Mikel Arteta reflected on Arsenal's recent achievements in the Champions League this season.
The Gunners won all eight of their league phase fixtures thanks to a 3-2 triumph over Kairat Almaty on Wednesday evening, and they have affirmed their place as one of the top teams on the continent.
"I'm very proud"
*“I’m very proud of the players and the run that we had in this first stage of the competition. It’s very difficult to win eight games in a row in the Champions League, and you can see what happened with all the [other] teams. We really need to acknowledge that. Today's game, with a lot of changes as well, started in a really good way.*
“The attitude was spot on from everybody. We demanded that. [We were] disappointed with the two goals that we conceded, and with the level of efficiency because we should have scored many more in the game. But I think it was a good way to end the competition in the first part.
“The main thing was to avoid another two games with the schedule that we have already and then make the most out of it. We have to wait and see who our next opponent is going to be, and in the meantime, we’re going to be so busy with the other competitions.
“We can consistently perform at this level and if it's the first time, how difficult it is to do it. The players need to acknowledge that and feel even more conviction about what we're able to do. But that's it. Now the competition stops. We have a period of reflection as to what we've done.
“We're going to start to prepare when we know our next opponent, what's next, and that's it. Then go game by game because you know that this competition, an action and a moment can change the whole story, and we are very conscious of that.”