Arteta delighted with Arsenal's 4-0 UEFA Champions League thrashing of PSV

NicheSportMedia

Arsenal were victorious in their first UEFA Champions League match this season finishing with a 4-0 win over European rivals PSV Eindhoven.   Boss Mikel Arteta comments on the deserved win for the team who faced challenges with pace and versatility creating an enjoyable game

Transcript

00:00 It was a beautiful night, obviously after such a long time. We wanted to produce the

00:07 right performance and try to win the game. It was great to see the atmosphere, the Champions

00:13 League music everywhere. I think it was getting a bit emotional before it and we showed. I

00:18 think especially in both boxes today we were exceptional and that was the difference in

00:22 the game I think.

00:23 Were you emotional?

00:24 I was, yeah. I was really excited about it. I wanted to control it, I don't want to show

00:30 too much but I was really excited. At the end it's part of the journey, the journey

00:34 started last year and we earned the right to be in this competition which is what we

00:38 have to be as a club and now we have the responsibility to produce what we have to produce to stay

00:44 at this level.

00:45 It might seem strange to say after a 4-0 win but do you think there's potentially even

00:51 more you could have seen from your side today? There were a few chances put away, not put

00:56 away sorry, and more you maybe could have done. So is it almost more to come even after

01:00 a 4-0 win?

01:01 I agree and especially from box to box there were things we should have done much, much

01:06 better and that's every single day you have to be at it, you have to be really analytical

01:12 to try to improve but at the same time credit to the boys to play the way they play in certain

01:17 moments and to score four goals in the Champions League against a team that hasn't lost a single

01:22 game, credit to them as well.

01:24 You said yourself you tried to take the emotion out of it despite being emotional yourself,

01:30 you must have been impressed with the way your players, for some of them the biggest

01:36 night of their careers, managed to do exactly the same?

01:41 I could sense that and I think we have drive that energy and that emotion in the right

01:45 way. Talking about the enjoyment, you know we have to obviously compete at this level

01:50 but there has to be a part that we have to enjoy as well, those moments, those nights

01:54 because it's what at the end you remember and I think it's going to be a good memory.

02:00 Do you think in a way this was a blessing for the team, getting away from playing against

02:06 big defensive blocks in the Premier League and being able to express and click and find

02:10 that sort of fun, joyous, attacking football at last season, find that identity a bit more?

02:17 Well obviously every opponent brings different challenges, as well when you score early in

02:22 the game that helps and that hasn't been the case too much this season and that's why we

02:27 have to face opponents doing other things as well. But certainly when you see this team

02:32 running and full of pace and being vertical it's a joy to watch.

02:37 Given you've got the derby here on Sunday, was it particularly pleasing that you scored

02:43 three goals in the first half and were presumably able to start saving players in the last stages?

02:49 Yes, we could manage the minutes of some of them, especially because where they're coming

02:52 from and with the national team they played a lot of minutes. And as well to give players

02:56 two minutes that fully deserves. I was really emotional when I saw the reception on Emile

03:01 as well, he's a player that hasn't played much yet and to get the reception he got was

03:08 well deserved and I'm so happy for him as well.

03:10 You talked about wanting your team to kill games off earlier, they did that in the first

03:17 half, how pleasing were you about that?

03:19 Very good and that's what we have to do. That's why I mentioned in the box we were exceptional

03:23 today, we were ruthless, we took our chances, the finishing quality was top but as well

03:28 we could have done more. And probably the manager, we are looking sometimes a bit more

03:33 on that and in other parts.

03:34 It's obviously Pikaia's first game in Champions League tonight, you wouldn't really have known

03:39 it from watching him, did he show he sort of deserves to be on this stage tonight?

03:43 Yes, but to be fair some of the boys now they play at an international level and they have

03:48 big roles in their national teams and you can sense that as well, that they are not

03:52 just part of the squad, they have quite a responsibility and they are big players there

03:56 and that's very helpful for the team.

03:58 Obviously David Garay was picked over Aaron Ramsey again tonight, what was the thinking

04:02 behind that decision, maybe not choosing to rotate the goalkeepers as you hinted you

04:06 might do at the weekend?

04:07 It's the belief that I had in the team that I wanted to play with the expected opponent

04:14 and not only that, the changes that we made with other players it was for the same reason.

04:18 We all know how hard it is to compete in the Premier League and the Champions League, but

04:24 is that sort of performance better preparation than a week at home?

04:28 Winning always helps and when you see that dressing room how happy they were today, the

04:32 energy, if tomorrow I tell them to train they will train for sure and now we have three

04:37 days to prepare a big game again, a really special game for us and we'll try to do it

04:42 in the best way.

04:43 Miguel, you saw Kai Havertz come in different roles throughout the game, how pleased were

04:49 you with his performance, did you get closer to the full confident player that he is and

04:53 do we know he can be here?

04:54 He was very connected today in the game and it's true that by asking him to play in two

04:59 different roles in regards to the opponent's behaviours and he's so intelligent the way

05:03 he does it, he's just finishing one or two actions that we had again and he's coming

05:08 and he's so willing to do it.

05:11 Thank you.

05:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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