Arteta happy with point after Liverpool draw keeps Arsenal top
Arteta happy with point after Liverpool draw keeps Arsenal top
Transcript
00:00 How do you assess the result of the game against Arsenal?
00:28 It was an unbelievable game of football, one of the most intense and hectic games that I have
00:32 witnessed in 20 years in this league. The quality, the intention of both teams, it was superb to
00:38 watch it and witness a team with our boys willing to play at that level, have the courage to play
00:46 at that level, determination and belief to do what we've done here. I think my players deserve big,
00:51 big credit.
00:52 You've been very good at set pieces for a couple of years now, you've done a great job of getting
01:04 the speed to play the ball.
01:06 Yes, it was a great action and there are certain opportunities against every opponent, we do that
01:11 and we score from there. We should have done better in many situations, we hadn't the final
01:15 thing in open play because we generated a lot. That's a little bit the regret but in the other
01:22 end as well it's true that they have some moments, especially the one after our corner when they
01:27 went through and we had a miscommunication at the edge and it's a big quality of them and we're
01:33 lucky not to concede the goal.
01:34 What did you think of the performance of the three teams?
01:46 Those three were phenomenal but I think the whole team as well and how we step up to the level
01:52 that they put today which is one of the best Liverpools I've seen this year. They make life
01:58 really difficult, the game becomes really chaotic, the crowd provokes that as well.
02:03 We handled the situation really well.
02:05 Do you think they need issues of price this week in comparison to last year?
02:10 There were a few players missing last year, big ones, that for us are really important,
02:18 especially when you have to play these type of games that they propose and you cannot get away
02:23 from that game because they are really good at doing that. But then at the end of the last 20
02:28 minutes I think the team was very willing to win it and they were really dominant and we really
02:33 wanted to go and get the three points and that's the only bitterness we have after the game.
02:39 You spoke about being in the washing machine,
02:44 it sounded like you were for 15 minutes after that.
02:47 Yeah, we get so many balls away after regaining it and that's the worst moment against them
02:53 because they are really good on that counter-press moment and we lost it in areas as well that it
02:57 prohibited against them to do it and we could have been punished but as we regenerated there
03:03 are washing machine moments for them that they didn't like.
03:05 This team emotionally, do you think they are more stable emotionally and mature than they were in
03:11 the beginning of the season?
03:13 They have certainly more experience. It was a very different game to last year but what they've done
03:20 today in this pitch, in this stadium with the atmosphere that they created as well, that was
03:23 something else. The maturity and the courage that we showed, I think we should be really proud of
03:29 our players.
03:30 Compared to a year ago, do you feel there is an extra resilience to what you have there?
03:42 Well we have the experience of being where we are today and we should be really happy because
03:46 that shows a lot of consistency for this new group in the best league in the world to do it for two
03:52 years in a row. But that's it, we are where we want to be right now, both in the Premier League and
03:59 the Champions League and we all deserve a beautiful dinner tomorrow with our families but the next
04:04 day we are back on it because West Ham is going to be very, very tough again.
04:08 What do you want to see in your team in the second half of the season?
04:20 Yeah of course there are certain things that we have to improve, especially killing games with
04:26 the amount of dominance that we are showing. Sometimes the results have been too close and
04:31 we have to dig in the last few minutes to maintain results and that's it, nothing else. Hopefully
04:38 we have sustained that level with five key players out because we lost five very, very,
04:43 very important players for us for many, many months and the team still shows that. So that's
04:49 something we really have to maintain which is the quality in the squad and how willing they are to
04:55 do what they do every single day.
04:57 OK, well happy Christmas everyone.
04:58 Merry Christmas to all of you. All the best.