Steve Gatting spoke to Arsenal.com after his side qualfied for the knockout stages of the Youth League despite being beaten 2-1 by Napol.
Read a transcript of what he had to say below:
on a narrow defeat...
It was a good lesson for the lads to learn. We came here having to not lose by three goals and we weren't quite sure how to play it. We thought we would be tight at the start and they would press us, and they did.
on a tough playing surface...
It was difficult to play football on the pitch because it was bouncy and bobbly, so we couldn't get our passing game going. In the second half it changed slightly because they were qualifying and defended [deeply] in their half. At the end there were a few antics when they were winning, so there were some good lessons for the boys.
on a frustrating game...
It was frustrating because we could have pressed the game a bit more and got forward more. But in the backs of their minds the boys were thinking they didn't want to concede a goal.
on finishing top of the group…
Overall, looking over our six games we have finished top and that was obviously our aim, so we go through as group winners.
on what the team have learnt from the group stage...
They have learnt a lot. You play foreign opposition and they play differently to English teams. All the sides that we have faced have played in a different style and the boys have learnt a lot from that.
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