Mikel Arteta has expressed his joy and satisfaction in a post-match press conference following his side, Arsenal’s beautiful win over Manchester United.
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| Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, celebrates after Arsenal emerged victorious by defeating Manchester United 3-1 in the Premier League match at Emirates Stadium on Sunday 3 September, 2023. Photo: @Arsenal |
Arsenal defeated Manchester United 3-1 in the Premier League match on Sunday 3 September, 2023 at Emirates Stadium with the hosts netting two additional time goals.
Mikel Arteta’s post-match press conference according to arsenal.com:
On if the game went according to plan:
Exactly like that, yep. I told them yesterday that was going to happen. I didn’t want to tell the crowd so there was a bit of emotion there!
On how he feels:
Great. We all worked so hard and plan everything to live moments like this. Those moments are going to stick with us. To see the crowd so connected with the team again and celebrate in a big match like today with the history of this clash is something great, so very happy.
On not having the perfect performance:
No, especially the goal that we give away. We talked about losing the ball inside the first two passes – against this team you are kaput. We did it again. In the second half, they could’ve scored, but it was overturned. For the rest of the game, the win, the determination, the eagerness of the team, the way we showed that will to win and that mentality to go and go and go, I’m so proud of.
On scoring late goals:
I prefer Bukayo to put it in the back of the net much earlier, as well as all the other chances we had! But, if it doesn’t happen that way, it has to happen another way and a team needs different tools to win football matches. We needed the capacity to react, which I think we did really well in the first half with the way we scored the goal. That made the difference and I think that set the tone as well and gave some confidence to the team, so really good.
On Declan Rice’s performance:
I think a tremendous performance. When you look at a holding midfielder and how he needs to dominate his area and the pressing that is needed. How he breaks up play, how he glues the team together in many moments when it was stretching a little bit. He was really dominant and then produced a magic moment to win the game, so I’m really happy with him.
On his leadership in the dressing room:
Very natural. He’s a great kid. I think he’s got a good mixture between being extremely demanding with everybody and himself and then a bit of banter as well. Being around the boys and the staff in a really humble way, I think he’s fitted in brilliantly.
On Thomas Partey’s injury:
I don’t know, unfortunately he got an injury in training and it doesn’t look good, we need some more tests, we believe he’s going to be out for weeks. We think it’s a groin but can be something in between.
