Mikel Arteta reacted to today’s 2-1 win over Brentford, speaking to Sky Sports after the final whistle.
Here’s what he had to say.
You’re smiling after a late win …
Yeah, especially as they are a really tough opponent to play against, and we had the game under control. But obviously conceding the goal made life more difficult and then you have beautiful challenges in the second half against a team that obviously wanted to take the game to a different place than where we wanted to be playing the game.
But we insisted, we were so determined, really aggressive and we kept knocking, then we got rewarded.
Ramsdale must have been crushed, but made big saves second half
That’s the courage that Aaron has, that’s his personality. Mistakes are part of football and it’s how you react to that and he did it in a brilliant way. I’m so happy for him, and I’m so happy that we won the game as well.
Did you need to win today?
You have to win every game with the level that you have with Man City and Liverpool at the moment, you know that. There’s no space for slip-ups and we are trying to do our job to win our games and we’ll see what happens.
Lots of goals in 2024, but was this a more important win …
Yes, in certain ways, yes. Because we really had to respond to the challenge in the second half and show our own maturity as well with the game that we wanted to play. We’re emotionally really mature and I’m really pleased with what we’ve done.
The reaction and connection to the fans …
I think the whole game when we made a mistake the way they push the team, as you said. They know the energy and the passion and the connection with us. It’s just a joy to be there and enjoy a full-on match with your support that will be behind the team in every phase. Thank you so much.
On producing consistency …
Yeah, that’s the hardest thing in the sport, to do it every three days, and to do it every single day, the highest standard that the boys want, and they try. Some of them will make mistakes, but the willingness and the spirit that is amongst the team is phenomenal.
Can you relax now and enjoy tomorrow?
Yeah, I’m going to sit down and enjoy it, because it’s been a really intense match.
Brave boys
I love this guy. He makes mistakes, but he is really a unique character.
Last nights game summed Ramsdale up in 90 mins.
Great shot stopper, bit of a character, likes to wind up the opposition fans…
But completely lacking in concentration.
We saw the good, the bad and the ugly last night. And for me personally, I’m looking forward to getting Raya back in.
The David Raya who had his own howler with Saliba against Liverpool that caused them to score. All keepers make mistakes, even the best ones.
I think we overlooked a lot of Ramsdale’s flaws as a fanbase because we loved him so much.
Apart from one good throw I thought we really missed Raya’s distribution last night and his calm. I didn’t like Ramsdale from set pieces at all. And I actually thought winding up the Brentford fans when you’ve dropped a clanger was a little childish.
So yeah. It’s a tough business. But for me, Raya is clear of Ramsdale now by every single metric.
I believe every word Mikel says. He is great.
Oh really? If he really loves him how about giving Aaron another start against Porto?
Sods law that is! Poor Rambo, unfortunately when you have only played about four games all season you are going to get rusty and be more error prone. It happens to ALL players. It doesn’t matter how well you do in training, it’s not the same. Would he have made that error if number one keeper, we will never know? Would Raya have made the same error if he had played, probably not but then as he plays every week you wouldn’t expect him to! The important thing is we won and are top. We couldn’t keep battering teams 5/6… Read more »
That throw was amazing and he had a couple of those last season too, say what you will about Raya’s feet but as far as distributing with his hands Ramsdale is right at the top. And that error imo is not just rust but also to do with trying overly hard to play like Raya to show Arteta that he can, which actually he more or less can, but when you try too hard to impress you will make bad judgments occasionally. I really think he will be playing for top teams and in the champions league for years to… Read more »
Exactly
He’s a top class high volume shot stopper and a long distance ball launcher, so perfect for a team that concedes a lot of low percentage shots and plays on the counter. Like Brentford, Newcastle, Leeds maybe when the come up next season…. His skillset can translate to the CL level but not for a team that wants to control possession and territory like Arsenal. He would fit right in to a Mourinho style low block launching to a target man (like Drogba, Toney). There has been a shift away from that style of play at the top clubs, and… Read more »
I think you’re underrating his ability on the ball, he might not be Raya but he’s definitely not some Petr Cech type old school punting ball launcher, and much closer to Raya than the latter, and he’s also still very young for a keeper so will probably still get better. He might need a stop at a team like Brighton or Brentford to recuperate his confidence and reputation a bit from the hit it’s taken this season, but if I were a CL-contending team like Newcastle or ManU, or almost any top 4 team in the other top leagues other… Read more »
Only difference is that Raya would probably have been lobbed by Toney!
Ifs and buts don’t mean much now though.
Raya would have controlled that backpass and we would’ve been 1-0 at the break.
I’m guessing barring injury that’s the last time Ramsdale starts a meaningful game for Arsenal.
Fully agree. I hope Raya doesn’t make any mistakes against City.
Please don’t hype Ramsdale while playing down Raya. Ramsdale made the same errors last season, more than once, as number one. We cannot chase a title with a keeper who is essentially scoring own goals at crucial parts of the season.
And yes he did make some big saves in the second half
Love Rambo. We’re lucky to have him. He will always be a great keeper.
Sadly, that might be his last game in an Arsenal shirt. He needs to be playing regularly to save his England career.
Ramsdale is the full package 💯
I am not going to criticise Rambo for making an error which led to the Brentford goal. Likewise I didn’t criticise Raya and Saliba for the error which led to the Liverpool goal. All the best keepers make mistakes.
Coming in with such little playing time, it wasn’t so much of a surprise Aaron made an error. We saw the same with Thomas Party misplaced passes, but his mistakes will never be so critical as a goalkeeper.
You have some say the save from Toney might not have been made by Raya. He takes an even higher position on the field and has less height. Sadly it is probably the last time we see Ramsdale, as he cannot sit on the bench all season.
How can you compare a player that was out with injury from October to a player that was fit and training?
I doubt Raya makes that mistake, but there is also a good chance Toney’s shot flies over his head into the goal. Ramsdale’s extra height and spring stopped Brentford taking the lead. Arsenal really need a keeper that combines their best qualities.