We also have the highest ambitions in the Champions League

Champions League was somewhat of a matter of course for you at Chelsea, you won it in 2012. Now you’re to feature in it for the Gunners.
More than anything I’m really excited to play for Arsenal in it. I used to participate in the Champions League for Sparta Prague, then for Chelsea and now finally—after eleven years—for a new club. It’s a great challenge.

What are Arsenal’s ambitions?
The same as most other major clubs’. We’re looking to get as far as possible, make some progress. It is obviously everyone’s dream to win the Champions League or to fight for the top spots at least. In any case, we’d like to qualify farther than last season where Arsenal dropped out in the round of 16 after a match witch Monaco. Then we’ll see.

Who do you consider to be the biggest favourites?
About six to eight teams which have a chance to win. Including us, of course. Plus I think that the number of possible contenders is constantly growing. It’s definitely Bayern, Real, Barcelona and all English clubs. And there can always be surprises.

Are you looking for the high frequency of games coming up?
Yes, very. That’s how I like it best. I prefer to play as many games as possible. You need to get in the groove of things and train properly, as well as get in some regeneration and sleep.

What do you expect from the first duel in the group? Dinamo Zagreb is—on paper—the weakest team in the group.
But they qualified for the Champions League and have nothing to lose. They’re playing the first match at home and are going to want to prove themselves in front of their crowd. It’s up to us to counter that. We’re one of the group top seeds and our only goal is qualification. It would be ideal to start off with a win.

Is the traditional pre-match training going to take place in Zagreb?
No. We train in our training centre and only then will be start traveling. That’s how we did it in Chelsea, too. It’s better to undergo the training at home in our comfort zone and for as long as we need. We’d only have an hour for it in Zagreb. We won’t even be going to the stadium until the very match. There’s nothing that could really surprise you there