William Saliba and Martin Odegaard faced the Sky Sports cameras after Arsenal escaped the Etihad with a point following an impressive defensive showing against champions Manchester City.
Here’s what the pair had to say following the 0-0 draw…
On taking something from the game…
MO: Yeah, it’s true. We wanted all the three points and we tried our best to get the win but we didn’t do enough. We’ll take the point and move on.
On whether he’s satisfied with the result…
WS: No, we cannot be satisfied when we draw, but it’s ok, we learnt from some games when we cannot win, we don’t have to lose. That’s what we did, we did well. We leave with one point but we’re not satisfied.
On the match showing how much Arsenal missed Saliba in last season’s fixture…
MO: No, we cannot be satisfied when we draw, but it’s ok, we learnt from some games when we cannot win, we don’t have to lose. That’s what we did, we did well. We leave with one point but we’re not satisfied.
On whether it was harder physically or mentally…
WS: I think it’s more in your head, you know. They are the best team in the world, we have to be focused all the game and we did well, we didn’t concede but we didn’t score as well, but I’m happy, that’s it.
On keeping Haaland at bay in partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes…
WS: I’m good because Gabriel is good and not only him, all the team when we lose the ball runs back, I think we all defend well, that’s good and we have to keep going like this.
On breaking City’s 57-game scoring record at home and showing something on the break…
MO: We had to defend a lot, a bit more deep than we planned to. I feel like we were dangerous in certain moments on the counter when we managed to keep the ball for a little bit. but it’s hard when you’ve defended for a while and you get the ball and your legs are heavy, but we managed to take the ball, make a few passes and really counter, I felt like we were dangerous. We could have won it in the end there, but it was a tight game and a tough one.
On where the result leaves Arsenal…
MO: It’s a long way to go. So much can happen before the end of the season, we have to take it day by day, game by game, that’s the only way to do it. We’ll keep working hard, keep pushing and we’ll see.
Love how Martin just repeated Saliba’s answer word for wordto a completely different question, that shows you the team spirit and what a great listener he is 🙃
They obviously all get trained on what to say! Great consistency!
Ice cold. Reporter asks you a stupid question? Just deadpan give the same answer as the guy before. Stone cold killer. xD
“What’s your favourite part of a cupboard, Marty?”
“I am never satisfied with a draw.”
I’m guessing he prefers painting to sketching too.
😀
We have a tough run-in in comparison to Liverpool and City. Love the players and hope we don’t suffer with injuries like last season. Will be tough, though we have a chance. Fingers crossed.
We got the capacity to win all those games. I think we are a more complete team than Pool so we have a real chance.
It honestly was so laughable when Raya got a yellow for time wasting when it was so clear we were trying to win the game and not settle for a point. Which is probably why he laughed at it. The same happened to one of our defenders a few months ago, I think maybe to Ben White vs. Liverpool? Whereas often if a player takes three times as much time but his team is behind, or tied but perceived to want all 3 points, nothing happens.
anthony taylor is the worst ref i’ve seen in the premier league, can’t wait for him to be dropped to league 1 or go to saudi arabia or something like that. half the miracle already happened when mike dean retired, now im only waiting for this prick to disappear. thank god we were good enough not to give him a chance to screw us and influence the result.
He’s done well in picking up the mantle after Dean.
Got to disagree on this. Thought referee was fair, didn’t ruin the game, was under massive pressure to book our players after a few fouls but didnt. And to be honest Raya was bollixing about to wind them up.
I did think he was mostly fair and was impressed how he resisted home pressure, but was honestly a bit too lenient with both sides. I’d rather a couple of yellows early, for us too, and then the game is much more under control and less aggressive and dangerous for all players involved.
This is nonsense. He is very picky about things like sideline behaviour, diving, and kicking the ball away, very lenient about physical contact–and as far as I could see, completely even-handed yesterday (I watched it back). He could have handed out yellow cards to half a dozen Arsenal players, as City players demanded early–he sent them away making it clear he would not tolerate being surrounded. (He told Ødegaard to go away a couple of times too). He could easily have booked City players too, though in honesty, I think less often. And one more reminder (I’ve said this before… Read more »
Fantastic result.
We may have to play these bastards again. So it is up to the players now to let it go and move on until the next one comes around.
As for Liverpool. They could shit the bed against anyone. We just need to focus on our own game.
If we don’t make it, this is not the game we will look back on with regret. Villa, Newcastle, Fulham, West Ham are the prime contenders there.
Five points off city, four points for us. Five points of Liverpool, four for us.
That’ll do.