Mikel Arteta spoke to the broadcast media after our 2-0 win over PSG this evening. Here’s what he had to say.
On the result …
Really happy. Obviously, we want to make the Emirates a really difficult place to come. We really want to feel comfortable, assured that against big opponents we can play our own way. And I’m really happy with the result, with the clean sheet, with the performance, especially in the first half. And then in the second half, we had to adapt to the way they played as well. It forced us to be much deeper that we wanted in many moments but we’re still happy to play that game.
On credit for Nicolas Jover as set-piece coach …
We always give credit to the coaches for the work that they do. But at the end, the players have to buy into that. We put a lot of effort and work into that. It’s a situation that can change the game. Today it did. We had another three or four big open situations to score and we didn’t. So we have to score somehow to win games.
Are more teams focusing on set-pieces?
Yeah, I think in the last five years there was an enormous change. You see the amount of specialists that are in the game and everybody works on everything. That’s why it’s tougher and tougher to win.
Being unbeaten so far this season …
Yeah, really good, especially after the international break. It’s been a really challenging period. The amount of games, the level of the games, the little recovery that we had between games in comparison to other teams. The injuries the team has had, but the team wants it and we’ll continue to win. Thank you.
No, thank YOU, Mikel and team!! It’s a joy to watch the Arsenal again, rather than a chore.
“…The team wants it and will continue to win.” No doubt!
Unbeatable!
As Warren Zevon said, “His hair was perfect.”
Really top performance and tactial setup, masterful all around. Made this look routine, when it was anything but. Enrique helped us out by leaving Dembele and home and trying that weird false 9 think with Kang that didn’t work at all. Arsenal are without a doubt the world’s best team at defending in a low block and scoring from set pieces. How many people would’ve predicted that a few years ago?? I’m not satisfied with that though. It’s great to have those strings to our bow, and you can’t argue with the results, but it does depend on winning low… Read more »