Following the 2-1 victory over Slavia Prague, our third win in four matches in this season’s Champions League, Mikel Arteta answered questions from journalists:
— on the fact that the victory was hard-earned…
“First of all, you have to understand how difficult it is to win away from home. We managed to do it against a very strong opponent, and we expected a difficult match. There were two completely different halves. In the first, we performed at a very high level in terms of intensity, tempo, quality of play and understanding of what we needed to do and what the match demanded of us. We were very efficient — we should have scored three, four or even five goals.
“But we failed to build a significant lead, and our message at half-time was very clear. There was still a large part of the match to play. We were facing a team with enormous fighting spirit, one that would take advantage of any opportunity if we gave them one. From the very start of the second half, we were operating well below our own standards, our basic principles and playing instructions, as well as everything we had discussed and wanted to avoid. It was nowhere near what we expect from each other. But in the end, we found a way to hold on to our lead and win the match.”
— on the reasons behind the team’s drop in performance…
“I have already mentioned a few things, while some others I would prefer to keep to myself.”
— on why Slavia created so many scoring opportunities…
“I have already spoken about some of the things we failed to do, while there are others I would prefer not to mention. This is a huge lesson, and we will take plenty away from that second half. It was our third away game in a short period. We are the only team to have played three away matches and just one home game in the Champions League. There are many factors, but I don’t like using them as excuses because in the first half we performed at the level we wanted to reach. I take full responsibility for the drop in performance in the second half.”
— on Viktor Gyökeres’ performance…
“I think he had a very good game. We felt this match would suit him perfectly given the demands of the opposition and the spaces he could exploit. He did an excellent job. It wasn’t just about the assist and the goal — he was very well connected with the team’s play. This is really great news for him because he badly needed a performance like that.”
— on Viktor’s link-up play…
“He did that very well and had an excellent understanding of when to make himself available and when to threaten the opposition. They leave players up front, mark man-to-man in midfield and, in doing so, leave certain spaces open. When I said Viktor was very well connected with the team, this is another example. Beyond the goal and the assist, he had an excellent match.”
— on whether it has become an issue for him that he has not started as regularly recently...
“That is a question for him, but I imagine every player wants to be involved in every match. Viktor is no exception. When players get an opportunity, they need to influence the game the way he did today and show their true level. That is a very positive thing for the team.”
— on David Raya’s performance…
“Once again, he had to show his quality, much more often than we expected. That reflects well on him. But what concerns us is what happened before those moments, because that kind of performance is clearly not in line with what we have shown previously.”
— on Ezri Konsa’s condition…
“He has played a lot of matches over the past few weeks. He had some issues, and we decided to take him off.”
— on whether it was planned for Declan Rice to play all 90 minutes…
“The game demanded it. Besides, he was rested for the match against Fleetwood. He had a full week to recover before the Liverpool game. This was his second match in a week, and we expect our players to be able to cope with that workload.”
— on whether Slavia have improved since last season’s match…
“I don’t know. I think they are a really good team. We will talk about what we failed to do in the second half, but we also have to acknowledge that Slavia showed a lot of good things. They are an incredible team in terms of their fighting spirit, constant involvement in the game and belief in what they are doing. They keep battling, go through different phases of a match and wait for their moment. Tonight, they certainly caused us plenty of problems.”
— on the result…
“I am very pleased with the result. It is always extremely difficult to win away from home in the Champions League. We have played four matches in the competition, three of them away, so it was a very difficult task. Today we had two completely different halves. In the first, we showed an incredible level, great quality and a very good tempo. The scoreline probably should have reflected a lead of three, four or even five goals. But we failed to build that advantage, and at half-time I said there was still a lot of work to do in this game. We were playing against a team with enormous fighting spirit. If you give them that kind of opportunity, they will always find a way to create a chaotic situation and force you to defend.
“That is exactly what they did from the very start of the second half. We dropped our standards, did some of the basic things very poorly, failed to maintain our structure and did not stick to our playing principles. When you start playing like that, you give your opponents hope. We had a much harder time than we expected, and Slavia deserve credit for that too.
“We made six substitutions, which is a lot. On top of that, this was our third consecutive away game in seven days. We have plenty of lessons to take from both the many positive aspects of this performance and the difficulties we experienced, which we need to address.”
— on the Gunners extending their unbeaten away run in the Champions League to ten matches for the first time in the club’s history…
“That is incredible. At some point, things have to even out because we still have a lot of work ahead of us. But, as I have already said, winning away from home in this competition always brings positive emotions. We appreciate these results, but the challenge we faced towards the end showed that we should have played much, much better in the second half. Winning away from home is extremely difficult, it really is a tough task, but we are managing it. So there are aspects we are pleased with, but we still have a lot to improve.”
Source www.arsenal.com
Author: MissingHenry
