Mehmet Ali reflected positively on his side’s second-half display, after our young Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw against Derby County at Meadow Park on Friday night.
Goals from Michal Rosiak and Andre Harriman-Annous saw us overturn a first-half deficit to lead midway through the second period, but a late equaliser from the visitors meant the spoils were shared.
On the result...
“We’re disappointed not to come away with all three points, but credit to Derby. I thought they were excellent in the first half, particularly out of possession. They were well organised, compact, and made it difficult for us to find any rhythm or play our usual game.
“They went 1-0 up from a goal we’ll be frustrated with – it was poor from our perspective.
“But in the second half, I thought we were brilliant. We came out with far more aggression and really got on the front foot. I felt we deserved to go on and win it, so it’s frustrating not to. Still, there were plenty of positives to take, especially in terms of individual performances after the break.”
On the younger players stepping up to the under-21s level...
“They’ve done really well – it’s not easy. At the under-21s level, any small mistake or weakness gets exposed and punished, which is brilliant for their learning. That sort of experience puts them in a strong position moving forward.
“Andre was excellent. He works incredibly hard for the team. There’s still a lot for him to learn, of course, but playing at this level at such a young age will do him the world of good.”
On the final game before the play-offs...
“We just want to keep pushing. The players know they’ve got to keep going. We’ve been on a good run, and hopefully we can finish strong. I’m looking forward to the West Brom game – if we perform well, there’s no reason we can’t take all three points.”
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.