After seeing us beat Aston Villa to remain top of the Premier League table, Mikel Arteta was soon in front of the media in attendance at Emirates Stadium to discuss a good night's work.
He spoke about why we recorded such a big win, key performances from Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Martin Zubimendi, the month and provided an update on Declan Rice's injury.
Here is everything he had to say:
on the result:
I'm so happy. We play every three days, we played an opponent today that comes from 11 wins in a row, a superb team, very difficult to play against and we knew that we were going to have periods throughout the game. We talked about how demanding it was going to be emotionally and we struggled in the first 10 minutes, arriving a bit late. They were playing through us and creating some open space situations that they are very dangerous at.
Then we adjusted, got a bit more control, two big chances by Viktor and one scrappy situation inside the box, but we didn't manage to score. In the second half, we clicked. Everything went much better, timings were better and the individual duels were fulfilled in an extraordinary way, so efficient in everything that we did. Unlike the last few games where we had so many big situations, today we were very prolific and accurate to make the difference.
on the importance of the win:
Especially when you play against a team that is in such a moment. They are really good, they are extremely well coached, very clear what they want to do, how they want to hurt you and they are very efficient at it. So they can drive you into a game that is constantly a very thin line, and you have to navigate it. It can be uncomfortable navigating through that and we did it in a difficult moment and then we took the opportunities in a great way.
on the period following Gabriel’s opening goal:
We wanted to continue to go on. We talked at half-time about the things that we have to alter to be more efficient but actually after you have to. You can smell blood, but after you have to really grab it and we did it. I think individually we had some huge performances, we were very efficient in the final third attacking the box and that made the difference.
on Martin Odegaard’s performance:
He needed some consistency and some games. Obviously he had two times the shoulder injury, then he had a big knee injury, and that takes a little bit of time. Now you can see that it's flowing, that his energy level is back to where it is. He’s taking risks, he’s affecting the game in a great way and I think he was really, really good today again.
on December as a whole:
I always say that to continue to win, you have to win in different contexts. Some games we did very good and the margin should have been much bigger and we didn't manage to do that so we went for smaller margins. Today, maybe the margin wasn't that big, but we made it [big], because we were extremely efficient and ruthless in the opposition box, and that's the way, and we won with a lot of injuries. Today we lost Declan, Richy, some others have come back. Gabby [Jesus] comes in after such a long time without scoring a goal and he scores a wonderful goal. Everybody is ready to contribute and that's great.
on Gabriel’s performance:
He comes back from an injury of six weeks that probably should have been a bit longer, and plays against probably the team that is the hardest to control, especially the front players and the striker that they have, in terms of their movements and he impacted the game in an incredible way, both defending and in the opposition box.
on his post-match discussion with Unai Emery:
You saw it but it's okay, it's all good. It’s okay, that's part of the game and it's not an issue.
on if Declan Rice will return in time to face Bournemouth:
It depends. The swelling has to come right down for him to have the chance to function. He wasn't able to do that today yet. He's improving but let's see what happens in the next couple of days.
on why the team ‘clicked’ tonight:
When it happens normally it's a lot of factors, and I think we were more aggressive and we were more determined. At times we were much better, and then it's about execution and just dealing - especially when you are man-to-man orientated - it's winning that action, yes or no, that clicks everything and makes a difference, and we were very good in the second half doing that.
on what changed from the early stages of the game:
Certainly, our behaviour had to change, because the moment you allow them to attack your backline, it's a big problem because they have runners from inside, they have people that can pick up passes from deep positions, they have players in the last line that are excellent at making the runs, pulling shoulders and attacking your backs. You have to control that, because every time you give the ball away they have the capacity to do that.
on how the team dealt with Aston Villa’s threats:
I really like that because you're going to go through different patches and periods against top opposition like Villa and then you still have the ability to come out in the game and the chance to win it.
on the confidence in the squad:
It's belief, it's energy as well because they put in so much. We’re playing every two-and-a-half days, the schedule is very, very demanding, we have some very tough matches and injuries but the players are still winning, so winning helps all that. All the sacrifices and commitment that you put in gets reflected in results and great performances and that's so satisfying, but we know there's still so much to play for. It's a great way to end the year, that's for sure, and tomorrow we’ll have a good night with our families, but then the next day we are in and we have to go to Bournemouth, and we know what that means.
on Martin Zubimendi’s season so far:
I’ve mentioned a lot of times that it's a position that is very, very difficult to make an impact, and in the manner that he's done it so early so credit to him. Credit to his teammates as well and how easy they make it for him. Today he's done something that, in my opinion, he has the ability to do: he's arrived in the right moment, attacking the box and finalising actions, and he did it with such composure.
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