Here is every word from Mikel Arteta’s post-match press conference after Arsenal win on penalties over Crystal Palace
23:23, 23 Dec 2025
Mikel Arteta, manager of Arsenal, faced the media after his side beat Crystal Palace on penalties
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Mikel Arteta, manager of Arsenal, faced the media after his side beat Crystal Palace on penalties(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta spoke to the press after Arsenal won narrowly against Crystal Palace in the League Cup quarter-final. The Gunners reached the semi-final for the third time in five seasons courtesy of the victory.
Arteta made eight changes from the Premier League match against Everton, but they dominated for the majority of the game, particularly in the first half. Chance after chance came and went, but in the end, it required a penalty shoot-out to decide it after yet another late goal was conceded.
That is the fifth in the final ten minutes of games this season, a statistic Arteta will want to arrest very soon. They now face a two-legged semi-final against Chelsea across January and February.
Here is every word the Arsenal manager said after the game:
How did you feel about it?
I'm very happy. We're in the semi-final, it's where we wanted to be. I'm really happy, and I'm really happy considering the amount of changes that we've done, the cohesion and the energy and the quality that the team showed against a team that is very, very well organised and concedes very few chances.
We generated a lot, and yeah, the margin should have been much bigger. After 94 minutes, they weren't, and when that happens, the teams have the quality to hurt you in any set-piece, and we conceded the goal, and that was emotionally tough to accept after the way the game went. But I think we stayed calm, we showed great composure and quality in the penalty shoot-out, and I'm very happy as well for Kepa, that at the end he made the last save and we are through.
Are you at all worried to make goals against Villa, Wolves, and now tonight as well, conceding these?
Yeah, well, sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition and the way they've done it, but I think the margin should have been much bigger. That should have been three or four, and then we're not worried about what happens in the last minutes.
You mentioned that the margins should have been much more. Why do you think it is that a lot of these games at the moment are played on these fine margins, and do you feel sooner or later this team is going to explode?
Well, that's what we want. I think what we have to do is continue to generate the chances that we do, and conceding nothing. I don't think we conceded only one shot again.
So, I do that, and trust the players. I mean, they showed great composure and quality in the penalty shoot-out. We had some very big, open chances today to score goals, and we didn't.
So, trust them, keep training, and try to keep improving.
Can I just ask you about the kind of squad management over this period? There's a lot of games coming up. When you're constantly trying to manage who needs a rest and who needs a break, how do you pick your team for each individual moment?
Plus, people are trying to get new relationships. They might not play together. Is that more difficult than we might think on this side?
I see it as a privilege at the end, because of the attitude of the players. I mean, they make your job a joy. We had situations where we didn't have a choice, and up front for many months we had a situation, and now we have a situation in the back line.
But it doesn't matter. We have situations like Christian, like Kepa, like any player that is there constantly. Whatever the role that they have on the day of training, they fulfil it.
And then when they play, that's what they do. And every player has to have that mindset, because you're going to have a big role to play. You want to achieve what we want to achieve, and it's going to be the only way.
So, I'm very happy that everybody that is now available is with that mindset, with that attitude. And then when they have to play, they perform like they did today.
It looked pretty animated today in your technical area. Was that the frustration of the margin not being bigger, it being a potential semi-final, or the changes, or a combination? Did you feel more invested in this game?
Yeah, obviously, I wanted a bigger margin because I know there is a team that doesn't need much in one or two passes. They can attack your box and hurt you, and we discussed that as well. And then, because I wanted to keep everybody on their toes and alive, and understand the importance of the game.
And the margins are very small when you want to win trophies, and we have to pay attention to every detail to achieve that.
In terms of momentum, does winning tonight on penalties, and against Everton, the way you won the other day, narrow wins, does it do more for the team's morale and belief that you get over the line in those sorts of situations?
Yeah, you have to win in different situations and contexts. We had two very difficult games, we managed to beat them. Again, the margins should have been bigger, and that's something that we have to improve on and be better at.
But as well, credit to the boys that every three days they are performing at the level that they are doing.
First start for Gabriel Jesus in 345 days. I'm just curious as to your thoughts on how he performed on the night.
He was so happy, and it was his 100th appearance today, I believe. That explains the journey that he has, a lot of bumps in that road. But I pray with an incredible resilience, fight and spirit that 11 months after he's able to perform in the manner that he did. So, great to have him back.
And just quickly if I may, on Christian Norgaard, he's rarely started so far in the team, but came in tonight, played the sixth role, a really important role on the side, how do you feel he did?
Very well, and he did very, very well. But I'm not surprised that when we brought him and we had those discussions, he understood perfectly what his role was. He's someone that, like Kepa, helps everybody around the team much better, and when you need him to play and perform, he does it.
Just to see if Martinelli and Hincapie are, how they're looking.
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No, Martinelli is more a knock, and he wasn't comfortable to carry on after the second half, with Piero, yeah, something different because he picked up a injury against Everton.
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