Mikel Arteta was proud of our resilience as we fought back to claim a point with 10 men against Southampton on Wednesday night.
Afterwards he faced the press and discussed the performance, the way we dug in, Gabriel's red card and more.
This is what he said:
on the result...
Considering the fact that we played 35 minutes with 10 men, we have to take the point because we showed some resilience and character to hang in there for so long against a really dangerous team. But at the same time we're disappointed because we came back after conceding the goal, we showed how much we wanted it, created some situations and at half-time we corrected a few things. We came back really strong in the game, scored a goal and then when we had the best moments, we shot ourselves in the foot. It obviously made it really hard.
on whether he is frustrated by the number of red cards...
It's very difficult to compete in this league when you play for such a long period with 10 men. When you're struggling for the results, it makes it even more complicated but I think that the boys stood up for it and again showed a lot of character and resilience. They never gave up. After 1-0 I was worried because after this moment, you can start to see players hiding but they did the complete opposite.
on why Gabriel got sent off...
I don't know. I was really disappointed with the two yellow cards - one on Dani and one on Gabi because there were many other incidents during the first half that didn't get a yellow card. Obviously that is going to affect your game. Then the second one, yeah. Exactly.
on whether that result is one of the most important of the season...
I agree. At the end, if you lose the game again it would've been a really difficult one to take. The players showed what we expect them to do. Sometimes with more or less quality, but at least the work is there. I saw all the players were participating and they were in the stands, shouting, being behind the team and leading the game with them. That's a really strong signal as well and I'm really pleased with that as well.
on Walcott saying there was 'a lot of fear' in the Arsenal team...
I was going to say that I just spoke with him and he never mentioned that to me. He mentioned other things but not that. If he's said that, it's his feeling.
on what he can do to boost confidence...
Just to play with freedom and enjoy the profession as well, and to be accountable when you go on that pitch, that you do your best. Then there are a lot of things we cannot control. I try to protect them as much as possible and give them comfort. You see there were four or five situations in the first half where we were around the box, inside the six-yard box and we should've finished the action with a goal. It is lacking. In the second half Auba scored and hopefully this unlocks a little bit because that individual is a player who needs that moment. Hopefully things will change now.
on what the goal can do for Auba's season...
Hopefully it's going to change everything dramatically and he's going to score every game because this is what we need at the moment. We need the points and in order to do that, we need to score many more goals and be more efficient when we have the chances. I think it's going to make him really good.
on whether he's seen a change in Auba's confidence already...
I don't have to see it, I'm sure that it's going to take a lot of pressure off him and it's going to release him as well.
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