Rafa Benitez is “happy to be here in England with such a strong side as Napoli” for the Emirates Cup against Porto, Arsenal and Galatasaray.
The Partenopei arrived in London this afternoon and the manager went straight to a Press conference at the Emirates Stadium.
Rafa Benitez is “happy to be here in England with such a strong side as Napoli” for the Emirates Cup against Porto, Arsenal and Galatasaray.
The Partenopei arrived in London this afternoon and the manager went straight to a Press conference at the Emirates Stadium.
“I am happy to be here in England with such a strong side as Napoli,” said former Chelsea and Liverpool boss Benitez.
Napoli will face Arsenal on Saturday at 16.20 UK time, then Porto on Sunday at 14.00 UK time.
The other games are Galatasaray-Porto on Saturday and Arsenal-Galatasaray on Sunday.
“Arsene Wenger is an excellent manager, as he proved by the fact he has been here for such a long time and continues to do well.”
Gonzalo Higuain will make his Napoli debut against Arsenal, the club that tried to sign him this summer, but not from the start.
“We have a lot of quality in attack. Lorenzo Insigne is an important player. If he does well, then it is also thanks to the work of the team.
“We are working and improving, as in pre-season it’s important to focus on developing and not get too concerned about the result. Obviously, it’s better if we win, but nothing will happen if we don’t. I’m more interested in the efforts of the players and seeing we’re on the right track.”
Benitez hinted that Pepe Reina will be used for the second game against Porto, having recently arrived on loan from Liverpool.
“Obviously I know the situation and I was surprised,” he said regarding the goalkeeper.
“We were trying to sign Julio Cesar and it was a surprise for us when Reina was available. For us it is a big boost and it is really important because he is a great player so we are really pleased.”
Reina complained in an open letter that the decision to loan him out to Napoli was made without his knowledge.
“I would say he has a lot of respect for the club and he was surprised by the decision and because nobody had told him.
“He has a great relationship with the fans and the club so I don't think he has any problem with them. He is still a fantastic keeper.
“We knew he had a long contract so it would have been impossible and we were not even thinking about him.
“We were talking about Cesar and then we realised that he was available and that was perfect.”