After seeing us once again claim victory having suffered a setback, Mikel Arteta was delighted with the response of his players to keep their 100 per cent record intact after beating Aston Villa 2-1.
The boss headed into his press conference in a good mood after clinching our fifth-straight win this campaign, and tackled plenty of questions on the game, injuries, and transfers.
Read everything he had to say below:
on making it five wins from five...
We are obviously really happy because we are winning football matches that we deserve to win. The way we are performing and playing, and we need to continue. Again, there are a lot of things that we have to improve and you could see that in the second half, but the way we played in the first half, the amount of chances, how much we generated, how dominant we were, and the energy that we generated is really pleasing as a coach.
on scoring so quickly after conceding...
That's the mentality that we want to show as a team and the character that we want to show to react immediately after disappointment. Conceding goals is part of the game, just like giving the ball away or having a bad action, it's about the next action, it's about the next phase. When you play in front of this crowd that helps because the energy that they generate is just amazing.
on what gives the squad belief after conceding...
Going through positive experiences and overcoming difficulties, it gives you the confidence that you can do it. That could be individually or as a team and when you start to get that belief and create those moments, it's not only yours, that belief is the crowds’. When that connection happens, anything is possible.
on using previous experiences to motivate us...
Obviously, we try to improve our players, we have to try and improve the team and there are many things that are not just technically or tactical aspects that play a big part in football matches. That's another tool that we are developing, that we need to keep developing and especially when we are here that it is really powerful.
on being ruthless in front of goal...
It's the most difficult thing in football to score goals, but today we had some big, big, big chances and we didn't put them away, but obviously, the intention of the players is to score. The goal of Gabi Martinelli I think is a really difficult technique, the height of the ball, the angle he is getting, the way he is approaching the ball and he still managed to hit the target and that always gives you a chance. We are working on it all the time and I think we are getting much better and as always, there is room for improvement.
on Odegaard’s injury…
He got a bad kick, and he was struggling. It was very recent so we’ll have to see over the next few hours how he recovers.
on Elneny’s injury…
That’s not good news, we still need him to see our specialist but I’m afraid we’re going to lose Mo for a while.
on whether injuries will affect his plans for deadline day…
Obviously, it has an impact because Thomas [Partey] is injured and we are a bit short in that position. We have Sambi and Granit can play there but we are looking at options in the market. The club has been super supportive to keep improving the squad and the team as we can, and if the right player is available and we can do it, we will try.
on whether there is much money left in the bank…
I’m not a financial guy, I think that’s a question for somebody else!
on Aaron Ramsdale's injury…
I think he felt something, I don’t know what exactly. He managed to finish the game but he’s another we’ll have to assess.
on Thomas Partey’s injury…
He’s going to be out for a while but we don’t know how long that period is going to be. Obviously, it’s not the first injury that he’s had in that area so it is a recurring injury, so it’s one for the doctors to put a timeline on it and see how he goes.
on central midfield issues…
We were pretty protected in that position and now we are more exposed, but we have to be more prepared for uncertainties. Injuries, suspensions and things like that can happen, especially this season which will be really strange with the World Cup. We’ll try to prevent things but sometimes it’s not easy.
on Tomiyasu…
We are really happy that we are loading some minutes into him and he’s responding really well. He’s been training now for weeks without any issues which is the first period he’s been able to do that in the last six or seven months, and you can see the way he played today when he came on - I think he was really good.
on balancing the league with Europe…
I was thinking about it but then with what happened with Mo and Thomas, things can happen and then your intention isn’t what you can actually do. It’s related to what is available on the day and how the players are feeling, but of course we want to give opportunities to the squad because they really deserve them.
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