Mikel Arteta couldn’t hide his pride after Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to seal the 2020 FA Cup; his first silverware as a coach and our 14th success in the competition.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the Gunners hero on the day, scoring from the penalty spot to cancel out Christian Pulisic’s early opener and then dinking a winner over Willy Caballero on 67 minutes.
After the match, Arteta praised the attitude of his players and reiterated just how important a win it was.
Here’s what he said when he faced the BBC cameras…
On the performance…
We went behind but reacted straight away, we probably played the best 30 minutes [of football] since I arrived. We equalised, we got the goal and we generated belief. In the second half, we talked about being so close to winning this trophy. Everybody worked so incredibly hard. I am so proud to represent these players and this club.
On qualifying for Europe…
It’s a double reward for us, it’s really important for this club in every way to be in Europe. We’ve done it through this competition, winning it. It’s part of our history, that’s 14 now. We all contributed, we all did it. I’m so happy.
On Aubameyang…
He knows what I think about him, I want to build the squad around him. I think he wants to stay. It’s about getting the deal done. I think moments like that will help him to realise and to believe that we are on the right path. He’s a big part of it, he’s loved by everybody at the club. Hopefully, he can continue with us. I think he will.
On the Community Shield being in 28 days time…
Give me a break! We’ve played every two and a half days, you can see the injuries that are happening during the games. The players were completely knackered. They made a massive effort to be fit through the coronavirus [lockdown] and when you work so hard you get your reward. I’m so happy for them.
He can manage The Arsenal for 35 years.
In Arteta we trust.
Saka is incredible. Auba sublime. Martinez a revelation. Ceballos something special. Tierney just a legend.
But Mikel Arteta is the most valuable commodity at this club. Give him a massive contract and a massive war chest and let’s see how far this special individual can take us.
The difference between an Arteta Arsenal and an Emery Arsenal.
When we went a goal down in a final, we just pushed harder. We never looked phased. We trusted ourselves. That Emery team has all the same players. But Mikel instils something in these players and has turned them from work shy losers to timeless heroes.
Thanks you Mikel!
You said it well my dude. UP THE ARSE!
And didn’t we, in a sense, despite the Premier League final standings, finish above Totteringham today with respect to European placement and the stocking of the trophy cabinet?
Nicely put, that is the biggest joy.
I wanna sit beside you next game
haven’t felt this happy for a long time….
Congrats everyone!
Saka as not reach puberty yet but has started collecting trophies while Mr Kean in Sp*rs still looking for first in his career
“I’m so proud to represent these players and this club”.
Says it all.
And we are proud of you. I have belief, you will get our golden days back.
Find someone who looks after your club the way they look after their own hair.
Pulis? No? Oh, never mind
Hallelujah!!!!
They ‘fourth’ well, but ‘eight’ thru their defense
MIKEL IS THE MAN!
They ‘fourth’ well, but we ‘eight’ thru their defense
How Arsenal board interviewed Emery and Arteta and then chose Emery, i will never know..
I doubt they talked to Arteta, or he told them he’s not ready
Presumably they didn’t speak to Emery in English
Emery is very good at presentation apparently (remember all the stuff about dossiers on our whole squad?), and at the time he seemed a much safer choice.
Fear of a new manager v’s a so called experienced one. I never wanted Emery, i always wanted Arteta.
When a manager of the stature of Pep says, Mikel will be a great manager, then Mikel will do for me…
How long is his contract?
Yes.
How about…14 years?
Another 3 years
28 days is just a short time for them to rest but, hey, who can we blame for this? Nobody. Anyways, enjoy your day with your teammates and your families.
Thanks for the birthday present.
Happy birthday
Man thanks…another 9ja gunner in da building
Blame China!
hmmm..let’s blame our careless attidude as human beings
Happy Birthday!
Thanks man….the best birthday have had in years….This year has been the best in my life so far…so many good things happening right now…woow
Great to hear. And long may to it continue whoever and wherever you are.
Think/hope to see a LOT of academy players in the Community Shield.
Can’t imagine being you right now! Happy morherfucking birthday!??
Tell Arteta we fucking believe in him and his plans…Wenger 2.0
He knows…
Congrats, Bro. Best wishes ?
Birthday blessings my Naija Gunner!
Happy Birthday! It’s mine on Monday!
Just like to add that this is justice for the game vs Chelsea last December, one of Arteta’s first games in charge. Jorgino should have seen a second yellow then and the ref somehow denied it. I don’t mind justice being done in this final. COYG!
