Arteta elated after a 3-0 victory brings Arsenal a step closer to winning the Premier League
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta elated after a 3-0 victory brings Arsenal a step closer to winning the Premier League
Emirates Stadium, London, UK
Emirates Stadium, London, UK
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00:00 What did you think of the game?
00:01 I never expected it. I thought we started the game probably the best first half that we played
00:07 all season. I think we were unbelievable. Everything flowed. We were super composed
00:12 on the ball, really aggressive without the ball. We generated so many chances. We could have gone
00:16 3, 4, 5 easily. And we didn't. We scored one and then created Bournemouth as well. They changed a
00:23 few things. They created us some issues and the game became a little bit more open, something
00:28 that we wanted to avoid. But within that game as well, we resolved certain situations in the right
00:32 way and we were very efficient in front of goal to score the goals and maintain another clean sheet.
00:39 It's only natural at this stage of the season that the second half,
00:42 until Trostad got that second goal, it was pretty tight. It looked a bit nervy at times.
00:46 Yes, because we won there and with the quality of the opponents that we played,
00:49 you have to go and navigate through those moments. And we knew that if you score 2,
00:55 3, 4 in the first half, that's a different game. We didn't. So you better be so good at
01:00 managing those moments.
01:01 What do you think of the incident with Dominic Solanke?
01:14 Yeah, really pleased. I think it's a huge success for the team in this league to achieve that,
01:20 with a few games to go still and with the numbers that we are producing.
01:24 And it gives us a huge foundation to be closer to winning trophies and winning
01:29 titles and the contribution from everybody, including David obviously. Really good.
01:34 How high have your summer signings raised the seal in the Arsenal this season?
01:47 Yes, a lot. But this is what we're looking for and if we spend the money,
01:51 we better do it wisely and in the most effective way. We are really happy with the recruitment
01:56 that we had. It had a big impact on the team. It has raised not only the level of the team but
02:02 the level of the rest of the team as well. And you see today we had some
02:06 big performances for a lot of individuals and we want to be at that stage. You need that.
02:10 On Kai specifically, he looks like he's having so much fun on the pitch. Is it the same off the pitch?
02:16 It was unbelievable today, honestly. Everything that he did, how intelligent, the timing,
02:20 the moments, how he keeps the ball, the way he goes through the press,
02:24 how he links with the player and the standing of the game. It was unbelievable today.
02:28 The decision to disallow the Bournemouth goal, but also much earlier in the game,
02:40 the decision not to look at Christie's challenge on Saka?
02:44 The honest answer is I haven't seen any of the incidents because I knew you were going to ask me.
02:48 So I did it on purpose. The analyst said, "Do you want to watch it?" and I said,
02:54 "No, because then I'm going to tell the truth. I haven't seen them. So I cannot comment. I can't
02:57 have an impression." The one on David, the foul I cannot see because it's too far.
03:02 On the one on Bukayo, is that on purpose or not? I don't know. So it's difficult for me to judge.
03:07 You spoke earlier about the managing those errors. Do you think that's just the case
03:14 of the team being a year older or a year wiser or is there something else going on?
03:18 If a year is enough to do that, for some teams it takes them five, ten years to achieve that.
03:25 At the end, we're trying to do the right things. The energy and the commitment and
03:29 the voice put in everything that we do is unbelievable and hopefully it will pay off.
03:34 What have you seen from the level of consistency compared to last year?
03:54 Probably there are areas in the game that he's become more effective, I would say.
03:59 I see a different edge on him, the way he competes. Not the way he plays, but the way he competes.
04:04 And he loves winning more than three months ago, six months ago,
04:09 a year ago and that's something that now hopefully is in his system.
04:12 I will be there sitting with my kids and my family.
04:21 You've got your wolf shirt on.
04:26 Shirts? No, pyjamas. Confi pyjamas.
04:31 And the Havertz penalty, were you happy with that as well?
04:34 I was happy when I saw the decision, very happy. I was happier when Bukayo scored the goal.
04:40 Was it the right decision?
04:42 Well, I don't know. Bukayo is not someone that dies but I haven't seen the image.
04:50 Another goal assists today for Declan Rice. Obviously you're a massive believer in his talent,
04:55 but have you been surprised by how many contributions he's been able to make in the final?
04:59 Yes, we thought that was going to be very related to his location on the pitch and the spaces that
05:06 he was going to occupy. But then something else is to do it in this league. And he's done it great
05:12 to him. Even if we have changed him position to position, sometimes that is not easy as a player
05:17 to adapt to that. So I think he deserves a lot of credit for doing that.
05:21 When you've got a player like Declan who is so good defensively but then has this other
05:25 side of his game, who provides strength and can make runs in behind, score goals,
05:29 is it difficult as a manager to decide what the best position to put him in is?
05:34 Yes, but that's why sometimes you have to think as well about the relationship within those units
05:40 what comes out of that and is that better than using certain other things. And that's related
05:46 as well to the moment that a player is in the season and as well obviously with the
05:52 opponents that you play, what kind of game you can imagine to try to be more of a threat.
05:57 The two games remain in the series, how have you thought about going through the past three months?
06:11 Very excited. We've done it for nine months, nine and a half months now, so it's two weeks ago.
06:16 We really wanted to get it done. We are closer to it than we were yesterday and hopefully we
06:24 can bring that side to here.
06:27 OK, well thanks very much.
06:28 Thank you.