After seeing us thrash Atletico Madrid 4-0, Mikel Arteta pinpointed his players’ courage on the ball as a key reason for a remarkable result in the Champions League.
Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and a Viktor Gyokeres brace did the damage on a wild night in north London as we picked up a ninth point already in the league phase, but things looked very different when we went into the break goalless, and the visitors striking the crossbar not long after the second half began.
But after Big Gabi had nodded us in front, Little Gabi’s neat finish took the game away from Atleti, aided by a brilliant 40-yard run through the heart of Diego Simeone’s team by Myles Lewis-Skelly, making his first start in three weeks. And that bravery was something that Mikel was delighted to see, as he felt it was what unlocked a well-drilled defence time and again.
“We talked about it against a team that is so organised. To disorganise them, you have to do something that is not in the book and we cannot do it through just the pass or just certain patterns. You have to do it by finding that inspiration, those magic moments that we generated throughout the game in different ways. I’m really happy that the team can step up and create those moments.
“It’s a low-scoring sport, so we need to be the best defensively, and the best in attack. That means to be able to score from different angles, from different ways, from different players. We are certainly improving in that category as well.
“I think the overall performance was incredible, the way we dominated and we earned the right to win it and then the efficiency, which at this level in the Champions League is something key.”
The icing on the cake for the boss was seeing Gyokeres’ name etched on the scoresheet twice in quick succession to put the result beyond doubt, ending a seven-game search for a Gunners goal for our Swedish striker.
Mikel feels that will boost confidence and belief not just to our frontman, but across the team who expressed their joy for their teammate netting again in the celebrations following his two-goal haul.
“I’m so happy for him, because if there is a player that deserves credit and a big smile on his face, I think that’s him,” Mikel added. “What he brings to the team is phenomenal. Today he scored two and you could see his smile, you could see his teammates around him, how happy they were with that, and his manager as well.
“It’s a big win against a big opponent, on a big Champions League night. We are really happy and proud of the way the team performed, collectively and individually, and obviously with the result that we got.”
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