Ayari: We believe we can have great season

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Luke Nicoli

2024-11-18T06:00+00:00

The midfielder became a senior Sweden international in January 2023. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Yasin, we’ve made a decent start to the season – can you sense within the group that we can maintain that as we enter the busy winter schedule?

I think that all of us have the belief that we can go on and have a really good season. When you come in and train, you can see how good the players are, and how good the coach is. With the players we have in the team, it’s not a surprise to see where we are and you can see that we go into every game trying to win it because we know how good we are.

Have you been impressed with the impact of Fabian Hurzeler?

He got the group gelling together really quickly and we are trusting him, with his ability, to coach this team at this level. He has shown how good he is from the very first day he stepped into the building – with his standards and with his mindset, how he wants to play. I think everyone understood it and got on board with it from that first day. He told us that we should fight, to challenge the establishment, that was the first thing he said and that’s our aim for this season.

Let’s take it back to your arrival from AIK in January 2023. Did you know Brighton were looking at you?

Yasin spent time out on loan last season with Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

My agent told me of the interest. I was in Sweden, at home playing on my PC in my room, and he called to say that Brighton were interested in me along with some other clubs. I really liked the project that Brighton put in front of me though, and I was really excited to sign for the club.

You were only 19 at the time, so was it hard to leave for England at that age?

No, I would say it was just pure excitement because this is what I wanted to do, this is what I'd been dreaming of my whole life. I’d been putting in the extra training with my dad, with my brother, to reach this point, and so when I got the confirmation, it was a great feeling. I was taking that next step, from being in my room playing games and training every day with my friends (at AIK) to now moving abroad and living alone. It was my time to go from a being a boy to becoming a man.

How hard has that been, moving away on your own?

It was difficult to begin with, but that is only natural. I’m used to having my family around me and the talk of football all the time. It was my dad who introduced me to the game, we would play all the time, and my brother is also playing now at AIK. Of course we still speak, I see them whenever I can, but the good thing is that I’ve joined a club that really looks after the new players. The staff have been great and I’ve also made good friends on the team. I speak a lot to Kaoru, to Brajan, and to all the senior guys who have been great with me. We don’t have any Scandinavian guys, like we have the South Americans here, but I think that has helped me grow up quicker.

You made your Premier League debut that April against Bournemouth. What are your memories?

I was a bit nervous, to be honest, because I didn't think I was going on. I’d been on the bench a few times that season and didn't come on, but this time I came on, and I think I did really good. Like I said, I was nervous in the beginning, but then always when I go on the pitch, I just forget about everything and just enjoy what I'm doing. It was a good day for me and for the team (Albion winning 2-0 away from home).

You had loan spells at Coventry and Blackburn last season but didn’t start as many games as you would have liked, so have you learned lessons from those more difficult times?

Yasin Ayari wins a header as he battles with Newcastle's Tino Livramento. 📷 by James Boardman.

I would say that I wouldn’t be here today if last season didn’t happen. It made me a completely new man, going through so many things that I wouldn’t have otherwise gone through if everything was good. So, I’m really happy, in a way, that last season happened. I didn’t play so much, but I still got through the difficult times, both inside and outside of football, and it made me even more determined to prove people wrong.

Do you feel you’re more suited to the Premier League than the Championship, given your technical ability?

I think that is fair. The Championship was very physical, lots of long balls, but I feel I am more suited to the Premier League. At this level you are given more respect, more time on the ball, and that helps me show what I can do. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very intense league, but you still have that time on the ball to make a pass, to find a teammate.

So what was your mindset heading into pre-season?

I was just thinking about coming back this season and proving that I could do it at this level – and trying to improve as much as possible. I know I have the ability in me, I know that I'm a good player, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I had the mindset to come back ready to make an impression in the team. I said to myself, I don't care what coach comes in or how many players we sign. I will come and I will do my thing. I will work twice as hard as everybody else to prove that I should be here this season… and I am here!

Do you remember the moment when you knew you’d made a big enough impression to be a part of Fabian’s plans for this season?

Yasin Ayari has made 15 first team appearances for Albion, nine of which have come in the Premier League this season. 📷 by James Boardman.

Like I said, I always had it in my head, from being on the beach on vacation, that I would come back determined and strong. Then, after we returned, we went to Japan, I scored a goal and I put in some good performances. It was then that I started to feel that maybe this season is the one where I can do something.

Did you have a chat with Fabian, a one-to-one out in Japan, where he set out his plans for you this season?

No, not in Japan. It was more like when we came back and it was close to the season starting – then I think he had individual chats with everyone. It was then that he explained what he thought of me as a player, that he was pleased with me, and that it was down to me to push hard for a place in the team.

You really caught the eye coming on after 17 minutes of the game at Arsenal this season…

That performance really boosted my confidence. It was good to see that the coach trusted me in that situation because playing Arsenal at the Emirates is one of the toughest games you can play in Europe. But he put me on and I think I had a good game. I’ve felt like since then I’ve been getting good minutes on the pitch and everything is going in the right direction for me.

What’s your assessment of our recent form?

I just think that in the Premier League, you cannot underestimate any team, no matter where they are in the table. We’ve had some tough fixtures of late, and it was disappointing to exit the Carabao Cup against Liverpool, but we know that we can beat any team on our day – especially when we are here at the Amex. It's always special to play here with the fans.