After witnessing his side come out on top in a seven-goal thriller against Luton Town, Mikel Arteta tackled questions from the media at Kenilworth Road.
He was asked about the late winner, the resilience of his squad, Gabriel Jesus' impressive display and an injury update.
Here is everything he had to say:
on winning late:
I really enjoyed [it], especially the end. The incredible thing about football, the emotions and the moments that you live together with a lot of people. It was a special night. Credit to Luton for the incredible atmosphere they created, the way they played, the way they were coached, they made life really difficult for us, but we found a win. The resilience, the character and quality that the team showed, and how much we wanted it, it was great.
on falling behind and coming back to win:
Playing every three days and you have to win every game and every game, the demands are there. It’s the way they go about it, how much they want it. We had a talk at half-time, they think we have to do better, and they are so willing. Sometimes it was better than others, today we conceded some goals that we are going to be disappointed with but that’s part of it as well. It’s going to happen and how we react to that, and it was great.
on the manner of winning late:
We don’t want a draw, we want to win! That drive, that energy, that risk and emotion that we put in the pitch, you can sense it. I think we should have scored before with the chances that we had, but we didn’t. We tried hard until the end and got rewarded.
on if we’re worried that we’re winning games late on:
No, because we didn’t really concede again. It was the two set plays and the goal that they scored, apart from that, it was nothing else. We were really efficient in the boxes today and that’s credit to the opponents as well, and you have to accept that.
on David Raya’s performance:
We have to defend better the situations as a team. There are certain things leading to the goals and it’s not about blaming, we have never done it, and we’re not going to do it now. It’s about how the team reacts to that, because it’s going to happen, and I love that response.
on whether he was at fault for the two goals:
I think we can defend the goals much better, that’s for sure.
on Gabriel Jesus’ display:
He looked really lively today, really active and caused them a lot of problems. He was really mobile, a constant threat and scored a good goal. He was involved in many positive actions for the team as well, so I think we’re getting the best out of him and he’s in a good place.
on Gabby’s link-up with Kai for our third goal:
They have different qualities and complement each other really well. I thought Kai played his best game, he’s getting better and better. That’s what we need, players that start to raise the level and get in a good moment because we’re going to need players as we’re losing a lot at the moment.
on whether signing Declan Rice would lead to him scoring winners like today:
Yeah, [he’s scored] three. He has one more to go, so it will happen, I don’t know when but it’ll happen. He had an incredible game again; the leadership, the quality that he’s showing every week and every game, he’s getting better and better and then he has this capacity when he goes in the opponent’s box, he’s got that smell and ability to put the ball in the back of the net.
on Takehiro Tomiyasu’s injury:
We had a scan, and it’s not good news. He’s got an injury in his calf, and he’s going to be out for a while.
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