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Has it become like Arsene Wenger said and now fourth place is like winning a trophy?

For sure to finish in the top four I think is a very, very good achievement for all the clubs in the Premier League. You can see the table, you can see that there are important teams, teams that in the past won trophies, important trophies and now they are fighting for a place in the Champions League.

I think this race will be very difficult this season. Don’t forget about other teams like Brighton too, because Brighton have important players in their squad and are on a roll. I think they are involved in this situation.

Brentford are also having a fantastic season. There’s Newcastle, Liverpool and I’m not forgetting Chelsea. This season will be an important race for all the teams involved. There is also United in this race. For sure it will be a good achievement to finish in Europe this season, like last season. I think in every season, finishing in the top four means you had a good season.

But don’t you celebrate it like winning a trophy? It’s so hard now to get into the top four though, are we starting to look at it that way?

Don’t forget Liverpool last season with Jurgen Klopp until the end of the season they were in a fantastic race to win it all. They lost the Champions League final, they finished second in the Premier League with one point less than Manchester City, you remember what happened in the last game.

They won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. We are talking about a great, great team used to winning in the past. Then a season can happen where you can fight. But they are used to (winning). In the last period in England, it was a fight between Manchester City and Liverpool.

And then Chelsea won their last Premier League with me. Otherwise it is divided by Manchester City and Liverpool. It can happen, Liverpool’s situation underlines the difficulty of the Premier League.

The Premier League is very difficult. I read that Guardiola said in every game this season that you know you have to fight and you risk losing points. Because you know that each team is going to improve the squad. Look at Nottingham Forest, 22/23 players have changed compared to last season.

Each team tries to improve, to be strong. I think the Premier League will become the NBA in the near future. That’s why you have to be prepared, otherwise you risk ending up without cutlery or Europe.

Have Fraser Forster’s performances given you a more difficult decision when Hugo Lloris returns?

Fraser is playing very well. He is proving to be a reliable player. First of all, I want to underline that he is a very, very good guy. I remember him when he was the manager of Juventus and we played with Celtic in the Champions League. I remember it very well because I was impressed by seeing him, the way he was a goalkeeper.

At the same time, I’m sure he’s a very good person, a positive person for the locker room. I think he was a fantastic signing for the club, honestly. He is showing that he deserves credit.

Hugo is our goalkeeper but before coming back he has to be fine. We don’t force the situation because I repeat Fraser deserves the credit and for that Hugo has to recover well. We do not force the situation because it will not be good for Hugo or for us. We are very happy with Fraser, but at the same time, when Hugo is ready, he is our first goalkeeper.