After helping Arsenal to a stunning 4-2 win away at Chelsea, Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah, two of our three Hale End boys to get on the scoresheet, faced the Sky Sports cameras.
Here’s what they had to say…
On a statement win…
BS: I told you before, we wanted to give the fans something to believe in. We’ve done that today. We showed fight and character. It’s a huge result for us.
On the performance…
EN: It’s a big result. Losing three back to back, we wanted to bounce back. I think everyone did that, we fought hard, we knew it was a derby, we gave 100 per cent. To come here and score four goals is not easy, so credit to the boys and the fans were amazing today.
On Arsenal showing character after Chelsea twice pinned us back…
BS: Yeah, 100 per cent. It was difficult, every time we went ahead, they scored again quickly. We had to settle down and keep our heads. We did that and got the win, we’re happy with ourselves.
On scoring his first Premier League brace against his old club…
EN: Yeah, it makes it that bit [more] special. Obviously, I was here for just under four years and was let go, you always have that chip on your shoulder to come and prove yourself. Today, it’s good that I got two goals but it’s not about me, it’s about the team and getting three points which we’ve all worked hard for. I’m happy with that.
On the dressing room bouncing…
BS: It means a lot for us, you know. Losing three games was really difficult for us but I feel the boys have stayed positive, we’ve worked so hard in training and come here and got a result so we can show the happiness now.
On being hauled down by Azpilicueta…
BS: I’m trying to get in the box and he’s holding me for like 5 seconds! I have to go down. Of course, he’s going to be angry at me. Of course, if I was him, I’d be angry, but it is what it is. I think it was a penalty, the referee didn’t overturn it, so it was a definite penalty.
On what the result means for the club…
EN: It gives us confidence. We’ve all stuck together through the hard and difficult times, we’ve shown that we can bounce back from setbacks. Today is a great result, it’s always nice winning a derby. We’re just looking to push on and hopefully getting three points and climbing up the table.
It’s in their hands now if they really want top 4. For me it is just a joy to watch exciting football again!
Great perfomance from the lads
Merse made a good point on Sky when he said that Lacazette wouldn’t have scored Eddie’s goals due to a lack of pace.
For pace alone, it’s important that Eddie keeps his place.
The boy deserve his place in the team.Forget about the old Nketiah. The new Nketiah is older, wiser, more physical and more experienced. So he deserve a shot.
To be honest, he (Eddie) should have been given the green light months ago. Instead we’ve had to endure ‘Keep Fit With Laca’ and watch our chances made to chances taken goal ratio hit ridiculous figures.
Last night was a watershed moment; if Arteta reverts back to playing Laca from the start now, he doesn’t deserve top four – or the manager’s job. Simple as that.
Let’s hope he learns his lessons quickly. He does take a wobble every now and then but Eddie has earned another start IMO. Arteta usually sticks w what’s working until it doesn’t, let’s hope he does the same here.
“I’m trying to get in the box and he’s holding me for like 5 seconds! I have to go down. Of course, he’s going to be angry at me. Of course, if I was him, I’d be angry, but it is what it is. I think it was a penalty, the referee didn’t overturn it, so it was a definite penalty.”
Watch him and Eddie giggle as he says it. Excellent shithousing!
We are learning some dark arts. Good for us after years of suffering by it.
We think it’s dark arts because we had such poor refereeing decisions this year. Azpilicueta is lucky really. If that was Granit, he would have seen red.
Lovely stuff!
Great to see us dishing it out for a change. What an absolute fucking bellend Azpilicueta is.
(Glad we haven’t got any players who have it with their own fans….😂)
Crazy that we got no points out of the last three games and then beat the world club champions so we’ll. Eddie was poor on Saturday but great today. Love the Hale End forward line.
Hope we keep it up against United, West Ham and Sp#rs…
Great to see Saka step up and take a penalty after last time
“… so I have to go down” 🤣 lolzed hard at Azpicunta there.
He (Azpilicunta) didn’t know if he was having a shit or a haircut.
Looking around for something or someone to blame.
“Aaaah….little fat bald bloke in the stands….he’ll do…..”
That was Mustafi or Luiz levels of stupidity from ‘Dave’(imagine being that lazy & not learning how to pronounce his surname so just calling him Dave 🤦🏻♂️). I think if the ball by Cedric(there’s a surprise) is better, Azpilicueta is getting the first use of the Mr Matey bubble bath before his team mates
Ill be happy no matter where we finish as long as this team always fights like this and plays bravely.
Loved Elneny today. To sit out for so long, come in and fill a hole left by Party.
Brilliant performance.
Also, if Xhaka plays like that every game he would have no critics.
Xhaka has been playing like that since his return from injury. Good to see you’ve finally noticed.
Also loved the fact that he was barking orders to the team and managing Tavares (who had shocking moments but dealt with James quite well,)
I also thought that Holding had a strong game – good stuff from the whole team!
His nutmeg on Alonso in our own box leading to that goal is one of the best moments I have seen. Still laughing now. Total joy.
Well said. Now we know why Elneny is still here. The guy is always there for the team, never shown a black face for playing minor roles. I think we should keep him, given that there should be more games from competitions next year. Last night display show his experience. And kudos to Xhaka too… what a performance.
Wonderful!! Fantastic!! This young team certainly has character! Playing like this they could win all the remaining matches, Manure, Spuds & all 😀
I believe in this team
people will start to get carried away after this game. Yes we won and yes its an great result but only that. It wasn’t great performance, it was ok. We aloud Chelsea to get back to the game 5 min after we score…..twice !!!! We had to many misplaced passes, lose balls and shaky moments at the back. Our finishing improved a bit and that is a good think. I hope we can take this momentum into the next game and improve.
Are you aware Arsenal was playing away, against the European champions, and after a very poor fortnight – losing three matches on the spin?
This is a thoughtless criticism.
We just beat the Champions League winners away from home and scored 4 goals in the process, with the youngest team in the league and all goals scored by academy players. Make no mistake, this was a huge performance from the players on the pitch and the manager and coaches who were tactically spot on all game, even without key players available. We showed heart and determination to not fall apart despite setbacks, which more experienced past teams have repeatedly done, even considering we are on a 3 game loss streak. If people can allow themselves to get carried away… Read more »
How is there momentum if you don’t “get carried away?” It can’t mean nothing and something at the same time. I agree it’s only one result after 3 consecutive losses but our performance showed bravery and belief against a strong side. Our forgotten squad players really stepped up today and it was just what we needed! I agree, let’s enjoy it and keep performing with this intensity and desire
Do leave off FFS.
Dude, just enjoy the fucking result.
We got more than three points and four goals tonight – we got our collective belief as a club and a fanbase.
If you can’t enjoy that, you need to find another hobby.
I have no problem with staying grounded, getting ready for the next one, etc., but this was a huge result and performance, and it is to be celebrated as such. I’m also curious if you remained as measured after Southampton, when the result and performance were far more askew from each other than against Chelsea, but not in our favor??
“It is what it is”
– Bukayo Saka (2022)
It’s the hope that’ll kill me
Awesome game! I think we play better when its an open and end to end game… (Reminds me of Leicester game from 2 seasons or so ago)
Exciting and so happy we got the win!!
Penalty to end with was the icing on the cake, couldn’t relax till then… Chelsea were a bit lucky with their goals, so could always find another out of nothing I felt.
Go Eddie, you made the difference today!
Jesus…… in that pic they look like kindergarten kids……..
Oh yeah, I forgot, they are kindergarten kids
Arteta trusted the experienced lot tonight and it paid off. When the chips are down, Arteta’s Arsenal come back fighting always.