After his side put in a fine display to see off Dinamo Zagreb by a 3-0 scoreline, Mikel Arteta fielded questions from journalists across the continent in his post-match press conference.
He spoke about our European form this term, the possibility of a break next month, and the form of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz among other topics.
Here is everything he had to say:
on another Champions League win and clean sheet:
I'm very happy overall, it's a massive step forward tonight. It puts us in a really strong position to play the last game in Girona. We scored three goals, created plenty of chances, dominated the game, didn't concede a shot and another clean sheet at home. So overall, very happy.
on whether we’ve mathematically qualified:
I haven't had as much time as you probably so we're struggling with that. I know that we are in a really, really good position. A lot of things have to happen, so still, we have to do our job. We will go to Girona and try to win the game, and then we'll have more sense.
on the prospect of a warm weather training camp:
I'm going to ask Opta to speak to [travel agents,] I think that's a better idea. No, it's really good. We made certain changes for freshness, to give minutes to certain players that fully deserve them as well. We had some setbacks yesterday as well, with the players that we could use tonight, three of them that were under patrol and they were on the bench, but not ready to be used. So it's good that we won and we'll enjoy it, and then let's go Wolves.
on Declan Rice’s form:
His intent, his purpose, especially attacking the positions he is taking and how he's driving with the ball. There is another bite to his game and today he could have scored two goal. In the last few weeks he had some big, big open chances to score to affect the game, so overall, I'm very happy because we need to affect the game from those positions and he’s certainly capable of doing that.
on Declan Rice’s fitness:
He had another niggle and then the demands of the game. He's played so much football in the last two years, and as well, on top of that, we have moved him from one position to another. So, all the factors, but the good thing with Declan is he's so consistent, so reliable. He's always there, and when he can create those sparks, those moments, in the opposition's box, it's a great thing to have.
on managing the load for players like Rice:
He needs that like the others. Sometimes it's related to freshen up, and sometimes related to say we need another level and if not, somebody else is going to be there. So everybody has to be on their toes. He's not different to that and you can see that when he's fresher and he's in the condition that he is, he’s a big player for us.
on adding goals from midfield:
We know that and we know in the last two seasons when we scored that many goals, how we shared those goals. You could guess by the reaction of Martin how much that goal mant to him. So hopefully now we go and that’s going to happen very often.
on Myles Lewis-Skelly’s fitness:
I'm not sure. He judged it in the game against Villa and he thought it was okay and he finished the game and the next day it wasn't bad. And then yesterday he wasn't feeling right so he started the session and he wasn't feeling good so we need some more tests tomorrow. Hopefully it's nothing big but the games are coming very fast.
on Kai Havertz’s matching last season's goal tally already:
What do you think about it? Brilliant. It shows the perspective against the reality sometimes, that’s what it shows you know, good stat.
on Ethan Nwaneri’s return:
It's great to have him. He's been training really well the last few days. He's adapting to the position and you can tell straight away the threat that he generates. How he commits people on the ball that he can put in these areas as well. So really good to have him back. We need options, we need threat, we need competition there, so it's great to have him.
on what a warm weather camp would mean for players:
If we earn the right to do that, it would be great because it's been a super busy schedule with a lot of demands and with things that happened, even more demands, especially on the players. So if we can achieve that, it would be great.
on what he expected from Dinamo Zagreb tactically:
Until yesterday we didn't really know. We prepared the game, especially with two different formations, because of what the managers have done in the past. But it's true that they were more focused on 4-3-3 when we watched certain games lately. But they were friendlies so we expected them to come here and more inclined they were going to have to go with a back five. Then they tried to generate some issues as well for us, because they moved quite a lot of the structure, they did some clever things, and yeah, that’s where we won the game.
on whether he spoke to Fabio Cannavaro:
I just said hello to him, and wished him the best. He's someone that I admire a lot as a player, not only in his career, but the presence that he has and the way he behaves, and you can see that in the touchline as well. I like what he did, he did some very clever things to cause us problems so, I wish him all the best.
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