Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the defeat to Aston Villa (Photo by Sean Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke to the press after his side lost 2-1 away to Aston Villa in their opening Premier League game on Saturday.
It was only the Gunners’ second defeat in all competitions this season, but it means Manchester City have closed the gap at the top of the table and are now two points behind Arteta’s side.
Watch the full post-match press conference, where Arteta spoke about the atmosphere after the result, Cristian Mosquera’s injury update, and more…
Full text of Mikel Arteta’s press conference
If you lose on the last kick of the match…
Of course, I’m very disappointed in the way we lost the game, but first of all I would like to congratulate Villa. Because they’re a really good team and they’re really good at what they do. We had some difficulties in the first half, especially when we conceded a very rare goal after winning the ball, which was a really dangerous moment against them. But other than the situation where Watkins was fouled, I don’t remember anything else other than the goal.
We started the second half very well and were more positive. We created chances, scored goals and felt like we were going to win the game. This also had two very dangerous personal perks, so I might have lost before, but I didn’t. We had two chances to score, the last one the ball went to Declan but we couldn’t capitalize. The next goal kick was long, it flew there, second ball, put it for a throw-in, they played fast, there was a lot of confusion in the box, and they managed to put the ball in the top corner, that’s the quality of this league, this is the summary.
As for the impact of the results…
That’s the league. We’ve been to many difficult grounds – going to Old Trafford, going to St James’s Park, going to Chelsea, coming here – but today’s result could have been different. The reality is not. That’s the step we have to take. We’re 18 games unbeaten, but we still haven’t lost by a close margin. That’s the level of the league and we know it. That’s the opportunity in front of us and that’s it. Now is the time to get back on your feet. They gave me every good reason to think we would continue to perform at the same level. Because what they tried to do today with the schedule that we had was great as well. So (we) move on.
Read more: Did you notice Arsenal’s three big problems in the defeat against Villa?
If the game schedule had an effect…
I don’t know. There was a moment where we thought we were going to win, but they gave us a very strange prize that had nothing to do with us. But this is also soccer, and the boys were willing to give it their all and tried their best. The situation was the same for Leo, who could only play for a certain amount of time. We made the decision to do it (sub) before and then we had to do it, that’s why we had to change it, learn from it and do it again.
On having to rotate the defense due to injuries…
I know that’s the reality and we all have to deal with it for a period of time. And the team must be able to adapt to that instead of looking for excuses. We obviously know what those two (Gabriel and William Saliba) bring, especially in a match like this. But I think the other two (Piero Hincapie and Julian Timber) were also exceptional today.
We suffered a come-from-behind loss in our last match…
We’ve been trying, we’ve achieved it many times and we certainly felt like we could do it today, but we conceded two goals and the game was always in jeopardy. They’re very dangerous and in open situations like man-to-man on the last line, they’re very good at attacking those channels. We’ll have to learn from that and the way we conceded the first goal was far from our standards, but it’s something we learned from and we can give credit to our opponents as well. I think the opponent is a really good team.
On whether Aston Villa can join the title race…
they are. If you look at their position and the way they play, they beat some big teams, especially at home. Everyone has to play with everyone, so they’re where they are at the moment and we’re there too.
Regarding Cristian Mosquera’s injury…
Unfortunately he will be out for a few weeks, which is much more than we expected. However, the player was feeling it and will be out for several weeks.
Regarding the players’ feelings after the match…
Emotionally it’s very emotional for everything they’ve put in over the last two weeks and the results we’ve gotten, the performance and to lose it like that. You just feel like everything you spent wasn’t worth it. But it’s worth it. Because we can learn again from today and become a better team again.
On dealing with the ups and downs of the Premier League…
It’s been five months since the contest started, and so far we’ve been handling it pretty well. But we have another six months to prove that we can handle it again and again and again, but that’s the level it is. If we can reach this moment with 10 points, I think we are living in a different world.
