Every word of Mikel’s post-Bolton press conference

Mikel Arteta held his post-Bolton press conference at Emirates Stadium following Wednesday’s 5-1 win in the Carabao Cup.

Here’s everything he had to say on the following subjects:

on the performance of our young Gunners:
Yes, a really positive night, the result, the performance we gave minutes to a lot of senior players and they really showed a lot of quality tonight and on top of that we gave a lot of opportunity to quite a lot of academy players, they responded really well, and it’s so fulfilling to see their faces, their reaction how much it means to them, so great night. 

on Jack Porter’s reaction to starting for Arsenal at 16-years-old:
Well, we told him yesterday and he was over the moon straight away. I think he spoke to his family.  And yeah, they weren't prepared for that. It's a big step. It's a big occasion for them. And I think they were nervous about it. But I think he reacted really well. He was really composed yesterday in training today as well. His teammates really helped him as well on that. And what an experience and what a way to break a record.

on Ethan Nwaneri scoring his first goals for the club:
On the second one, I was really happy for him because he scored. I'm very happy because you know, I know the reaction of his teammates if he wouldn't. So I think overall, again, I think he was really good. I think it was a really strong performance for him. I think he really feels part of us. You can tell that he's playing with that confidence, that belief and the understanding of what he needs to do on the pitch so very impressed.

on our senior players guiding the younger players:
Yeah, they were already doing it in training yesterday, giving them advice. I think the boys feel really comfortable with them. Because it's a magnificent group of players and they really, they can be themselves if they have any fears, they can ask questions and they will be happy to help. And it's great that they show that leadership as well. And that sense of caring, which is important and we all need it at some stage in our careers.

on Raheem Sterling’s performance: 
Yeah, it's very good. I think he's getting better and better. I think physically you can tell that he's making steps. The moment the game opened up a little bit, you know, what he can do, how he can deliver. He was involved in a few goals, so, very positive night for him.

on David Raya’s injury and if he’s feature this weekend: 
We don’t know yet, he’s got a muscular injury. 

on why Jack Porter was selected to start in goal:
Jack has been training with us since pre-season, we’re confident he can do the role obviously he plays in the international team, we’ve seen what he can do and we believe he was the right choice.

on how close Ethan Nwaneri is to starting in the Premier League:
Let’s go, it’s another step, I think it’s ahead of what anyone could have expected, in his journey with the first-team he’s always ahead of what anyone expected and what I expected as well. He’s part of us so he will have the minutes.

on having a dream about starting a full team of academy graduates: 
I have all kinds of dreams, but it’s a nice one to have it’s a positive. What is a reality of a dream is the team I have that I have to manage.

on whether the players have school tomorrow morning: 
There are a few, they’re going to have to be there, it’s going to be great they were buzzing after the game, they spoke to the players just to thank them as well, it was a nice moment.

on what Mikel Arteta was doing when he was 16-years-old:
At 16, I was in Barcelona living on my own in La Masia, and training between the B team and the first-team.

on whether he sees himself in Jack Porter: 
In Jack? I wasn’t thrown in like this. I had a situation at 17 when I went to Paris when I went from playing in the B team to Paris that was a big step, I know a little bit how he feels, but I had a little bit more time to prepare than Jack.

on switching off from football in between a quick succession of matches:
At the moment it’s not easy, obviously the time we have at home with our families, the rest of the day we preparing one game thinking about the next one, the line-ups, the travel, the game states we can face and how to be prepared for that, it’s really busy but it’s what we want, we had an incredible week in every sense, emotionally, physically, in terms of learning as well as a coach, we had a issues we had to deal with it, and for what I had in my mind in the international break to actually what happened and the players we had available, it was very different, it’s been good.

on whether Mikel has any hobbies outside of football:
No, my biggest one is to spend time with my wife and my kids when I have time, yeah tennis is one of them I don’t have a lot of time to play my kids try to get me to play Playstation, Mario Kart these things, I’m not a big fan of that yet.

on what sets apart this current group of players in the squad from previous:
Well I think it’s the time in your career, you know that you start to dream, or to pursue certain objectives, targets and when you have accomplished them you want something else, at that moment if the team, the club cannot provide that you need to do it elsewhere, it’s something natural I think.