‘We really want it’- Mikel Arteta on Arsenal’s push for Premier League top four after Aston Villa victory
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Updated 19/03/2022 at 17:17 GMT
The Spaniard also singled out Bernd Leno for returning between the sticks in the absence of Aaron Ramsdale, and was delighted to give Emile Smith Rowe a full 90-minute run-out. “We had a lot of players with niggles that wanted to be here.” We lost Aaron and [Gabriel] Martinelli this week. We’re so pleased for Bernd as he’s not played the minutes that he’s used to in his career."
Delighted Arteta reacts to 'great' Arsenal atmosphere with win over Aston Villa
Mikel Arteta says the players "really want it" after his side tightened their grip on fourth place with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Bukayo Saka’s first-half strike was the difference in the West Midlands, as the Gunners moved four points clear of fifth-place Manchester United with a game in hand over the Red Devils.
“We showed a lot of character, intelligence and quality,” he said in his post-match interview with BT Sport.
“If you want to be among the top teams then you have to win at home and away, because the rhythm and the capacity teams which the top teams have to win football matches is huge.
“We have to do the same; we are doing it very consistently at the moment and we have to continue to do that.
“We are there [fourth] with 10 games to go, we really want it and we’re going to give it a go until the end.”
The Spaniard also singled out Bernd Leno for returning between the sticks in the absence of Aaron Ramsdale, and was delighted to give Emile Smith Rowe a full 90-minute run-out.
“We had a lot of players with niggles that wanted to be here,” he added.
“We lost Aaron and [Gabriel] Martinelli this week. We’re so pleased for Bernd as he’s not played the minutes that he’s used to in his career.
“For Emile, he has had niggles, he was sick, he had Covid and was able to play 90 minutes for the first time in a long time.”
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Bukayo Saka
Image credit: Getty Images
Arteta focused more on the match as a whole and stressed the need for his team to be more clinical in front of goal after failing to build on Saka’s opener.
“Before the match, we knew we had to be sharp, physical and very clever in what we wanted to do because we expected them to come at us in the first few minutes," he said. "We scored the first goal, but didn’t score a second or third, so we had to dig deep in the last few minutes.
“When we get within 20-25 metres of the opponents' box, we’ve got to take our chances and put them in the net.
“But I’m really pleased with the players’ spirit, quality and the understanding of the game. We competed in every phase of the play, so I’m really proud of the boys.”
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