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'Clean sheet was vital after last week'

Rob Holding v Leicester City

Rob Holding was handed his second start after an impressive debut while Laurent Koscielny returned to the starting XI after a hectic summer.

Both defenders were crucial in keeping a clean sheet, and they spoke to the media after the game. 

on the penalties…
LK: I think I touched the ball just a little, but after he touched the ball. I don't think it was a penalty, and it was important to keep the clean sheet. That's it.

on if Bellerin could have conceded a penalty…
RH: I thought he got his body in front of the man and he lost the ball. He went down looking for it, so I think it was the right decision to carry on, because he went on the counter.

on an improved personal performance…
RH: That is what you want - a clean sheet after conceding four goals last week. It was vital to get that clean sheet and solidify the defence, so we did that. Hopefully we can score goals in the next game.

on returning late…
LK: You could see last week we lost Aaron Ramsey with an injury and now he’s out for one month. When we have a summer tournament it’s the same for every other team, not just for Arsenal. I'm sure every other team is the same. The players come back later and need more time to be fit, to be ready for the game. Last week (we didn't play) because we weren't fit and it was important to have one more week for training to be fit this week, and you can see, no one got injured.

on whether this year will be different… 
LK: Always. We are Arsenal - we fight for the title. Every game we play we want to win the game. This season will be very difficult because of the top clubs spending a lot of money on transfers, it’s unbelievable. But sometimes the collective can be better than individual players. So we want to keep our philosophy and play football.

 

More quizzes coming soon!