Post-Sunderland quotes round-up: Arteta, Le Bris, Raya, Bruno, Keown, Upson & more
Substitute Bruno Guimaraes curled home a beauty before Bukayo Saka wrapped up the points with a stoppage-time penalty, but that tells only half the story of Arsenal’s hard-fought 2-0 win over a physical Sunderland side at the Stadium of Light.
The Gunners were on the ropes two minutes before the opener when Ezri Konsa was penalised for a foul on Dan Ballard. Enzo Le Fee stepped up, but David Raya stretched brilliantly to tip his penalty onto the post, paving the way for Arsenal to strike moments later.
Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos made of the action…
Arteta on the win and the penalty awarded against Arsenal…
I’m extremely pleased to win again. We had a really tough week: Chelsea, Napoli, winning there and now against a really tough opponent in a difficult place. We had really good periods but didn’t score, and after that they can suffocate you, especially when they decided to be really physical and very direct, and we had to overcome a situation that, in my opinion, was absolutely unacceptable at this level. I’m very worried and very sad because this can never be a penalty ever.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
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Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris on side’s performance…
Frustrating result. Good game, especially in the second half. I think we went toe to toe with them, and they are flying at the moment. We had the opportunity to score; I think it was deserved. [We] didn’t score, and thirty seconds after we conceded the goal. This is the level. I think they are relentless. When you don’t seize your opportunities, it’s hard.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
Bruno Guimaraes on his goal…
It was unbelievable; I feel very good. Everyone knows I had a difficult start through injuries in my short time. But I’m glad to be back and glad to play. And yeah, I scored a beautiful goal, a beautiful moment for me and my family, and I am happy. A very good place [to score], everyone knows my past. I had an amazing history at Newcastle. But now I’m trying to create a new history here, and I start with the right foot.
Source: TNT Sports
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Arteta’s assessment of the penalty decision…
It’s a judo roll from the opponent. Ezri [Konsa] does nothing. Just watch it. We have a lot of cameras and VAR we have to take responsibility to protect the game. Today the game was unprotected and it could have cost us the game and the momentum which is a really, really serious thing.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
Bruno on Raya’s performance…
Very good saves. He keeps us alive in the game, that unbelievable moment saving the penalty. I think after this moment we want [from it] a big confidence to play forward and score our goal. Everything for this guy he’s an unbelievable player.
Source: TNT Sports
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Raya on the challenge posed by Sunderland…
They make it very, very difficult for us, a big, big battle, very physical, but I think we dealt with everything very, very well, we defended very well, we know how good they are in the set-pieces and everything, but at the end of the day we got the three points, which is the most important thing.
Source: TNT Sports
Arteta on Sunderland…
Big credit to Sunderland. The way they play, the way they are coached, what they do, because they are a really, really good team. I don’t want to take any credit out of them, because they really deserve a lot of credit for how hard they make it for you, in many ways. They play on set pieces, they play, they have courage, they have a great understanding of what they have to throw the game. It’s been extremely tough. I’m really happy that we’ve done it.
Source: TNT Sports
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Dan Ballard on Arsenal’s quality…
They’re a really good footballing team, so I think we tried to make it into a bit more of a fight, try and swing it in our favour a little bit, and I thought we’d done that really well and had a great chance to take the lead. We wanted to win the game today; we felt like we had the confidence to do that, and it was small margins in the end.
Source: TNT Sports
Ex-Gunner Matthew Upson on Bruno Guimaraes’ impact…
Is there anything better you can do as a player? You’re coming off the bench, you’re delivering a moment of quality, which let’s face it – was the difference of the game – that transformed the game. It was a fantastic piece of world-class quality that he showed. It was every bit as challenging as you thought it would be for Arsenal. This fixture is not easy for anyone, certainly not for Arsenal. There was that real hairy moment around the penalty save and before that when Arsenal were right up against it, but as they’ve done so many times before, they’ve come out on top. It was a fantastic team and squad effort.
Source: premierleague.com
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Martin Keown on Bruno…
What a way to announce yourself to the Arsenal away fans. Incredible strike; he must have heard the boos all around this stadium, and boy, did that shut the crowd up. I mean, what a hit that was, an incredible strike, a class player, it’s going to the next level, and in these moments it’s the squad we talked about. You look to the bench; it just looked like it could be his moment. He came in, and he made the difference.
Source: TNT Sports
Raya on saving a penalty having not faced one in the league last season…
It’s a big moment, especially 0-0 away from home. They were a little bit on top of us and that save made the players and the team have that faith to keep going and win the game, which we did, and two minutes later we scored the goal, a wonderful goal from Bruno. But even if we had conceded that goal, I think we have that faith to get back to the game, so obviously it’s important to keep the clean sheet, because that helps us to win games, and it’s important to save the penalty as well.
Source: TNT Sports
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Ex-Sunderland striker Jermaine Defoe on Arsenal’s depth…
The players that don’t start, he calls finishers, not subs. These players know they have to come on and the level has to stay the same in terms of the intensity, the quality and impact the game in some way. It’s Arsenal doing what Arsenal do. Another clean sheet. They don’t give you anything. A tough game away from home, but its moments from a Sunderland point of view; if you don’t take your chances, you get punished.
Source: premierleague.com
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