Mertesacker faced the media after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. You can read a full transcript of the interview below:
on being happy with a point…
I think it’s a good point for us in terms of how we played the first half. We approached the second half a bit differently, fought for each other in a different way, had some good chances from set-pieces and that says a lot about the game. In the end it’s a good point for us. Obviously you want more when you equalise but we have to be happy after the first half. They pressed us really well and as soon as they stopped a little bit, we took more initiative.
on having defensive players score goals…
It’s great energy from the bench and we need that throughout the season. You could see what a great impact Kieran had when he came on onto the left side. He caused trouble and scored the goal. We’re happy about that.
on Mesut Ozil setting a record with six consecutive Premier League assists…
It could have been more [assists] after today. He gave a lot of good set-pieces and we had a couple of great chances. If we continue to play like that and fight like that, he can have an enormous impact on our season.
on how draining three away games in a row are…
We’re not going to complain. There are lots of sports where they play game after game and I think us playing two away games in a row is intense but we shouldn’t complain. We came through it and it was fun to play in. We suffered in the first half but the way we came back and the way the fans backed us was the joy of the game. We want to continue that, even if it’s two games a week.
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