"We are having experiences and this is the most important thing. We need to be competitive and we are excited.

"We want these games and the opportunity we have. We are in the quarter-finals and for us it is very important for us to focus in this way. Everything we did before was to get to this moment and enjoy it. In the Premier League we have to remain consistent like we are.

“If we are speaking in a press conference about the match tomorrow and thinking about the match we will play then, no way. It’s not good for me or anybody.

“We must always respect the competition and Europe is always difficult. It is good to have experiences in this competition.

"Sometimes we have difficult moments like against Legia Warsaw, when we won against Zrinjski in the last minute. We played two legs against Ajax and that was a very good experience for us.

"We drew there, didn’t deserve more and at home we played really being consistent and with personality, seriously. We won. Lille is the same. Respect the competition and respect the opponent.

"They have the same experiences in Europe and I know their chairman is very experienced and competitive. They are focusing on this competition and the quarter-final playing between us and no other matches.

"They are fourth in their league. They are focusing on this and they have good players and coach, Fonseca. Most of them, I can say they are very competitive and tactically they have a very good coach.

"My objective is to help and support every player. The responsibility the scorers have is not only theirs. We need other players to score goals and support them.

"They need to be close and to get chances. Wingers, midfielders, centre-backs as well scoring. Set-pieces are very important to score goals. We need to share different positions of the players scoring goals. We have a great scorer with Ollie Watkins and we are very happy."

Unai Emery, pre-match.


"We are going game to game so we are very focused on tomorrow. We know the difficulty of the game. Europe is always difficult and we need to start well the first leg in our home with our supporters. We are really focused on tomorrow, we know it will be hard and we need a good start to go to France with an opportunity [to go through].

"We are busy and you need to recover quickly after the game. We have a really good team with players who can play in different positions and Unai is very, very experienced in this type of competition. He knows as well how to adapt every moment and every player in the games.

"He has so much experience in these competitions. He knows how to prepare every game and analyse the other teams. When the game has started, we know exactly how the opponents are going to play. I think this is a really good help for us.

"We have really good players and squad with enough players to play 100 per cent each game in each competition. We are working on it. This week is a hard week, a tough week but we need to go game to game and keep fighting.

"For me both competitions are so, so important. After 26 years we have a quarter-final at home. We want to play all the game in front of them. It means that we will be in the semi-final. We are working on it. I think this month and a half is the most important and we need every player to be focused on it.

“First tomorrow against Lille and then we need to recover. We could recover some injured players like Lenglet or Cash. We need everybody in this month. We are waiting for them and we first want to think only about Lille, then the weekend.

"They are a really good team, they are fourth in their league. They have young players and experienced players with a good manager as well. They have a good idea of football. We are waiting for them at home and we need to be strong to keep our own idea during the game.

“[Jonathan David] is the most important player of Lille. He has power, he has speed. He is a really good player, but we need to keep focused in every player they have. I like the centre-back Yoro. He’s a very good young player. We need to keep working as a team and control as much as we can their players."

"We know that we can’t relax in any moment because the other teams they have really good players. We need to be always 100 per cent. It is part of the game, but we need to improve and improve. We are working on it.

"I was injured for a month-and-a-half with my ankle. I am now feeling better and hopefully now until the end of the season I will be fit.

"We have really good players and it doesn't matter who plays in each game. We have enough quality in defence to defend against different actions. We need to be focused and continue to improve.

“[Unai Emery] knows better than us how to manage this. We work every day trying to play every game, but he knows how to manage it. At the end, the most important thing is the team and the result. He is the boss. I want to play always, but is normal and we always accept the decisions."

"Until this moment we are doing really good. We are improving the results of the last season so now we are in the most important part of the season. These games will be very important for us for this season and the next season.

"We have many players that played before in Europe, as well as Unai. He knows very good these competitions and how to approach the first and second legs. We try to help our teammates and everybody is really, really focused in these games.

"For us it doesn’t matter [being favourites], because for example yesterday in the Champions League both Arsenal and City played amazing games and drew.

"They were fantastic games. In these competitions, in quarter-finals, any team is the favourite. You need to play and work to show how your team prepared for the game."

Pau Torres, pre-match.


"Difficult match, very tough match.

“A tight result and a tight match. We created chances, we conceded some chances. We took advantage today and we knew before the match it was going to be difficult.

"Now again we have to be ready there to play 90 minutes and even extra-time and penalty shootout even because we know now every match that we are playing is difficult.

"It's a good result because we won today. We know it is going to be difficult there but we have to try to get again our position on the pitch, understanding how we play today."

Unai Emery, post match


"It was quite up and down, and the stadium felt quite flat at the end. It's important to recognise it's a victory against a very good team. Lille played really well tonight and I think they showed us how tough it's going to be next week. But we're in the quarter-finals and while we'd have preferred it to be 2-0, a win's a win.

"Lille had a lot of the ball in the first half, they controlled much of the game. We had to respect that, drop off a bit. We got a better shape and got up the pitch a bit. We work a lot on set pieces and thankfully one came off tonight.

"The manager was very frustrated about what happened at the weekend, letting Brentford back into the game. They're a very good side but we allowed them back in, we relaxed a bit and that's just not acceptable when you're chasing what we're chasing. We've got a lot of improving to do.

"It'll be an exciting match. We want to play in games against the best. They'll have a party atmosphere in the stadium and it's a great one; one I've played in before. We know we can get a win and earn a place in the semi-finals."

John McGinn, post match.


"Going into each game I feel confident. I have a belief that I'm going to score and the team are going to play well. We have a game plan and we stick to it no matter what. It was important that we won the game and then go into the second leg a goal up. It feels like a lot of hard work has been put in.

"Little bit disappointing to have conceded at the end, gives them [Lille] a little bit of belief going into the second leg. We could have been a bit more clinical in the final third. We've had a lot of opportunities and 2-1 is a bit disappointing, I think it should have been three or four.

"It's nice to hear your name being sung by the fans. I just try to repay them by scoring goals but when I'm not doing that I'm always working hard. That's the number one thing when I go on the pitch to make sure nobody can question my mentality and my work rate and then the goals will come so just enjoy."

Ollie Watkins, post match.