Mikel Arteta praised the spirit and belief of his players as they put the disappointment of Monday’s defeat at Anfield behind them to progress at Liverpool’s expense to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners secured a tie against Manchester City after winning 5-4 on penalties following a drab 0-0 draw. Bernd Leno was the hero of the night making a number of saves during the 90 minutes before denying Divock Origi and Harry Wilson in the shootout.
Here’s what the boss said about the performance when he faced the Sky Sports cameras…
On the performance…
I’m really happy with the performance, the boys were exceptional. We corrected a few things from Monday. The way we played against this team was superb.
On what we did better…
A lot of things. We controlled so much more things that they tried to do against us much better, some of the spaces they like to attack. We competed much better in second balls, the level of aggression that we had, the way we pressed them really high and put them under a lot of pressure was exceptional.
On Leno…
Yeah, he was really good. We had some problems on the set pieces in the second and third phases, they had some chances. We had some open chances as well. When we needed Bernd [he delivered]…you need top individual performances to win here at Anfield and that it what we had here tonight.
On keeping Leno and letting Martinez leave…
I really have belief in Bernd, I know him really well, I know what he can give us. As well, we had to adapt to the circumstances that we have. We cannot do everything we want in the market, we have some players with value and at some stage we have to make decisions. We really liked Emi, we didn’t want him to go but it was probably the right thing for both parties to do.
On the character of his team…
It’s the third time in the last eight weeks that we’ve played against the best team in Europe. To come here and play at Anfield and show the determination and courage that we have tonight is a big step for the team. I told them after Monday that we made a big step forward and that we have a lot of things to learn from an exceptional team, but we are in the right path.
On a third win over Liverpool…
Yeah, it’s incredible. I keep saying that still the gap to them is big but the fact the team believe all the time we play against them we can beat them means we’ll keep improving to try to reach that level.
On drawing Man City in the quarter-finals…
Yeah, I was here waiting, enjoying a little bit the victory and now I have to play Man City on 22 or 23 of December. It is what it is. There are some top teams left in the competition and it’s another big challenge.
On cup competitions being important…
We want to take every competition as an opportunity to win a trophy. We have to do that with the club we represent. We’ll try to do that game by game.
Milner…blatant hand ball.
“We cannot do everything in the market”.. Hmm
Without selling some players of value… Was what Arteta was implying.
If this fucking billionaire can’t see the benefit of snapping up talent when the prices are low and we have the momentum of a great young manager then I think we can all go ahead and assume this guy is no business mogul. I do believe two new CM’s is the difference between top six and top four. And his refusal to top up the coffers is both short sighted and lacking in all ambition. How can he say he wants us to compete with Europe’s best and keep a straight face? Arteta deserves better and he’s earned better treatment… Read more »
Why waste your energy on this redundant argument? It isn’t going to change… move on.
See what happens when you play Gabriel and a balanced team? The team played fantastically at times and I like Cedric he just wants to play the ball FORWARD no bs no sideways passing every time he got the ball he’s looking forward unfortunately Nketiah didn’t make a lot of good runs but with players like Auba I’m sure his style of play would be an asset going forward. Everybody did well even Kolasinac had a surprising decent game. SAKA is fantastic Pepe also seems to be better on the LEFT than the right I think the is the best… Read more »
Top man
If we opt for Aouar over Partey is there space in midfield for AMN as the box to box of a 3? He’s a player who should be in our team more games than not but isn’t first (or maybe even second) choice in either fullback position when everyone’s fit. He wanted to play as a CM and I feel like he’s earnt the right to be tested there. He’s a good tackler, has a great engine, a decent footballing brain and he moves across the pitch quickly. 3 in the middle makes up for his potential positional issues too,… Read more »
NO
If it’s a choice betwee. Auoar versus Partey Arsenal should get Auoar. Partey is a great player but he is not big of an upgrade over Xhaka or Elneny. Especially for 40-50M no way. Auoar is younger and has the type of quality Arsenal needs at the moment.
have you seen partey play? twice the player of xhaka and a massive upgrade,
I agree. With Aouar you get a really transformational player. He’s a rising star and he’s gonna a leader in the french national team. He’s a next gen midfielder, just like De Bruyne (different style, same energy). In another era they would have played a traditional number 10 role. But in this era, they play a more 8 role, putting pressure on the opposition and running a lot. It’s an immense luxury to have a creator who’s not a liability in defense. We saw it with Ceballos. But with all due respect, he’s not nearly as good a passer as… Read more »
Isnt Partey a box to box midfielder who can win the ball and also attack? Thats a massive upgrade id say and something the team has been missing since Viera left.
He’s box-to-box and a massive upgrade. Cha!
I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s an option Arteta considers, since he does function there a lot in the current flexible formation. AMN is actually quite effective in taking up good positions, his technical level on the ball though is the real obstacle now I believe. If he can improve that, then he could really add a lot in the midfield.
Just not sure why Arsenal fans still obsess with AMN in midfield?! He has basically NEVER played there for Arsenal. His end product is lacking and like you say his technical skill isn’t quite there either. He is a great defender with exceptional pace and strength – he has ALL the qualities of a potentially good fullback. Hence why he ALWAYS plays fullback (occasionally winger) for Arsenal and Arteta (among all other Arsenal managers in AMN’s time) have played him there.
To finally fulfill his Viera fortune, if he can step up to a pass or an opponent like he steps up to penalties in the middle of the park, that’s an ice cold Monster
PSG now in for Auoar ….
Someone should warn PSG about FFP regulations
I’m sure Man City will warn them about the terrible implications of breaking FFP regulations
I don’t see it happening. They have Neymar and Di Maria to fill the offensive playmaker role and Verratti for the link up plays in midfield. Draxler and Sarabian can create too. They need Partey way more than they need Aouar. I keep telling that the ultimate piece to make this team truly great is Kante. They should go for him or try to get Konrad Laimer. They need to fill that “Matuidi” role. They tried Idrissa Gueye but he’s not really great. After they stupidly let Thiago Silva go (for no reason), they need to play Marquinhos at CB… Read more »
Seems more likely Lyon doing everything they can to drive up the price. It was supposedly Juventus yesterday…,,
[applauds]
Im not sure parking the bus everytime we play the big boys is a massive step. Needs must at the moment so credit where its due, but we will have to move forward from these tactics and play more positive football sooner rather than later. that siad you cant make a silk purse from a sows ear so signings are needed.
Casual AMN penalty struts I think, boss.
Leno…the God of good things
“On a third win over Liverpool…”
2 of them finished draws though
Why you pooping in the party? We’re better than Liverpool. 2 wins vs 1…one with a trophy so that counts double, 3 to 1. Surprised if Klopp is manager in the morning.
Do you think we could pick him up as Mikel’s assistant?
For those who feel like moaning, remember we played Liverpool 5:5 under Emery and lost in penalties.
Do you think Liverpool went back to moan?
Somethings can be worked on, but for now, let the boys get used to playing against “big” teams
Good interview. Clearly the cups are the realistic opportunities for silverware this season with as good a position in the PL as possible.
It will make more sense to get Aouar first. Partey has a release clause which we can easily activate by next transfer window.
“We want to take every competition as an opportunity to win a trophy. ….. game by game.”
And I read it like this: during each game the team learns more, and then after each game the team improves more.
I haven’t been this positive about The Arsenal for many years. Onwards and upwards.
COTA