Arteta delight after rampant Arsenal hammer Sporting 5-1 in Lisbon
Sporting 1-5 Arsenal
26/11/2024
UEFA24
Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal
Sporting 1-5 Arsenal
26/11/2024
UEFA24
Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00I think that was the first time that Arsenal have scored five goals away from home in Europe
00:17since October 2008 against Fenerbahce, so a long time coming. Was that the best away
00:24performance in Europe of your tenure here?
00:27For sure, especially against the opponent that we played in their home. I don't think
00:31they have lost a game in 18 months. They've been in top form, they've been better than
00:35anybody they've played here. So to play to the level, with the determination, the purpose
00:40and the fluidity that we've done today, I'm very pleased.
00:44Hi Mikel, after the Inter game you said about how you were pleased with how your team played
00:51and it was just the result didn't go that way. Was today basically a culmination of
00:55all that work prior to today and now it's actually come to fruition with the five goals?
00:59Yeah, well it's true that the result is very different by the performance and as well the
01:04entity of the opponent that we faced when we played Inter. I was so pleased with what
01:09I saw and I knew that in that pathway good things were going to happen in Europe. Today
01:14we've been able to do that and replicate it and be even more efficient in the position
01:18we have. I'm very pleased because the team played with so much courage because they are
01:24so good and watching them live I realise how good they are.
01:29What did you make of Odegaard? He was excellent again wasn't he?
01:31Yes he was, again. I think all the boys, if not you don't have the dominance, performance
01:37and the scoreline that we have managed to get out of the game today. They were all exceptional
01:41today.
01:42Mikel, you said before the match that you wanted your team to be more ruthless in terms
01:48of getting goals at this level. Is that what's pleased you most? Your team can go 3-0 up
01:53and still be hungry to score more, to score the 4th and 5th?
01:57Yes, because you cannot speculate. We had a period after 39-40 minutes that we started
02:03to do that and I had to stop it because that's the tendency the team wants to do, to control
02:08it. We are not good at doing that. Unfortunately they scored very early, especially in the
02:12second half and that created some momentum but we dealt with it really well. As I said
02:17it was a big performance, a big win and we're really happy.
02:24In recent years we've talked about certain landmark wins when you've gone to Old Trafford,
02:29you've gone to Tottenham. Does this feel like another one of those? Is this sort of a statement
02:34win for the players and their self-belief that they can really take this on now?
02:37For sure, because the performance was there a few times and when we have played big teams
02:42and we have played PSG and we were exceptional again, we played Bayern and were exceptional
02:46and we made some mistakes, it cost us. Now it's Inter, now it's this level. That's the
02:50level that we have to be able to cope and you have to make it happen and that creates
02:55belief, it creates that the next one the players will be better prepared and that's when it
03:00is a consistency because the ability to do it is there.
03:05You spoke before and after the Forest game about a different energy and it felt similar
03:08tonight. I just wonder, other than obviously putting the ball in the net, what's changed
03:12since you've come back from this break and you've come in and got two really good results here?
03:17Well, a lot because we were training with 11, 12 players for a long period. Some of
03:21them they could not train and play and suddenly almost everybody is fit and available. It's
03:26true that we're managing still certain players but then the level raises and I have no doubt
03:31that if we have the right availability, we're going to be a really good side.
03:34Just on that topic of managing players, Gabriel Sabdoff at the end, was that injury related
03:38or is he OK?
03:39We don't know because he said that he was feeling some discomfort so I was about to
03:43make the change of rash, poor thing, that I couldn't make the shot and we had to get
03:48him out.
03:51Congratulations on an excellent performance and result. He won't get the headlines today
03:55but gradually over the season we're seeing so much more from Thomas Partey. Are we seeing
03:59the Thomas Partey at Atletico and how have you managed to get that from him?
04:03I fully agree with you. I think he had one of the best performances that I've seen from
04:07him, especially the way he's dominated the game. That's the level that he can play. He's
04:12progressing. This year he's been so consistent as well because he's always available. That's
04:17a big thing and he's a massive player for us.
04:21You more than doubled your score goals in this competition, in the Champions League,
04:29in this match against a team that you complemented a lot, even after this game. What was the
04:35key to impose this reality check to Sporting?
04:39I don't think it's about that. We were so good. You have to be so good in every department
04:43and we suffered as well in many moments in the game. But we were so effective and so
04:49efficient when we started to attack the opposition goal and today that was a big difference.