Carlo Ancelotti called on Everton to maintain the feelgood factor created by back-to-back wins against Chelsea and Leicester City when Arsenal come to Goodison on Saturday (5.30pm GMT).

After revealing the latest team news - including the return of Seamus Coleman but unavailability of Allan over the festive period due to the hamstring injury the midfielder picked up on Wednesday - Ancelotti discussed a wide range of topics in his pre-match press conference...

One year in charge at Everton...

We have progressed. The position in the table is good now compared to when I arrived but we need another six months to reach our target which is to reach a European position. Now we are there but we have to do well to keep that position.

The top of the table is really compressed. We don’t want to look too far. At this moment we have an important game against Arsenal, who are a strong team, and we prepare to do our best. Our momentum is good and we want to keep this.

Abdoulaye Doucoure...

The skills of Abdoulaye Doucoure mean he can play everywhere on the pitch. He can play No.10, he can play in behind, his defensive work is really good. He is learning a lot tactically and has a fantastic ability for the transition when we get the ball. He can play box to box and I’m really, really pleased. I think he is one of the best French midfielders and, if he can continue like this, he can get in the international team because he’s a fantastic midfielder.

Richarlison...

[His goal at Leicester] was really important. The work he is doing is important for us. Like Iwobi, I ask for a lot of work defensively so he’s not always fresh in the box but the work that he does is really important for the team.

James Rodriguez...

It’s true we’ve had two clean sheets when James wasn’t there but it’s also true that the first clean sheet of the season was against one of the most difficult opponents in Tottenham who have two fantastic strikers - and we had that clean sheet with James. We had a period when we didn’t defend well as a team. Our defensive ability doesn’t depend if James is there, it depends on us working well together, above all, midfielders and defenders.

The return of Seamus Coleman...

The important thing is Seamus is fit and he has a strong desire to play. He is a fantastic captain for us, it’s really important that he’s back and after that I have to choose the line-up [for Arsenal].

Goalkeeper rotation...

I consider a goalkeeper a player and, as we rotate a defender, a striker, I want to also rotate goalkeepers. I started in Real Madrid when I had two great goalkeepers – [Diego] Lopez and [Iker] Casillas. Casillas was a world champion but he understood and had no problem.

The new Premier League ruling for nine substitutes in a matchday squad...

Nine substitutes on the bench is really good news. It’s really difficult to leave players out of the squad so having a bigger bench means having more players involved and the manager can have more choice with substitutions.

I understand that some managers want five substitutes but if you want to give a player a rest because it’s a busy time you can keep him out at the beginning of the game and not substitute him after 60/70 minutes.