Unai Emery was in philosophical mood after our unbeaten run came to an end with a 3-2 defeat at Southampton on Sunday.
Afterwards our head coach faced the media and discussed the performance, Hector Bellerin's fitness and more.
Read on for a full transcript:
on the unbeaten run coming to an end…
We could lose and we lost. In the 90 minutes we had different issues in the first and the second half. In the second half we were better with control in the game and creating more chances than them, controlling the transitions. But with a very small action they scored the goal. Also they deserve it. They played with very big motivation, with the supporters pushing. Our game today was very similar to how we have played before, but the result is different.
on defensive shortages…
But I think they worked very well. It was very good news for Koscielny, a very good performance over 90 minutes. Physically, he could play the 90 minutes. Other players, like Xhaka played very well, and Lichtsteiner also. We conceded not many chances for them, but their efficiency was good. We also had chances to score more than the two goals but we didn’t score. Maybe the difference is this. The control in the game over 90 minutes is more for us than them. We need to continue improving details, because three times we conceded chances.
on Bellerin’s injury…
We are going to wait tomorrow and Tuesday, and Wednesday we are going play, and then Saturday also. We need every player. Bellerin has a small injury - he is going to be some weeks off I think. Sokratis is coming back and we will see how Mustafi and Kolasinac are, and it is good news Koscielny can be with us for the next matches. It is not a good result but it was important for us [to have them back].
on whether he could make signings in January…
I don’t know now, because we don’t have a lot of possibility in January but if we can [we will find] someone to help us. But only if we think they are the player than can help us with good performance. January is not good for this reason, but we are going to look and the club is working for this in January. Our progress is also with young players and we need to give them more chances to play and show us their progress. But also for our big demands, we need a high level on the pitch and in the squad.
on if money is available…
It is not easy, I don’t believe a lot in this transfer window because it is not a very big possibility with the players. The club is working only if some players can help us with a high level or better than [what we have].
on the three goals conceded…
It’s true we need to improve and concede less chances to the opposition. Only when we analyse this match can we take a more real opinion about the goals we conceded. One reality is we need to improve and concede less. We are scoring a lot, we are second in the table for goals scored, but we have also conceded a lot - at least more than we want for our objective.
on bouncing back quickly after defeat…
Our demands are very big and the level is very high with other teams. If we don’t win, like today, we cannot be in the top four. But other teams are winning. We need to do our way and build up the team in one process. The objective is the top four, but we know it’s not easy as the other teams are at a high level. We need to be very demanding of ourselves, as we are. After 22 matches unbeaten, we didn’t lose but were only in fifth position in the table, because other teams are doing very well.
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.
