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Gatting on win, defence and semi-finals

Steve Gatting

Steve Gatting spoke to Arsenal.com after his side reached the semi-finals of the U21 Premier League Cup with an extra-time victory over Chelsea.

Read a transcript of what he had to say below:

on the win…
It was a fine result but more importantly it was a fantastic performance from the boys.

on having to defend well…
When you come to Chelsea it's going to be a tough game. The whole team can be proud of the way they defended. We were compact, concentration levels were high and the effort was there to keep going until the end and score the winning goal. The boys thoroughly deserved it.

on reaching the semi-finals…
We've had three tough games with Norwich away, Fulham away and now Chelsea away. But the team has responded well in every game and it gives you a big boost beating Chelsea away from home. We're looking forward to the next round.

on what he said to the team after the 90 minutes…
I didn't say too much. They just showed a lot of character and the willingness to win. I thought a mistake would win the game but for the goal it was a great run and finish from Benik [Afobe] and a great through-ball from Kris [Olsson]. After that we showed lots of character to finish the job.

on Macey's performance…
Matt did well. When you play Chelsea away the keeper has to play well for you to come out with a result. But along with the rest of the team, it was an impressive defensive performance.