After seeing us thrash Leeds United 4-0, a happy Mikel Arteta took question from the media in the Elland Road press room.
He chatted about
Here is everything he had to say:
on the victory:
Very, very happy obviously. A very impressive performance, a very impressive result and in the context that we’ve done it. When you have the difficulty of the game and the opponent that we’re facing, with their recent form and the style of play that they have at the moment and the energy that the stadium brings, then the fact that after three results that didn’t go our way in the league, we really wanted to show how much we wanted it, and I think we’ve certainly done that today.
on Saka’s injury:
In the warm-up, he had a little niggle, he wasn’t comfortable starting the game, so immediately we made a decision to make that change and bring Noni in. And he was ready, because you cannot do that in two minutes. The way he prepared, the way he’s waiting for opportunity, I think it paid off today because he really impacted the team.
on Madueke and Martinelli stepping up:
That’s only possible if those players are with the right mindset. We talked before the game that it’s going to be a long game, we’re going to have to navigate through different moments. We’re going to need everybody fulfilling their role that they have on the day, and I think the players executed that incredibly well.
Read more
Madueke on his late selection and impact at Leeds
on returning to winning ways in the Premier League:
The mentality is good, and to play with that level of enjoyment about where we are, and then with the conviction to believe in what we do and how good we are, and that we can beat any opponent, and we certainly have done that. But then you have to show the quality as well in this league to do it, and it came out in great ways from different players as well.
on why he used Havertz in midfield:
Because of the type of game that I expected, and how aggressive and direct they’ve been recently. I believe that the game was going to allow us more space and the temperature will come down in the second or third part of the game, and that’s what we could have changed again with different qualities in the team.
on Odegaard’s performance:
So happy with the way he reacted, but in general the team, and obviously certain individuals. It’s normal – the opinions, the noise is part of that. What we can control is what we can do, how much we want it, and trying to get the best out of yourself and the team in every moment. The rest is not possible, and we’ll have to be judged on that, because there’s nothing else that we can do apart from giving our best.
on dealing with outside noise:
It’s very impressive. We talk about that noise, but it was a great noise as well, the fact that we were the first team in the Champions League to win eight in a row. That’s a lot of noise, but a very positive one, but we want to always talk more about the other noise. The other noise is part of that, the expectation is to win every game. We compete against incredible opponents and we know that’s the case, but that has to fuel your energy and desire to win more than anything else, in my opinion.
on Odegaard contributing from the bench:
It’s not [about players’ positions being] safe, it’s that the role can change because the game has different needs and we play every three days. The fact that you can contribute and help the team to win from a different angle, I think it’s a great thing to understand. It’s not so easy for certain players, but Martin and the rest have certainly done that today.
on the defensive stability:
It’s something that we want. You always have an opponent in front of you that is going to test that and you have to execute the actions and be very, very consistent. You don’t want to concede anything and I’m really impressed because it’s a really tough team to restrict them to that. Between all of us, we’ve done it.
on Leeds’ quality, and if they’ll stay up:
I think so. What they’ve done, I think, is very smart. It’s really tough, they are really well organised, they have threats, they have quality. They have a lot of variation in relation to game contexts to play in different ways, and they have an amazing stadium with a beautiful atmosphere of football that brings the level of the rest of the team to a really difficult level to match.
on the ‘hostile’ atmosphere at Elland Road:
No, the word I would use is that it was a beautiful football atmosphere. When you talk about the tradition and history of this league, this kind of stadium, this kind of atmosphere and people, that’s what makes it unique. It’s a joy to play football in these kinds of grounds, these atmospheres.
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