Not one of BUT Arteta first game in charge.
To add to it, we played 3 times this season, won one apiece and drew one but as the adage says…He who laugh last laugh hardest
Spot on mate, spot on. Poetic justice indeed then.
Yes…justice indeed.
Mikel, you beautiful man! Very happy that you’re our manager!
Good job Arteta! Good job!
He also said earlier that he had had a conversation with Auba and was convinced he wanted to stay. Emotions run high at a moment like this, so who knows once heads cool down…but I really hope he’s right.
Arteta is already a legend
God please bring glory to him and in turn to our beloved Arsenal.
We just defeated Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea in a period of 15 days.
Hope we continue this form next season
He is special.
We go for the bigger scalps.
We also need to remember how he came in as a player in 2011 and steadied the ship at a time of turmoil. He’s pretty much done the same as a manager. Onwards and upwards!
We’re so proud to have you too, Auba. Now sign da ting!
Good Old Arsenal
Atta boy!
Mikel knows.
I think I can finally get over Jorginho cheating us at the Emirate earlier in the year:-) Great to see them suffer some dodgy decisions!
Thumbs up, but nothing dodgy in the decisions tbf.
We did hit him with the ball in his nuts too once ? thats some revenge
So happy for him
I am amazed by his passion when he explains tactics during water break.
Hope he will lead us for more trophies.
What a whirlwind of a season. We really needed this and now we need the club to invest. So happy for Martinez and all the players. COYG!
I am a grown up man with two kids.
When Auba scored the second I Cried like my newborn
Wife will be getting the best 2 minutes of her life tonight ⚽️?
No extra time in that contest?
?
I might be the odd one out here but I, for one, am fucking delighted.
Love to all my fellow Arsebloggers and to Andrew and the team. We deserve this. Come on The Arsenal!
Love right back virtual buddy ? ? ?
MARTINEZ …LOVE THIS GUY. PULLS ON THE SHIRT WITH SO MUCH PRIDE . A BENCHMARK FOR ALL ARSENAL PLAYERS .COYG
Absolutely buzzing! So desperate to see this man succeed at this club. Hope he gets the required backing.
That was just beautiful from everyone. I think Leon’s got a job on his hands getting his starting spot back
Half a season and wins a cup. He’s going to be a great manager we need to start respecting him and allow him to work. As for the board they need to back him, we need a massive clear out and very good new signings for next season. #coyg
He is our Mikel Arteta and out Emerick Aubameyang.
And our***
Top Top – amazing
Arteta our Man…. We are proud to be with you Mikel.. We pray for de same team work next season so that we improve
Thanks very much
So proud of the boys. Arteta is a perfect fit for us. Proper backing in the transfer market (not Coutinho/Willian types) but young up and coming talents and we can start to kick some serious arse
All Hail LEGO Hair!
Goodness me, cup win and now Charity Shield and we proved we can beat them all. I don’t believe my eyes.
From Good Ebening to this, we’ve come a long way.
I don’t know how to express my happiness right now congrats Gunners, am very proud of you guyz, Europa here we come, Mikel go my man go
I am wearing my ARSENAL top to work tomorrow. My man of the match was EVERYONE
Arteta, the Non-Negotiable One is a fisher of lost players. He’s starting to get the best out of Pepe, who seemed a lost cause. He’s helped Xhaka come back from the edge, no the bottom, of a cliff. He can get at the good David Luiz more often than the inexplicably awful David Luiz. He helped a truly terrible Mustafi redeem himself. Under Arteta, our 2nd string keeper became a monster. Let’s not forget AMN. He’s leaving because right back isn’t his thing? Wrong, left wing back/left back doesn’t matter. Put me in coach, I’m ready to play. How about… Read more »
I know its easy to get carried away after winning a trophy, but I really love the way Arteta has changed the mentality of this squad. It’s still a work in progress, but the way he challenges players is really encouraging. Yesterday, Ceballos and AMN really were standout players for me. Arteta challenged both at the beginning of his tenure, and they responded.
It was a great win yesterday, no doubt at all – a real gutsy performance that was missing in the Europa League final last season for example. Let’s please not get too carried away though. Remember, if we had lost yesterday – by n o means an impossible scenario – we would have been out of European competition completely, on top of the worst league placing for 25 years! Also, we won three FA Cups in four years recently but it didn’t stop our relative decline. We’ve had years of slowly falling further behind other so called “top” teams, so… Read more »