Mikel Arteta had plenty to discuss after we made it five consecutive wins with a 1-0 victory away to Fulham on Saturday.
Leandro Trossard scored the only goal of the game in the first half, and the defence stood firm once again to close out the win.
After the game the manager conducted his post-match press conference where he was asked about the win, the defensive performance, VAR decisions, our set-piece power and more.
Here's a full transcript...
On today’s win…
The recent history wasn't in our favour and we wanted to change that like we did against Newcastle and West Ham at home and that's another step, having that mindset and that ability to win these kinds of matches against a really good opposition, a really difficult place to come. And especially the first 10 to 15 minutes, it took us a while to get into the game with some very unusual giveaways that has caused some transitions and after that we started to dominate the game throughout the rest of the game much better. We talked about knocking on the door against this team, they are really well organised, especially with the context of the result. The more it dragged on, I think we were better and better and managed to win the game and another clean sheet.
On not conceding a shot on target in two consecutive games for the first time since November 2003…
No, not comfortably because as well it feels in this pitch like it's smaller and they are straight away on you in the box! They didn't generate any big chances, it was more the feeling sometimes, especially in the first half with the giveaways and because there are a lot of players with a lot of quality in the final third and Jimenez in the box who is a real threat and one [goal] that you know is not enough.
On the importance of grinding out wins like today…
You have to play the best in relation to the opponent and the place that you have to play, that's what we have to play. The best against Atletico Madrid is going to be different to the best of today and make sure that we are able to take the game into those areas that is going to favour our possibility to win the game and we continue to try to improve.
On Eberechi Eze’s performance…
He’s more used to probably attacking open spaces and breaks and facing and carrying the ball with the space in front of him, but he's so good and comfortable doing that. I think he had his moments today, he put Viktor I think one or twice through in really good spaces and maybe if that would have finished in a goal it would have looked a little bit different. But I'm very happy with what he's doing and we can use him in different positions, and today we used him on that one and we carry on trying to improve.
On if we’re now a team that wins ugly…
I don't like looking back, but if you ask me how I would describe the team, the players, they're tough and very, very willing.
On our winner coming from a set piece…
Great, because obviously we generate so many set pieces, so you have to start from there and we generate so many we have to understand. And against these low blocks when they don't really want to drop and commit that many players there, we have another opportunity to put the players that we want in the position that we want with the role that we want, and we need to exploit that. We could have exploited it today in different ways, at the end it was a set piece so more than welcome.
On Gabriel having to acclimatise after an international break full of long travel…
That's exactly the part that I loved about it because when everything goes well in the first few minutes for a player and he's confident and things are flowing for you, it's easy to continue. But Gabi had two difficult moments, probably not at his standards, but the way he reacted to that and the sense of security that he transmitted, that's maturity and that's the mindset that we need in the team. So that's a really good example to use and that I would use for sure.
On if he’s worried about the upcoming schedule with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday…
Yes, we know the schedule - you could see some of the players, not only ours, their players as well and there have been some injuries as well. The load is what it is, that's why we need it and the games now and the context demands you a bigger squad. I think all the top teams, we are in the same boat, we're going to have to manage that really well to look after them and especially to get the best out of them.
On our penalty being overturned by VAR...
Regarding the penalty, I was getting a bit animated because obviously if it's clear and obvious or not, that's where VAR has to intervene. It was taking so long and then Anthony as well was taking so long, then he explained the reason why he took so long on the screen. It was nothing to do with the process, it was the screen that wasn't working. So that's fine. I think what I heard is that probably wasn't a penalty, so probably they made the right decision, and I was just animated because of the process, that's it.
On Leandro Trossard popping up with an important goal again...
He has this quality to create these magic moments when the team needs it the most and that intuition and he's in the right place in the right moment and that's a huge quality for the team and a massive weapon for us. So, I'm really happy. I think he's been very, very good in recent weeks and now we have a lot of players in a really high emotional state and performance level, which is really good to see.
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