Arteta: Arsenal back in title race after 3-1 win against ten men Liverpool

NicheSportMedia

Transcript

00:00 What does an afternoon like that do for you?

00:25 It was an extraordinary game. I think it was an incredible performance from the players

00:32 and from our people. The atmosphere that we generated in the stadium is the best I've

00:36 seen this season. We demanded that. We had to go to a different level and connect it

00:40 again to the demands that this league has in every game. And they have responded in

00:45 an unbelievable way. And I think the players left absolutely everything. They put their

00:49 heart and soul into every single ball. I cannot be any prouder because I know how difficult

00:54 it is to be in this team. How much you have to suffer, all the preparation and how much

00:58 they have to process to try to do what we've done to them on the pitch. So, a big thank

01:03 you.

01:04 You said on Friday about winning ugly or scoring a scrappy goal. Was that an ugly win?

01:11 I was all trained. I told you that I didn't know but I knew how to train this. You have

01:16 to reconsider that really poor one as well. That's the reality and that really affected

01:20 us. The dressing room was really touched at half time and I could sense it because we

01:25 deserved much better after the first half that we had. But you cannot feel sorry for

01:28 yourself against this team because they are going to punish you. We reacted really well

01:32 after 10-15 minutes where we suffered. We grabbed the game, we controlled it, we modified

01:37 a few things and we gave ourselves a big chance to win the game.

01:40 Does it feel different in the place? Is there much more energy?

01:53 Yeah, it does because winning helps and obviously the schedule that we had prior to Christmas,

01:58 the amount of plays that played so many minutes, we were some injuries and we needed to recharge.

02:04 Now we've got some momentum back. Three wins in a row in a really convincing way, the team

02:09 performing really well and we have to go for it. The whole season is now ahead of us. We

02:14 need players back because now we have a few injuries and that's a big concern that I have,

02:19 availability of the squad, do we have everybody fit, training and available, we have a good

02:23 chance.

02:24 Do you think this team now has an elite mentality?

02:40 Absolutely. We have shown that today. The thing is to be the best and have the best

02:44 mentality you have to do it every three days. That's the challenge that we have. Certainly

02:49 we showed that today, especially against, in my opinion, the most informed team in Europe.

02:55 Now we have to do it tomorrow and the next day against West Ham and continue because

02:59 when we have that body language, that attitude, that energy in the team, we are a really difficult

03:05 team to beat.

03:06 Was that Khabib Aspani at his best today?

03:11 I think he looks really confident, really sharp. He was a real threat today not only

03:17 for the goal he scored and how intuitive and cheeky and streetwise he was to do what he

03:23 did but as well the other ones, Leo, I think Kai was unbelievable as well playing as a

03:27 nine because it was a game that I thought was going to fit him, the same with Jorginho.

03:33 You need big performances to beat these kind of teams and I thought all of them were at

03:37 their best today.

03:38 With Gabi we expect it to be something about days and with Alex we don't know because he

03:49 had some feeling in his calf again and we had to take him off.

03:53 There's been quite a lot of talk about trying to evolve to be more of a control team this

03:59 season. Do you feel a bit like you talked about being cheeky and intuitive with Martinez?

04:03 Is there a kind of chaos and energy that this team actually needs?

04:07 Control is not really a word that I like. I like dominance and don't allow teams to

04:13 breathe more than control and especially in which part of the pitch that happens. That's

04:19 the most important thing in my opinion.

04:21 But we can be very chaotic in open space, we can create a lot of issues playing in different

04:26 ways and that's another weapon that we have.

04:28 How do you handle the energy shift?

04:39 The energy shift is in this game. You win two or three duels and you can feel that people

04:44 are more confident, the crowd is going, you lose them, they start to run at you and they

04:49 are a bit scared. To manage that emotional state is really important. We had to do it

04:55 and we talked, "Listen, you want to beat them, we're going to suffer. There's going to be

04:58 moments that we're going to have to deal with things that are going to make it really uncomfortable

05:03 and we're not really used to it. But they're going to take you to that game and then we

05:06 have to navigate through that to win it."

05:08 I think today we made another step on that.

05:10 How is Mikael Sakai?

05:11 He should be fine I think. He's got a kick I think on the ankle or on the back of his

05:22 foot but he should be fine.

05:24 On the title race, I know we ask every week but the difference between two points and

05:30 eight points off is very big. Have we got a title race now?

05:36 We are there, that's for sure. We want to continue to be there. I think we've been really

05:41 consistent the whole season. If not, you're not where we are today. Our game is game by

05:46 game. Again, the availability of the squad is going to be crucial. We have learned that

05:51 from last season so let's try to make that happen.

05:54 What is the difference between the game you played against Georgia and the game you played

06:01 against them?

06:02 It's a game that I had in my mind, that I was imagining and how much in my opinion we

06:08 were going to need them. It's a team that doesn't really allow you to put the fifth

06:12 player in that front line the way they play. Georgia is a really intelligent player. His

06:18 biggest quality is that he makes the people around him better, he connects everybody and

06:23 it was unbelievable. I think it was man of the match.

06:25 Could you reflect on the qualities of a player coming in for his first start in a month?

06:34 He's in twice, he's started twice since November. How valuable is he to you off the pitch and

06:41 then on the pitch?

06:42 Unbelievable. I always say he's an example, he's a role model. He's been in a lot of pain

06:49 as well because he has an issue that he's been carrying for months. He didn't want to

06:52 stop, he's been playing with that, he's been training always the first one in, last one

06:56 out. For all the kids, for everybody at the club, if you want to look in the mirror to

07:02 somebody, just look at him and how he behaves. He's won everything but you ask him not to

07:06 play or to play one minute last week, he's happy to go there. You ask him to play 19

07:11 minutes at that rhythm and he's able to do that. I'm really lucky to have players like this.

07:16 Thanks everyone.

07:17 Thank you.

07:18 Thank you.

07:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended