We started the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory over Wolves at Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
After the match, Mikel Arteta spoke to the media. Read on for a selection of the manager's quotes.
on the team picking up where they left off at the end of last season:
Especially the beginning of the match, in the first half, where we were really good - really aggressive, really intense, a lot of purpose to attack, very fast, a lot of threat in the box. We generated a lot - we probably should have scored two or three, and the game would have been a bit different. In the second half, [there were] moments where we became a bit sloppy and not controlled, especially with some giveaways, which against this team is particularly difficult. Then the game was a bit more open and Bukayo had an unbelievable action again to make it 2-0. Then it was a different game.
on if the team can take an extra step this season:
When I see the willingness - whether we are going to do it or not - we’re going to have to show it every day in how we play and the results we’re able to take away. It was the first game - there’s always uncertainty around how we’re going to respond to that against a really difficult opponent. We scored two, clean sheet, win, job done.
on Havertz’s goal:
It was a great action - the whole action, the position, the delivery, the position we had in the box, the way he attacked the ball. It was superb, a great goal.
on if Rice was OK at the end:
He was cramping a bit. He hasn’t had the longest pre-season ever, but he’s really trying and he put in an unbelievable performance again today.
on how close Arsenal are to the levels the team could reach:
Hopefully very far - it’s the first game, so hopefully we can become a better team and evolve each week. That’s the aim we have.
on the team digging in:
We’re going to have better days and worse days. [Sometimes] the opponent are going to guide you to play in a different way. Today we won in a convincing way but probably in a different way, because it was what the game required.
on if he’s surprised teams allow Saka to cut onto his left foot:
You know with Messi, I know he’s going to come here and put the ball there because he does it all the time - that’s the quality of the players.
on Raya, Rice and Saka starting after playing in the Euro 2024 final:
I’m not surprised. That’s their mentality. Straight after the [final], they said ‘I’m going to be ready for the first game’. I spoke to them in the summer to try to arrange their best plan. They wanted to be early, they wanted to be back. They were already getting prepared. This is the mentality we know we need. If players are doing that, that compromise will grow around the team and they will step up the level. That’s what we need.
on if he initially thought he’d need to leave Raya, Rice and Saka out:
First of all, yeah. You have to really understand where they are, what they need, to give them some space and let them breathe. They went through a lot and those kids have played a lot of football in the last two years. But when you see that willingness, that energy to say ‘I’m really, really happy to be back’ and you see that’s genuine, it’s a good sign.
on how much more comfortable Havertz is in his surroundings:
Players need some time to adapt and get to know everybody - the club, the relationships, the system. He’s gained the confidence and the respect of everybody in the way he handles certain situations and in the way he’s performing.
on Raya’s save in the first half:
Unbelievable! I think it was the first time they had any attempt. We didn’t defend the box well and then David makes an unbelievable save.
on the clean sheet and Zinchenko starting:
We go game by game. Jurrien has been struggling in the last few weeks and hadn’t played any minutes in the last two or three weeks. Riccardo has just landed and is getting used to a lot of things. They are both progressing really well and we have a lot of competition there, which is great for the team. You could see that Alex, especially in the first half, was really good. In the second half, we needed [something] else and we had the ability to change there.
on speaking in pre-season about the need to get 114 points:
First of all, I was in LA and they asked me what we needed to win the Premier League for sure. I said ‘114 points’. But that doesn’t mean we have to do that. Talking about that after the first game doesn’t make sense. This is a new story this season, hopefully a beautiful one that we have to write from the beginning. Today was the first chapter of that. Let’s write some beautiful ones and be prepared for the ones that aren’t so beautiful, to respond to that in the best possible way.
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