Joe Montemurro was a happy man on Sunday afternoon.
Not only did he preside over his team's professional performance against Gillingham, he also oversaw Vivianne Miedema's 100th appearance, Anna Patten's first senior goal and Teyah Goldie's first-team debut.
We caught up with Montemurro after the match and this is what he said:
on how he assesses the team's performance...
These are always tricky games because you don't know what to expect. All credit to Gillingham because they made it difficult for us at times, in terms of just getting into a rhythm. But we had to adjust and they're good challenges for the players from a mental perspective, first and foremost, because you get frustrated at times when things aren't working for you. Also from a tactical perspective to make sure we had to adjust to their randomness in terms of the way they play.
on the message ahead of kick-off...
It was probably a game where we wanted to make sure we had everyone involved from a perspective of rhythm but also looking at recovery leading into the week. We wanted to make sure that everyone had recovered well, got the minutes that they needed and that we were able to build for the week. It was a bit of both, in that it was a match from a physical perspective and also a tactical perspective to keep the rhythm going into the next three games which are very important for us.
on Vivianne Miedema's 100th appearance...
There's not much more to say about Viv. She does it on the park, she does it in style and it's been an absolute pleasure having been a part of her development and her growth over the past three years. It's been a privilege to be involved with a great person.
on Anna Patten's first goal...
She's going to be a special player going forward for the club because she's versatile, can play anywhere along the back four and for her to get the opoprtintiy to score was fantastic. It's a great honour for me to see that. I can go calm now knowing that Anna Patten's scored a goal for Arsenal!
on Teyah Goldie's debut...
She's an interesting player. We've monitored her over the last few months and she's got some special qualities. It was a good opportunity to give her some minutes and she showed that she has some really good qualities. I'm sure she'll develop really well through the system.
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