Tolgay Arslan appeared on Udinese Tonight on Monday evening to talk about his first year with the club and look ahead to the 2021/22 season.
On playing in Italy…
“I played at two big Turkish clubs, but playing in Italy is tough. I joined a year ago and initially I found it difficult, but my team-mates, the coach and the club really helped me. Playing in Serie A is different to playing in the Turkish league. Italian is a difficult language to learn – not as hard as German but definitely more difficult than Turkish.”
On how the team has changed this year…
“It’s different without [Rodrigo] De Paul. All of us have more responsibility. Our game has changed – last year we tended to play down the right more to get the ball to him, but this year we’re playing as a team more. All of the new signings are good players. I think Isaac [Success] is a good player. [Gerard] Deulofeu is a top player – he’s an important player for us. Unfortunately he was struck down by injury last season. Lazar Samardzic is a very good player – he’ll be important for Udinese.”
On his aims for this campaign…
“I scored three goals last season and this year I want to score more – at least four. I had some chances in the first couple of games. My aim for this season is to score goals and get fewer yellow cards. My game was a bit more aggressive last season, but I’ve calmed down a bit now. That’s another difference between Italy and Turkey – in Turkey talking to the referee is normal, whereas here that’s not the case. I want to try taking a few free-kicks over the next couple of games. Usually it’s the person who most feels in the mood, a bit like with penalties.”
On his partnership with Walace…
“It’s easy to play with Walace. He played in Germany and speaks a bit of German. I like playing with him. I played in that deeper role last season but I prefer playing further forward.”
On working with Luca Gotti…
“I think Gotti is a very good coach. He knows his tactics. I like him both as a coach and as a person. I think he’s important for Udinese. We’re on four points so far and on Sunday we want and need to get more.”
On his personality…
“I’m a direct person but I think I have a good heart. If anyone has a problem, I’m happy to talk about it.”
On family life in Udine…
“My family are happy in Udine. After five years in Istanbul, coming to Udine was a bit of a shock because they’re night and day as cities. That said, I like Udine because it’s really friendly. I think my son found the move the hardest at the start, but he’s settled in now after a year.”
On his upbringing…
“My family is a classic Turkish family. My father is a bit strict – he taught me to respect the work other people do. It was difficult for them to move from Turkey to Germany and they wanted to teach me values. They moved for work and I was born in Germany. I’m German with my daughter and more Turkish with my son.”
On exploring the area…
“We’ve explored Friuli – I’ve been to San Daniele and the Palar. I really like Friuli and I’m really happy to have moved here, but I have to say that I prefer the food in Turkey. The approach to eating is different too – in Italy everyone has their own plate, whereas in Turkey we all eat from the same one.”
On what the future holds…
On what the future holds…
“I don’t like thinking about the future too much. Right now we need to be focusing solely on the match against Spezia on Sunday. Then we’ll take it one game at a time.”