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