Basking in the glory of winning his 250th game as our boss, Mikel Arteta was a happy man in the Emirates Stadium press room as he tackled questions from the media.
He spoke about Ethan Nwaneri's impressive display, as well as Martin Odegaard's impact and refreshing his starting line-up with five changes.
Here is everything he had to say:
on his thoughts on the game:
Really happy, I sensed great energy the last 48 hours, the way everybody came back. I sensed a great togetherness and decided to change the situation and go through what has been a different period for us with all the situations that we have come across and the team. Straight away, from the beginning it was dominant, there was an enthusiasm about it. This is what I demand when we score a goal, it should have been another two or three in the first half.
Then the fact it was a total effort of the team because other players have to come in. I had to take Jorgi out because of the yellow card, Thomas [Partey] comes in, impacts the team, scores a goal. Raheem comes in, he makes an assist, Ethan comes in, he scores a goal. That gives us a different kind of dominance, Jakub comes in to get some minutes in the legs. You don’t play Thomas, you don’t play Declan, you don’t play Martinelli, you don’t play Kai Havertz, and there’s always that question mark, is it right or wrong? I felt it because I think the team needed it, that they all feel important and all have a real chance. Some of the players, the way they trained while we were here, was unbelievable and I have to praise that.
on feeling comfortable in the last 10 minutes:
Yes, it does, but obviously with the 1-0 something else can happen and we missed some big, big opportunities. Unfortunately we weren’t in that position earlier but credit to Forest, they are a really good side, they’re a constant threat every time they have the ball, even when you have the ball, they are running. That’s why they’ve done what they’ve done, they’d not lost a game away from home this season and we are the first team to beat them, and that’s for a reason because we were really good.
on Martin Odegaard’s return to the Emirates:
For these kind of players in the team, it’s always the right time. Again, we talk about fluidity and understanding chemistry and timing, he’s one of the best to do that, to manage the tempo of the game, when to accelerate it, when to slow it down. Obviously he’s been missed and it’s good that we had to sub him because he was starting to get tired and fading a little bit. Ethan comes in and he lifts, you could sense the crowd, the energy and how much they love watching this kid play, which is great.
on if he’s surprised by Odegaard’s impact:
No I value that because it’s very difficult to do after five or six weeks out. He doesn’t surprise me because I see him every day, how he looks at himself, how much he wants it, the energy that he puts in and the courage that he has to play in any circumstances. Obviously, when he’s on the team, you can sense something is different. It is difficult to put a finger on it but it’s different.
on a different energy in the team:
I sensed a different energy 48 hours before the match. Straight away there was something that you mentioned, something else that was different. What happened was that instead of 12 or 13 players, we trained with 19 for the first time in six weeks, suddenly you are like, wow, the competitiveness, the level, the quality, the understanding, the competition, everything raises and that’s what we need, every single day. Train at that level and that’s down to the availability of a lot of players, they have not been able to do that and when that happens, the level will raise for sure.
on Ethan Nwaneri’s getting minutes when Odegaard was injured:
Look at the two players that you are throwing questions at. What I like is that he comes in, in that context, the first thing he does is take a touch, run forward, run past two players and put it inches away from the post. I understand that, I am responsible for him, and you have to do that brick by brick. Today he put in another brick, now we have to put the cement, make sure that it doesn’t get dry, so that he can put in another one and another one and that one is going to stick. Then we put one more layer, we want to put five in a row. Believe me, it won’t work and we have to manage that with his expectations and his load as well, which is really important.
on Martin Odegaard creating space:
For sure but as well how often he does it, he does it in various circumstances. It’s true that obviously the right side have played a lot of minutes, a lot, that chemistry, that understanding, that timing, it’s always there. But there’s an ability, some players, they never had time, and some of the players they have the ability to manage that time, to have a second or two and Martin is that because he’s always in the right moment, in the right spot. And the touch helps as well, yes.
on Ethan not starting more games:
I am always tempted. I think he’s the second-youngest player for the club to score in the Premier League. It’s giving us all the reason and today is another reason to put him there but that’s when I play him and not somebody else. It’s step-by-step, I would say.
on why Bukayo Saka did not play for England:
We can send you an MRI scan! Very simple. But that’s a communication, it was very clear between the medical staff of Arsenal and the national team. He hasn’t done anything, he was away and he needed time to heal and had one training session.
on Odegaard’s relationship with Bukayo:
That’s chemistry, sometimes you meet somebody and straight away you make eye contact, something close and with those two it happened. Off the field, it happens on the field, and with many others as well. Something that in football, it is difficult to say but when you put them together in the right spaces, close to each other, things flourish and things happen naturally and with others, you try to force it and it doesn’t work, with these two, we are very lucky to have them.
on managing expectations of Ethan:
Something I cannot do myself, I cannot manage expectations. I will try to educate him, raise him, and give him the pathway that we believe is the best. His family, his agent, his friends, they will be very important as well. Don’t listen too much to the noise, focus on what he does which is to play football and he loves every minute of it and good things will happen to him for sure.
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