Post-Villa quotes round-up: Arteta, Emery, Saka, Eze, Cash, Henry, Neville, Keown
Bukayo Saka slid home a second-half winner from close range as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 1-0 away from home to make it two wins from two in the Premier League.
If the Gunners were far from convincing in the final third, they were familiarly solid at the back, keeping the hosts at arm’s length to the point that they failed to register a single shot on target.
While the wins over Manchester City and Coventry suggested the handbrake was off, this was a more hard-fought affair, won largely in second gear against a Villa side still finding their feet after being gutted in the transfer market.
Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos made of the action…
Mikel Arteta on everybody playing their part…
I think it was a squad victory today. Everybody who was involved in the game in any capacity made a difference for us. That’s a big message for all of us because with the depth that we have and the quality that we have, if we really make that count, that’s going to be a massive weapon for us.
Source: Post-game press conference
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Unai Emery’s assessment…
We performed like we planned and we competed like we planned. We didn’t achieve the result, of course, it’s painful. But through how we played and competed, that is the way we want to build again, to build a team like we want. The debut of some players was fantastic.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
Bukayo Saka on how Villa made life tricky…
Very, very tough game. It’s not easy coming here, they made it hard for us. It feels even better to come out with the win. The way they defend, really compact and with a high line, they caught us offside. We had to adapt to that. Different from what we faced last week, we weren’t able to implement our attacking pattern. One goal is normally enough for us because we are so solid at the back. When we got the first one, it actually opened the game up. We wanted to push for the second one.
Source: Sky Sports
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Arteta on the strength of his bench…
That is what we need. The players that come in make the difference. All of them contributed to create more dominance and more momentum. The level of focus and the way they want to contribute to the team, that is going to be decisive in the season.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
Aston Villa defender Matty Cash on his side’s early-season struggles
It is disappointing to lose another game. We knew they are a difficult opponent but we want to win. We’ve had a winning mentality in the last couple of years and it isn’t nice to lose. We will pick ourselves us with some positives. We are a new team with a lot of change at the minute. We need to stay positive and work hard and hopefully results will come.
Source: premierleague.com
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Eberechi Eze on starting on the bench but making a contribution in the second half…
This part of football is what you need to do. You need to be ready to come on and affect the game and that’s what I tried to do today.
Source: Viaplay Fotball
Arteta on using last season’s late defeat to Villa as motivation…
That was still in my tummy, and I spoke to the players about it – that image when the players were on the floor, totally gutted. It was a really difficult one to take. We used that to bring energy, to bring more conviction and belief to understand the difficulty of the challenge that we had ahead, especially against a team that was so successful last year.
Source: Post-game press conference
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Eze on the competition in the squad…
Yeah, it’s top. It’s top. You’ve got so many world-class players. You’ve got so much energy, positivity, a lot of confidence in what we’re doing and what we can achieve this season. I think we’ll trust in that and work towards it.
Source: Viaplay Fotball
Gary Neville on what the result means for the two teams…
Aston Villa are just building after losing a lot of players. For Arsenal, that is a statement win, where you just restrict the other team from having any shots on goal. Patient, present, mature. They were just in control. Arteta will be happy because his team is consistent.
Source: Sky Sports
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Thierry Henry on Arsenal’s approach to defending…
One thing is sure – everybody needs to run. You don’t have any passengers in that team. This is how you win a title, and people always talk about individuality and stuff like that. I keep on mentioning it recently, but that team are even more sure about what they’re about. You can see, you can see that they’re so good at it.
Source: Sky Sports
Martin Keown on Arsenal’s performance…
It wasn’t a perfect Arsenal performance. We were waiting for them to click into gear and the goal says everything about the improvement in the group. The squad tonight got over the line – still work to do but that’s a really important win for Arsenal.
Source: premierleague.com
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Arteta on how tomorrow’s transfer deadline day is shaping up for Arsenal…
We are trying to improve the squad and until tomorrow night we’re going to try to do that. I’ve been disconnected from the world for 24 hours because I think my energy and focus has to be on the match, I will get back on it now.
Source: Post-game press conference
Man-of-the-match Calafiori on the win and starting the season with two assists in two games …
It was always in my mind [to add more assists]. I think I was a bit unlucky last season and this season I have started in the right way and want to continue like that. We know how hard it is to play here and that it is one of the toughest games of the season. I just want to win when I come here, and we did. So far we are doing so well but we still have margins to improve. I am so happy with this team.
Source: premierleague.com
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Michael Owen on Sunday’s showdown between Arsenal and Chelsea…
Sunday should be a fascinating game. Chelsea’s front three looks as good as anything in the Premier League at the moment; Cole Palmer has got the bit between his teeth. They’re creating so many chances, but you can’t give away the amount they have been doing at Arsenal. They could be the fly in the ointment that challenges Arsenal this season.
Source: premierleague.com
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