Arteta delighted to secure automatic champions league qualification after 2-1 Girona win

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Arteta delighted to secure automatic champions league qualification after 2-1 Girona win  29/01/2025  uefa24

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00:00The truth is that it's good to be able to feel like that again.

00:30I know that he's willing to take the initiative to make things happen.

00:34He's very aggressive when he's got the ball and so confident,

00:38because you don't do that, because before that he had another action, a very similar one.

00:42He made the right choice, he went for it.

00:44He's a player that has the capacity to finish from every angle, basically,

00:47and it was a very important goal.

00:49I know a few weeks ago you spoke about him potentially in a few years

00:53developing into a centre forward because of his finishing ability,

00:56but that goal, I think we've probably seen it a few times this season,

00:59not just for Arsenal but for England as well.

01:02Is that something that's becoming normal for you guys to see now?

01:06Yes, it's very natural for him.

01:08You can see the way he takes the touches, how he flows, how he fixes people.

01:12And then the technique he's got when he's in motion,

01:15which is very rare because he's so precise in his finishing.

01:18So, yeah, we're in a lot of times in that situation

01:21and I think the outcome will be good.

01:24Can I just ask about David, what was the issue with him?

01:28Is he a downer for City on Sunday?

01:31He certainly could not play and he's injured, and that's it.

01:36What is the injury?

01:38Let's see how he improves.

01:40Can I ask you as well, obviously we heard the news today

01:44about the approach for Oli Watkins,

01:46just on the striker and forward search,

01:49is your confidence still there that you can get someone in,

01:53or is it deteriorating as the days go by?

01:56You know, I cannot talk about any of that.

01:59My confidence is that we have an amazing club

02:01and people working always to try to improve,

02:04and let's see what happens.

02:08Hi, Mikel.

02:10A bit early to say, but in terms of the keeping situation,

02:13if David is injured for a few games or gets injured later in the season,

02:17do you think Neto is able to deputise for him this season,

02:21or do you possibly need another keeper?

02:24Yes, that's why he's here, to do that job,

02:27and he's done it for 20-odd years in his career.

02:30What did you make of his performance today?

02:32Obviously there were some jittery moments.

02:34I'm very happy, first of all that he played,

02:36obviously it's been seven or eight months

02:38since he played his last competitive match,

02:40and it's not easy, so I'm very happy that he played and we won the game.

02:44And obviously finishing in the top eight of the Champions League,

02:47it's about £78 million just for finishing in the top eight.

02:50How much of a big coup is that for the club,

02:52with transfers and whatnot?

02:55That's for the board, but I'm sure they are really happy with that,

02:58and the fact that we won today as well,

03:00because it's a financial incentive, obviously.

03:03Hi, Mikel.

03:04Hi.

03:05We asked you a lot about maths after the last Champions League game.

03:08How have you found the idea of four potential opponents

03:12that you don't know quite yet, and that preparation going into those games?

03:15Let's see. We love watching Champions League matches.

03:18We're going to have the privilege to be sitting at home

03:20and analysing and watching who we can face afterwards.

03:25So, really good at the moment, things are going well.

03:28Jordan Assange.

03:29Mikel, I know you wouldn't have felt comfortable throughout this whole league phase,

03:33but it does feel as though Arsenal have just been comfortable in qualifying,

03:36with all the injuries, all the missing players.

03:38Just how impressed have you been with how the squad has handled this competition?

03:42Yeah, I never felt like this, because it's so tough.

03:45I think we won the last four games in the Champions League,

03:47but what you have to do to win football matches in this competition is very demanding.

03:53We faced a group that was very tricky and difficult,

03:57but overall I think, as you said, the team has been very consistent,

04:01regardless of all the issues that we had to face,

04:04and hopefully more belief in that dressing room that we are a good team

04:08and we can face anybody and still perform and win games.

04:11And is it nice that you can put your feet up for a little bit

04:14and watch the play-offs and then you can get stuck in

04:17and you don't have to worry about those play-offs anymore?

04:19Yeah, obviously two games with the schedule that we have is a lot,

04:23and again, time to watch those opponents,

04:26a little bit more time for us to prepare and focus in other competitions,

04:29so I think it's a really positive thing.

04:33Mikel, congratulations on progression.

04:36It was always on the cards, it felt like it anyway,

04:38but you need to be professional today to go ahead and see the job through,

04:41and especially having gone a goal behind.

04:43There were some tense times and it was stop-start,

04:45but you must be really proud in the way,

04:47in the professionalism that the players showed,

04:49to deal with this and just see the job through,

04:51despite everything that was going on.

04:53Yeah, because I didn't like the noise and the conversation,

04:56everything was about if Juve does that, if, if, if, if,

05:01and I just threw that all away,

05:03if we win and we are better than the opposition,

05:06we will not be there for sure,

05:08and if we can be second, that should be the only objective,

05:11nothing else, and that's what I demanded of the players today,

05:15that we play with that mentality,

05:17because there is a lot of messages intrinsic in every performance,

05:22and a team has to face a game always with the intention to win,

05:26and I think today we've done that.

05:29Miko, a very direct question then that follows on from that,

05:32if you don't like the message of if, if, if, if,

05:35I assume tonight you watched your game

05:37and didn't know anything about anything that happened in the last...

05:40I wasn't interested, honestly.

05:42The focus and the interest, because we cannot control it,

05:44was on what we had to do and how we could perform

05:47and be better than Girona to beat them, that was all.

05:51OK, I think we're done.

05:52Anything from Spanish, any Spanish questions?

05:54No? All good.

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