capello, Del Bosque - and Wenger is right up there."


Bradley on a fresh start for his squad

"Whenever there is a change, it's a fresh start for everybody. You can see that on certain faces.
"You look at guys every day and even after a stretch of difficult results, you still see enthusiasm, fresh faces and a certain amount of excitement.
"That doesn't mean everything, but it's a start."


Bradley on transfers

"So far I haven't looked far past Arsenal, but I did have some conversations with Huw Jenkins and I have had a chance to speak to our scouts, establishing some starting points.
"I will be part of the (transfer) process. I will listen, I have suggestions, but most of the work so far has been digging my hands into the group here and trying to make sure we get off to a good start."