Mikel Arteta was a happy man after we made it five wins in a row by beating Leicester City on Sunday.
The boss discussed Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, the top-four race and more.
Read on for a full transcript:
on Thomas Partey’s goal…
Yeah, he almost scored shooting, he had great shot that hit the crossbar so he was involved in both goals, the header that he won on the penalty as well and the other action where he had the shot. You can see he was voted Player of the Month, he’s come a long way, he has the consistency of the minutes, he understands what we want much better, his cohesion and understanding with the rest of the players is getting better and better and now it’s about consistency and keep doing it
on our consistency…
This is what all the coaches want and they understand what we want to do and they can do it at a certain speed as well, but then it gets more complex because you need the right timing, the right technique, the right quality, the right decision making, but you could see today there were moments that when it clicks everybody is on the same page and they all look for the same things, it’s very important
on Martin Odegaard’s form…
He was terrific again today in every aspect of the game, what he had to do in defending, when we were high, when we were deep, in build-up phases, in the final third, the way he understands and manages the game when needed. I think he’s come a long way since his arrival, he’s showing great maturity and responsibility on the pitch and he makes the other players better I think.
on if we got a bargain with Odegaard…
I don’t know, it’s still a little bit early to say that! But we were certainly convinced that a player that could fit in our club, in our model, that he has every value that we want from the players to represent this club and then he has the qualities for what we want to do and we are really happy with him.
on the value of our players being happy…
It’s the way it should be! I think if the players representing the club are not happy, as the people who we are responsible for them, I think we have to go somewhere else because we are doing something wrong. They have the joy and the privilege to be football players, they have to enjoy it, it’s what the purpose of what they do and now you can really sense they are having a good time together, they enjoy playing football with this freedom, they can express it and it’s all about that.
on whether Liverpool will be a big test for us on Wednesday night…
That’s a different level now, and we have to take the game into a new standard to have a chance to beat them, and we know that. Tomorrow we are going to start to prepare how we can beat them, and how we are going to start believing that we can beat them, which is crucial to be able to beat them.
on Ramsdale producing great saves against Leicester this season…
I think we had a great save. I think with Barnes’ header in a crucial moment when we were one-nil up, that’s when you need your goalkeeper to come out and get you out of trouble, and he certainly did it again today.
on Partey’s great run of form, and what Mikel did to help him…
Probably being on his neck everyday, because he needs it a little bit. It comes from the player though I think. We discussed it in the press conference the other day a little bit, but I think when a player accepts their reality, and when a player accepts that - OK he wants to be in a different position - you can’t expect that (change) to happen if you don’t change anything that you do. So he has started to do many other things, and you can see that he is enjoying being on the pitch, and this is what we want.
on whether he allows himself to look at the table and believe we will hold on to our current position…
I look at the table with the games that we have remaining. We know where we are now, but we have to look forward. We have to look at what we do, focus on our performances and prepare for the next match and that’s it. Because the rest is just guessing. I’m not a great gambler, I never have been and I don’t want to gamble.
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