There was a certain amount of relief for Mikel Arteta after our narrow 1-0 win over FC Zurich ensured top spot in Group A on Thursday night.
Despite taking the lead early, we had to dig in deep in the second half to finally secure our passage straight through to the Round of 16.
After the game the manager faced the media, and discussed the victory, Elneny’s comeback, Tomiyasu’s injury and previewed the game against Chelsea. Here’s a full transcript…
On how he’ll ensure Arsenal start games fast in the Europa League…
Well we always try to start fast. We have an opponent who have something to say in the game but we try to start as well as possible, always.
On a nervy evening…
I expected it to be a tough match. I’ve watched them in the last few games – how they’ve changed since their new manager arrived, how they played against Bodo. You’ve seen it and it was really difficult to get any real momentum with the way that the game developed. We have to adapt to that. We had some big chances that we didn’t put away and that made the game more difficult in the last 15 or 20 minutes. We didn’t control certain situations and we had to dig in, which we did. We found a way to win and we’re top of the group.
On how impressed he is about his team’s reaction to losing in Eindhoven…
That’s what we wanted. Losing football matches is part of it. It will happen at certain stages and you have to react to that. It affects you just in the moment and then you move forward, analyse what happened and try to become better as a team. That’s what we’ve done. We’ve managed to win the last two games and now we have to go to Stamford Bridge.
On Sambi Lokonga playing in a more advanced role - and if he took the opportunity…
I think everyone took the opportunity. It’s true that we played him more there in pre-season. When we signed him, we had another idea - but in pre-season, he developed and played well in that position. Having to rest Thomas today, I think it was a good option.
On the latest on Tomiyasu - and how important it was to see Kieran Tierney performing well…
We don’t know [on Tomiyasu]. He felt something and we didn’t want to take any risks. With the amount of games that we’re playing, it’s part of it. It can happen in training, it can happen in games and unfortunately it happened to Tomi today. The rest of the players have to be ready because we’re going to need everybody now.
On what Tomiyasu’s injury is…
We don’t know yet.
On an initial assessment on Tomiyasu, given the World Cup is approaching…
We have Chelsea on Sunday. This is what I’m interested in.
On Gerard Pique announcing his retirement…
I just found that out - I will remember that you gave me the news! [He’s had] an incredible career and an incredible character. He’s given so much to this game… and he will be missed because I think he was a world-class player.
On Gabriel Jesus’ form…
That’s going to change [his bad luck], he’s getting the situations, he’s getting the chances, he’s contributing to the team an awful lot, he’s helping to win matches, the way he competes for every ball in every single action is incredible. It will come, he needs to be patient, he’s been through that in the past and he needs to learn those lessons and don’t stop doing those other things that he’s doing so well, because that’s going to maintain the level of him and the team.
On Mohamed Elneny’s performance…
He was really good. He’s been out for eight weeks, we expected him to be out for 12 weeks, he had an amazing recovery, he’s a guy that has been pushing everybody around the training ground to be ready as quick as possible and today I think he competed really well.
On having players coming back from injury…
We have managed the load of the players in the last four weeks because of the amount of games that we have played. To get it perfect is very difficult to get the balance, to get the right performances and win matches and rest some players and keep them fresh is always challenging, we have tried to do our best. Today we had bad news with Tomiyasu, but I think for the rest it has worked pretty well.
On if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure benefits both parties…
Well, it’s a decision that we had to take and there are different parties involved. At the end of the day, when someone is not with us anymore and being a player and having the role that he had at the club and how important he was, you always wish everybody the best. When someone makes that decision to move somewhere else, they need to enjoy their profession and he seems to be happy.
On Chelsea’s recent form…
They’ve been really consistent, the results that they’ve had recently since Graham took over you can see what he’s trying to do and we will be ready and will start to prepare for the game from tonight.
On the differences in Chelsea since Graham Potter took charge…
That’s not for me to judge, but you can see that he has put his ideas in, like he did with Brighton.
On Aubameyang saying he’s ready for Sunday…
You expect players to do that. If you ask any of our players how they feel about where they are, they will say the same.
On how challenging it was to manage Aubameyang at the end…
Nothing, we made decisions, we discussed things and we made a clear decision between all of us.
On how dangerous Aubameyang will be on Sunday…
Very dangerous. If Auba has something, it’s the ability to put the ball in the back of the net and he’s going to be doing that until the day that he decides he’s had enough of football.
On how we can stop Aubameyang…
We will have to look first of all at what Chelsea do and try to put a plan together to avoid that.
On the key to winning at Stamford Bridge…
Play better than them. Earn the right to win, score one more goal and I’m sure we will win the game.
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