Press conference

'When you have them there you must kill them'

Mikel Arteta's disappointment was clear when he sat down for his post-match press conference on Tuesday night.

Our head coach had just seen Jamie Vardy deny us three points with a late goal at the Emirates - after Eddie Nketiah was sent off.

 

Read on for a full transcript:

 

on only securing a point…

I think for long periods of the game we deserved the three points, 100 per cent, but against this opposition when you have them there you have to kill them. We should have scored three or four goals and then the game is over and we haven’t done that, and after as well you let the team down with 10 men and obviously to win three points by doing these two things becomes really complicated. But overall I’m extremely proud and happy with what I’ve seen from the players, the way we played, the way we dominated this type of opponent, and it’s not easy to do after the amount of games we’ve played in the last few days.



on us having more than enough chances to win it…

Absolutely, but they have a really good goalkeeper as well that saved them in the specific moment that we needed it, and then the incident with Eddie, we can discuss the intention or whatever it is, but the referee has made a decision and we have to learn from that as well. Since I’ve joined I think it’s the fourth time that we’ve played with 10 men and it’s something that we have to improve because we give the opponent a big advantage.



on his comparison between Vardy’s challenge and Nketiah’s incident…

What I’m saying is that if we review incidents of that type, it will be the norm. It has to be something equal for everyone because it changes the game completely and if Eddie’s is a red card, then for sure the other one is a red card.



on Saka registering his 12th assist and whether he keeps surprising him…

No, he’s really good and really accurate. He’s very precise in the final third and the closer he gets to the box actually, the picture is clearer for him, but he will score a lot of goals because he has really good quality in terms of finishing with both feet. He’s learning a different role from the one that I demanded him to play again today and in some moments he had some difficulties, but he also read some situations really, really well and he was a threat.



on the race for European football…

I don’t know, we have to go game by game. We have to review the game, try to get better and improve, and go out against Spurs and try to win the three points. We will see where it takes us.



on William Saliba and whether he will play in the final for Saint-Etienne…

The clubs are dealing with the situation and you know what happened in the last few days, so I would prefer to stay a little bit away from that. Hopefully they can find a good agreement and put the situation in good terms and help the player as well.



on Dani Ceballos...

He was superb again, I think him and Granit have created a really good understanding. They give us a lot of balance and a lot of stability with the ball to make the right decision in moments of transition and they are evolving a lot together. Defensively, Dani has made a big step forward with the way he is pressing, the amount of interceptions that he is putting in and he is enjoying it.



on if he wants Dani Ceballos to stay long-term…

I am really happy with him, I think it is something that the club has to go a little bit further with Real Madrid on. At the moment he is playing very well, I am really happy with him and he is a big talent and still has a lot of things to improve.



on considering playing Aubameyang through the centre…

Yes, he has played tonight unfortunately which is a completely different game. I will look at the options that we have up front now and how we can be a little bit diverse and have different options but obviously we will wait and see the suspension for Eddie, how long it is, and we will adapt.



on if Auba can win the Golden Boot while playing on the left…

I don't know, we need to try and put as much firepower in the team as possible without losing our balance. Auba is scoring a lot of goals coming from that position, he's done it all his career. We know he can play as at nine but at the moment the balance of the team is a little bit better like this.



on if his relationship with Auba means he is happy to play anywhere for him…

I don't think it's about the relationship, it's about the type of player that he is. He is a team player and you can ask him to play anywhere and he's happy to take it, obviously he would prefer to play somewhere all the time but he is happy and you can see the effort that he puts in every game.



on how Eddie has taken the red card…

He's disappointed, he's said sorry and he doesn't need to do that. I know when he goes for every single ball it's because he's so willing to win every challenge, be on the front foot in every action, he didn't see the player coming up and obviously he doesn't want to hurt anybody so... It's part of the process. They are really young, they need to learn from these situations and hopefully, it won't happen again.



on if Mikel will be relying on Aubameyang and Lacazette to support Eddie Nketiah…

Absolutely, I think we all have to support him and there are a few things that happened that meant we didn't win the game, it was not just that action. Obviously against top opposition, playing with 10 men, you make it really difficult for yourself and it's something that we have to build on as a team.