Mikel Arteta in a post-match interview
Mikel Arteta was in a playful mood post-match
Mikel Arteta pretended to storm out of a post-match interview after Arsenal’s win over Chelsea.
Mikel Merino’s header was enough for Arsenal to claim a narrow 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium. It was the Gunners’ first win in the Premier League for over a month and increased their cushion to third-placed Nottingham Forest to four points.
Striker-less Chelsea looked blunt without the injured Cole Palmer, with a blunder by David Raya from Marc Cucurella’s first-half effort the closest they came to scoring. Victory put Arteta in a buoyant mood when speaking to Sky Sports post-match.
A week is a long time in football and Arteta was much spikier when speaking to Patrick Davison after the 1-1 draw against Manchester United. The Arsenal manager took umbrage to a question about his club’s failure to buy a striker in the January transfer window and attempted to walk out of the interview early.
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But this time around, he was in a playful mood when speaking to the same broadcaster after the win over Arsenal’s London rivals. A question about Bukayo Saka ’s fitness from reporter David Craig prompted him to dart off camera momentarily before returning to say “I’m in”.
And asked whether Saka could make his long-awaited return for Arsenal after the international break, Arteta said: “He’s got a very good chance.” He then shared a handshake and a smile with Craig, who certainly saw the funny side to the gag.
Arteta also had plenty of positive comments for makeshift striker Merino, who flicked in Martin Odegaard’s first-half corner to make the breakthrough. “The way he's approaching it is incredible,” said Arteta. "He wants to understand everything and to learn from it. He's very critical of himself all the time. The reality is that he's winning matches for us.
Mikel Merino
Mikel Merino celebrates his winner against Chelsea
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Image:
Getty Images)
"The value of it, it was a big match. In the end we win the game because of that goal. Very happy with his contribution. We worked on something similar (from the set-piece), but that. To be fair it was a different kind of finish planned.
"It will generate belief in the team again, in the stadium with the crowd, that we can score. It's something we've been missing when we were so prolific."
After his defence kept a clean sheet, Arteta was asked about his assertion that Chelsea are the best attacking team in the league. “By a mile, I mean the stats say it and everything that I've seen, say it,” he said.
“They can open you up, they can run in transition, they have individual quality, any player in the defensive line can throw you in behind, they can combine on both sides, on weak sides and they are missing some big players as well at the moment.”
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