Rob Holding and Laurent Koscielny faced the BT Sport cameras after helping Arsenal to a 4-1 win over Basel and learning that PSG’s draw with Ludogorets means the Gunners finish top in Champions League Group A.
Here’s what they had to say.
It’s breathtaking stuff…
__
On being aware of the situation in Paris…
Holding: Yeah, we seen the scores as we were coming in. We knew if we kept doing our job it would take care of itself which it turns out it has done. Happy to come top.
On squad depth…
Holding: Yeah, we’ve got a great squad. We’ve got quality in every position. When you get your chance to step in you’ve got to perform the best that you can. The lads tonight have performed.
On what coming top means to Arsenal…
Koscielny: We had a small chance to finish first tonight. After the PSG [draw] we say we have one more game to finish first. We did the job tonight, PSG have not. It’s important to finish first as we have the second game [of the knockout round] at home. In the last sixteen we always have big teams so we’ll see the draw.
On if there’s anyone Arsenal want to avoid…
Koscielny: We will see. We will see.
Great win… This team will go places… COYG
Koscielny: We will see. We will see.
I love the reply
Bring whoever on! We are great!!!
Love the spirit. However, I’d want to avoid Bayern.
If I recall it was a tight game and they were arguably the best team in the world at the time.
Don’t get me wrong I would love to avoid Bayern, however, they are not the same team they were and neither are we! COYG
Our defense to attack transition was on average done within 6 passes tonight… Impressive stuff.. And now perez is hot on walcott’s heels…
Sanchez hat trick, Perez hat trick… Ollie/Walcott turn this weekend.
Also, well done Gibbs for his involvement in the goals yesterday.
If only it were possible to face PSG in the knockouts ?
Well, they would have beaten us on away goals, so don’t get cocky
Breathtaking indeed.
Top of the group! We played really well. Great hat-trick from Perez. Bring on the knockout round.
Onwards.
Can get rid of this old JB tune since September as soon as I see a Koscielny’s picture…. “paid the cost to be the boss…. paid the cost to be the boss… look at me, you know what you see…. you see a bad motha’…”
Long shall he reign !!
Hull (home)
CL 16 1L (away)
FA Cup (TBD)
Liverpool (away)
CL 16 2L (home)
Leicester (home)
So yeah, schedule-wise it is definitely better to play the 2nd leg at home.
Or possibly:
FA Cup (somewhere)
CL Ro16 (away)
Southampton (away)
Leicester City (home) OR FA Cup (somewhere)
CL R016 (home)
West Brom (away)
See? You can use statistics (or even plain facts) to prove anything you want to prove.
The glass is both half enpty and half full. This is the Arsenal Way.
Lucas Perez looked good on the right wing, maybe he should get some playing time out there and rest walcott.
2 hatricks in 3 days, the best squad in a decade, you have to feel positive about our chances of professing further this year. I see Bayern came second in their group, but then they lost to FC Roast Potato this year, so I’d even fancy our chances against them if we can play well in the first leg in Germany.
Losing focus in a group game against relative minnows, and playing against Arsenal in a two legged knockout round are not the same thing. I expect whoever we draw to be on their very best form when we meet them. Home advantage has not proven to be much of an advantage to us in the last few seasons, and we should not assume it will be more so this year just because we are playing at home in the 2nd leg. Complacency is the unseen danger in the 1st leg when you’re going to be at home in the 2nd… Read more »
Have to feel positive about our chances of progressing further too.
I don’t see Bayern as that formidable this season. I think we can take them.
Monaco, on the other hand looked very, very good when they dismantled Spuds at Wembley.
Real Madrid or Dortmund would also be very unlucky to get but all the other options I’m very confident we can beat them.
When we played our home CL games at Wembley the novelty of playing at Wembley was credited with boosting the opposition’s games. Perhaps the same effect has happened to Spurs this season? Serves them right for not learning from our mistake.
Anyway, Arsenal have a tradition of failing against teams that are out of form. We’ve made many a struggling team look like Barcelona when they’ve played us in the past, so who would bet against us being able to make an underwhelming Barcelona look like the normal Barcelona this season?
Well done boys. Arsenal at its best. When we play like we did tonight, no one can get close.
Thing what was most impressive is players dropping in and played seemlessly. Congrats to Perez loves getting in the box to finish, will only improve THE ARSENAL.
The arsenal team this season has a lot of options, which will only improve the team
Something about the way Perez carries himself gives me a feeling he could be very very special for us. LucIce Perez? Lucas Peerless? Living up to my username, eh?
I’ll get my coat.
Shout out to Aaron Ramsey, he was imperious tonight in the middle of the park (his best position naturally). He kept it simple, defended well and distributed well.
Never in doubt.
Unless you were the press…then it was exceedingly unlikely for Arsenal to top the group even though we are level on points with PSG and actually have a better goal difference.
Never going to happen. Arsenal are of course lucky if it did because PSG don’t rely on luck even if they should decide to drop points at home …must be a ploy to avoid Bayern and RM.
NO way Ludogrets can beat PSG. MediaKnowsFAll (MKFA)
Lucas Perez.
Fox in the box.
How many opportunties we’ve seen squandered in recent games or with no one in the penalty area to finish it off?
Wenger clearly spent bargain price on a very decent player, As Rob Holding…only 48m quid less than Stones. What a miser! Wenger OUT!
Still remember the press prattling on about the pacy threat to us by Basle’s players…when we had Bellerin on and the likes of Alexis, Walcott.
We also have GIbbs playing well now and offering threat down the left flank.
The team is beginning to evolve well.
Granit is looking authorotative and we are coming into an excellent patch of form.
Was a little hammered but I think it was a lovely game. You know what will just rewatch it just to be sure but kudos to the boys.