Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram feels that “it’s right that everyone plays” after the Nerazzurri rotated their squad to beat Arsenal.
The Frenchman spoke to CBS Sports Golazo after the Champions League match, via FCInterNews. He suggested that there was nothing weakened or second-string about Inter’s starting eleven.
There were some notable names absent from Inter’s starting eleven to face Arsenal yesterday.
French international striker Thuram’s was among them.
Then there was also no Federico Dimarco, Alessandro Bastoni, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, or Nicolo Barella in the lineup.
But that did not prevent Inter from taking three massive points.
The Nerazzurri came out strong with an aggressive approach in the first half against the Gunners, before the match settled down into a less frenetic, more event contest.
There was a penalty late in the first half for Inter. Hakan Calhanoglu converted it as always.
Then, the Nerazzurri held out for the victory with a strong defensive display in the second half.
Big name players like Thuram, Dimarco, Mkhitaryan, and Barella did come on as substitutes.
Marcus Thuram Hails Inter Squad Strength After Arsenal Win: “It’s Right Everyone Plays”
After the final whistle, Thuram admitted that “We would have liked to have controlled the match better.”
“But at 1-0 up, with the opposition pushing, we dropped back a bit.”
“We wanted to get up the pitch,” Thuram continued. “But had a lot of crosses to defend and we remained solid.”
“We’re happy with the win,” the 27-year-old said.
Thuram also noted that “We knew that we’d be rotating the squad a bit.”
“But we don’t call it rotation, Because we have 23 players in our squad who can always play.”
“Against City Lautaro was on the bench,” Thuram noted of Inter’s Champions League opener. And now it was me.”
“It’s right that everyone plays,” the Inter striker declared.
Of the Nerazzurri’s defensive approach in the second half, Thuram said that “Sometimes it happens by default, sometimes it’s what you want.”
“Sometimes you have to control possible counterattacks. And sometimes the opposition take control of the match, trying to score.”
“That changes the game a bit,” Thuram noted. “But it can be both.”
And the Frenchman also looked ahead to Inter’s top-of-the-table Serie A clash with Napoli this weekend.
“It will be a tough match,” he said.
“They’re top of the table, they have a great coach and players like Lukaku and McTominay.”
“They’re a solid team,” Thuram said of Napoli. “But we’ll try to do our best and win in front of our fans.”
