A summary of Mikel Arteta’s words during his press conference after Arsenal’s tough away win at Villa Park on the weekend.
The Arsenal boss was very happy after the game with his side grabbing a late winner to take all three points back to North London Derby. The victory was Arsenal’s first in their last four Premier League games. A much needed three points.
Main talking points: Jorginho winner, second half comeback and Saka’s injury…
Mikel Arteta on his emotions after the match:
“Now, it’s difficult because it’s been a rollercoaster and very emotional at the end. I think we showed a lot of resilience, character and quality. We altered one or two things and then we produced a very strong performance and probably should have won it earlier than we did.”
The Arsenal boss also looked back on the intensity of the match and the teams confidence:
“I feel like it’s right back with more belief than before, because you have to put performances into results. Against Brentford, we didn’t win the game because of a decision. Against Man City, we deserved more from the performance but the reality in football is the games are decided in the boxes.”
The Spaniard stated that the Arsenal needed the energy for the final half an hour of the game, and that Martinelli was the one that provided it.
Arteta also didn’t hesitate in praising the MOTM, Jorginho, saying that he didn’t know that Jorginho could score from outside the box, and that his calmness & experience makes all the players around him play better. He was also impressed with how the Italian has adjusted so quickly since coming into the team, telling the media that everyone at the club was surprised how quickly Jorginho settled in and has fitted to the Arsenal’s culture.
On the question about Saka, Arteta responded:
“He’s fine – he got kicked quite a lot again, but he’s going to have to deal with that, not every week, but every three days. Sometimes in training as well. It’s his game – teams are not stupid and they want to stop him. We need to protect him.”
He also stated that they will look at the situations again, and report it if necessary.
Bukayo Saka not happy with Philippe Coutinho after his tackle.
