After Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to score a superb winner to beat Manchester United in Los Angeles, Mikel Arteta was full of praise for the condition he, Kai Havertz and Gabriel have come back in.
The trio only landed in America on Thursday, and after minimal time to link back up with their teammates, they all made an impact in the second half against the Red Devils to help us overturn a one-goal deficit into a victory.
That thrilled Mikel, who is delighted with the condition they’ve returned back in to quickly slip back into the swing of things in red and white.
Speaking about the trio, he said: “They had a day and one training session but they’ve come back in very good condition. We know that the boys are high speed at the moment and they’re not going to have time to prepare, so they have to catch up with that rhythm and they look really good.
“I think it was a really competitive match, really good opposition for us, and I’m very happy that we managed to win the game. It was a big test against an opponent that are in a good moment. They’re having a good pre-season and we have to turn around a result which is great practice for us.”
Just like we did against Barcelona last pre-season, we managed to send the tens of thousands of Gooners inside SoFi Stadium home happy with another impressive victory.
Mikel was just as pleased about that, and admitted that he feels that we’re beginning to make ourselves comfortable in our home away from home, giving our link with the LA Rams.
“We feel at home here,” the boss added. “This stadium is something special, it’s owned by our owners, and we have a big connection with the Rams. We are generating something special in the US, which is really important for us.
“I think culturally, it’s a big learning to understand about the cities. We’re going to play Liverpool which is a really tough opponent as well. So, it’s time to adapt, travel again to a different time zone, different people, different stadiums, and a different kind of opponent. It’s all really positive things for us to get better.
“Thank you to all the supporters who came here to watch the game today. They created an unbelievable atmosphere, in one of the best stadiums that I’ve been in.”
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