Mikel Arteta spoke to the media after his Arsenal side beat Fulham(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta faced the media after his Arsenal side battered Fulham 3-0 and moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The display will be a massive boost for the players and, of course, the supporters too.
Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka were the key talking points for their goal contributions. However, there was certainly a reason to give emphasis to Myles Lewis-Skelly, who produced a fantastic midfield performance.
The win gave the chance to rest players in the second half, when their opponents for midweek effectively rotated their entire team. The momentum, you would say, is firmly with Arsenal.
Here is every word from the manager:
**Your thoughts on the performance?**
Well, I'm very happy with the team performance, with the individual performances in that performance, because we knew how difficult it was going to be, especially coming back from Madrid so late on Thursday afternoon, and with the energy that we spent in that game, and understanding that you don't want to talk about it, you have a huge game in a few days here.
But we talked about hunger, and about having the ability to focus and be so determined on what we had to do, and yeah, we had some fresh legs from a few players, you could notice that big time, because the individual performance increased, and then the team flowed in a different way.
The moment that we did that, I think we engaged the supporters, and when that happens and you create the atmosphere that you saw at the Emirates, we make it very difficult for that moment.
**Can I just point towards Myles Lewis-Skelly, played in midfield today, there was a lovely moment at the end of the game, we saw you embraced him for quite some few seconds, it seemed like an emotional moment and a proud moment day for him.**
He fully deserves it, I've been tough on him, he had a spectacular season last year when he jumped into the first team, he had some difficult moments after that, but he stayed very humble, very focused, very aligned with what we wanted to do, and I knew he was ready.
He's been showing in training every day the opportunities that he had to play, he's done it, and today he really stepped up and I thought he had an incredible performance.
**The nature of the victory, the nature of the performance, playing with confidence, with a smile on the face of the players, no injuries it seems, able to wrestle players as well ahead of Tuesday, has it been actually a really important game for all those reasons?**
It was a critical game, because we know the importance of the win and the manner that we’ve done it and the goal difference in the Premier League, and because this game was going to carry a lot of energy towards the next game, and it's certainly going to do that, and now we have one of the biggest games in the history of this stadium, for sure on Tuesday in front of our people, and we're going to try to make it happen.
**In the hotel on Monday night, after dinner, will you all gather around the television set and watch the City match?**
What do you think?
**Yes?**
Yes, because I love football, and there's so much at stake, so yeah, I will be there.
**It's been a big couple of games for Viktor Gyokeres, scoring in the Champions League, and then a brace today, it seems like things have started to click for him after some criticism as well, I wonder how you've seen it?**
He had a great performance, I think in Madrid, especially the first half, he was really good, and today, all the minutes that he's played as well, his contribution with the goals, so obviously he was in every action, every attacking action, he was involved, scored two great goals, position-wise, timing-wise as well, something that we've been working on, and yeah, it's going to give him a big boost of energy to him and confidence to the team as well.
**It looked like him and Bukayo have started to improve their partnership today? They look like they've been really clicked.**
Yeah, they haven't played together much, unfortunately, because of the injuries as well that we had, but there are other relationships that I really enjoyed today.
**Just on Bukayo, it really looked like we were seeing him back to his best today, in that first 45 minutes, was that your assessment as well?**
Well, he certainly made a difference. I mean, he made two actions that decided the game, and we know what he's capable of. He's come back in the most important period of the season, and now he's fresh, his mind is fresh, his hunger is at the highest possible height, and I think he needed a performance like that to impact the team, so that's a big platform for Tuesday.
**In terms of the substitution, was that just a case of protecting him, was that something that he thought about before?**
We have to; he played 30-odd minutes in Madrid, now he's played 45 minutes, we need to ramp up his load, but we need to be careful because we need him on that pitch.
**Just on Myles playing in midfield, I think that's his first start there, what was the thinking behind that, and why do you think it's taken this long to play him there?**
Because probably I don't have a clue. Maybe I should have done it earlier, I don't know. But I have to do things when I believe that the player is ready, the team is ready, and the opponent is the right one to play with him in that position.
We've done it today, it's the first time, it was a big risk because I knew what was going to happen. If it works, it's great, if we would have lost the game I know what would have happened. ‘How do you play a kid at this age, in this scenario, in a position that he hasn't played all season?’ I knew that, but I had the feeling that it was the right game for him.
**Just at the end of the game, you were walking around with big fans. Was that just because of the fact that it had been such a critical victory in this title race?**
Yeah, I appreciate the behaviour and the energy that they brought to the stadium today, because it made such a difference, and when you feel that connection with them, we are much, much better, and I know that it has to come from us, it certainly came from us today, but we need to do it somehow, even when the team is not giving it probably the right reasons, because with that, I think it's very, very, very difficult for the opponents.
**In terms of first-half performances, could you say that's arguably the best first-half performance in this whole season? And in terms of just the free-flowing way you guys play, what were the reasons behind that?**
Just probably, I don't know, I have to go through all the games, but it certainly was one of the best, and the words that you used, I certainly agree with them, and there was a certain connection in the team that I had a feeling that it was going to provoke that, that you have to be really neat, and those connections happened because we had some freshness as well, which individually, if you want to see those actions, you need it in your legs to deliver them constantly and to see the things that we saw today.
**And are things clicking into the right gear? Because sometimes in a title race, there's a lot of momentum and things are cooking at the right time.** **Could this be the start of that?**
Yeah, that's what we want now, use that momentum, energy, belief towards Tuesday. We're going to certainly need that, so yeah, when I look at the atmosphere in the dressing room, I think he's tracking it in the right direction.
**Just sort of watching Bukayo, it looked a bit like he had some of his burst back. Do you kind of feel like the Achilles thing has eased quite significantly lately?**
In a positive way?
**Yeah.**
Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think the pain is gone, and that was always something that was restricting his capacity to deliver certain actions, and I agree, today he felt loose, he felt relaxed, and I think we had the Bukayo that we know back.
**What does this performance as a result say to City ahead of their game on Monday night?**
It says to us and toward our dressing room that we keep the dream alive, that what these guys have done, not now, but throughout the season to win that many games in the circumstances that we had to do it without so many players available at times, is remarkable, so it's great. Because I think it's going to help on Tuesday.
**Can I just ask you about Per Mertesacker, please? He's leaving at the end of the season and he was celebrated today. I just wonder, how would you comment on his impact on the academy and players like Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman?**
Well, a legend of this club. I think what he did as a player, we were teammates, I have a good relationship with him, and then what he has done for this club, in the academy and at every level.
And I think he leaves a legacy that is going to stay here for a long, long time. On the human side, because he's one of the best people that I have met in football, and then as a professional as well, because he really has made a lot of difference in those young kids and their families to fulfil a dream.