Arteta has been complimentary of his teamplaceholder image
Arteta has been complimentary of his team | Getty Images
Arsenal progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday night.
Arsenal kept their quadruple hopes alive on Tuesday evening with a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen at home in their Champions League round of 16 second leg.
The Gunners knew they would have to win the second leg one way or another to progress having drawn the first leg. Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice provided the required goals, and Arsenal booked their spot in the final eight.
The result means Arsenal are still alive in all competitions, at least until Saturday when they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Speaking after the Leverkusen win, Gunners boss Arteta has special praise for one of his goalscorers.
“He was immense,” the Spaniard said of Declan Rice. “Him and the whole team - I just mentioned the soul of the team, I think the manner that they go for every ball, the passion that they show and the reaction is remarkable. Doing it every three days at that level is so difficult.”
Asked about the atmosphere inside the Emirates Stadium and whether the late win over Everton over the weekend helped, Arteta added: “I thought the atmosphere was really good from the beginning. I thought when they went out that they could sense it. It was one of those nights where they were really, really positive with the team and the reaction of the team obviously gave them more reasons to behave like this.
“So, yes, that's exactly what we need, the last two games are the standards that we need to help us achieve what we want.”
The late win over Everton and this Champions League win set Arsenal up nicely for the Carabao Cup final this weekend, when they will be hoping to win their first trophy of the season.
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