Mikel Arteta admitted to feeling frustrated after witnessing his side earn a 1-1 draw in the away leg of the Europa League Round of 32 on Thursday, but insists there are reasons for optimism ahead of the return match.
We fought back to level after conceding a second half penalty, and though the game was played in Rome, this was technically our away match, so Bukayo Saka’s strike could yet prove invaluable in a week’s time.
After the match against Benfica Arteta faced the media, and gave his thoughts on the game, before discussing captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s performance, as well as the continuing emergence of teenage winger Bukayo Saka.
Here’s a full transcript of the press conference.
On a frustrating game…
Yes exactly that, I think we had to leave the stadium today with much more than we have right now. Everything is completely open for next Thursday. We have some positives to take from the game because we dominated the game and we had patches of really good moments where we created some big chances. We weren't ruthless enough in the opponents' box and the disappointing thing obviously was the way we conceded the goal.
On Aubameyang's performance…
These things happen. He was on the end of the biggest chances we had tonight. He was a real threat and we played against this opponent with a high line they propose all the time, and he was unlucky of course not to score two or three tonight, because in normal circumstances that would be the case.
On Bukayo Saka becoming more important…
I think he's in a great moment, he's full of confidence. He's been really important in recent results. His form is probably the highest that it's been since I've been here and he's been really consistent. He needs to keep going and (we need to) be wise with him because at the moment he's a big part of the team.
On finding a balance for Saka given his importance at such a young age…
I think we have to protect him and keep the extractions where they should be, but I’m not going to put a brake on his development or how much he can do week in, week out. We have to support him and give him the best possible advice all the time, and then manage his minutes so he can maintain this level.
On the difficulty of managing Saka’s minutes…
It is (difficult) at the moment because he’s been a real threat. He’s involved in a lot of goals all the time and his consistent performances make him a starter obviously. So it’s a fine balance, but at the same time he’s 19 years old and we have to protect him.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
