Right, straight into it, bow. Hello and welcome
to HYBR1D Powered by chinkseyMEDIA. Right, I'm
here for every word from Arteta's post -Olympiakos
presser. There was plenty for Mikel Arteta to
discuss after we beat Olympiakos 2 -0 in our
first home Champions League game of the season.
In his post -match press conference, he was asked
about the performance, Martin Odegaard's display,
squad depth, On his thoughts on our win tonight.
Well, very happy. Obviously, winning the Champions
League is always very complicated. Keeping another
clean sheet, we make something like 11 in 14
games, which is remarkable from the boys. I think
we started the game really well. I think we looked
a real threat. Really dynamic. Really playing
forwards around a lot of threats. Generally,
to the goal, another two or three big chances
and we don't put them away in this competition.
You have to be careful. The first arrival, David
had to make an incredible save to deny the goal,
which you need in this competition as well. And
after that, we had moments of a lot of dominance,
as you said, and some others. that without control
and dominating in a direct play we got a little
bit deeper and every time they put balls in the
box with the crosses it's a team that is very
very dangerous at the end again missed two big
chances but at the end found a way with bakayo
to score a goal and breathe a little bit in the
first few minutes because it's a team that ended
the game really well I think they won five already
this season in the last few minutes and we discussed
that they were going to keep believing until
the end and they made it difficult until the
end. Yeah, very lengthy response there from Mikel.
But to summarise that, I would say the first
half was good. The second half, it reminded me
of the Shakhtar Donetsk result in the Champions
League this time last season, probably the beginning
of the year. Where we had 1 -1 -0. We ended up
hanging on for that one. This one we somewhat
hung on. Didn't play well in the second half.
A bit pedestrian. A bit probably complacent.
I feel like we didn't put the goal away in the
first half. And it almost came back to bite us.
Olympiacos did put a lot of balls into our box.
Looked dangerous on crosses. Grew in belief as
the game wore on. They're not used to losing,
so for us to inflict their first defeat of the
season, if I'm not wrong, is a good result. A
2 -0 win, most people would have probably predicted
2 or 3 -0, is a good result. Another clean sheet,
another three points on the board in the Champions
League, and we move onwards and upwards towards
more difficult challenges ahead. On Odegaard's
performance, he's got all the licence in the
world to go forward, Martin, and to play with
that freedom and to play with that level of threat
especially. Not only with the passes, but the
way he was taking the ball, carrying the ball,
making runs and arriving in really dangerous
areas. I think he put three people through today
to score a goal. He should have scored a goal
as well. So great to have him back. He played
some very good minutes in Newcastle to help us
to win the game. And I think today he was phenomenal.
Yes, it's interesting because the two players
that have been much maligned in recent months,
maybe last year or so, have been Martinelli and
Martin Odegaard. And one of them got the opener
for us. and the other got the Man of the Match
award. Obviously, the aforementioned Martin Odegaard
was exceptional today. The through balls he was
putting in should have been converted. He's carried
on his form from Sunday at Newcastle, where he
was exceptional as well when he came off the
bench. And today, he was back to his best, essentially.
So, for me, I think he's played himself back
into the starting XI. For Saturday at West Ham.
So it'll be interesting to see where Eze plays.
If he plays. I'm sure he will. I'm probably going
to say Eze will probably play on the left wing.
With Odegaard, Rice and Marino in midfield. And
then obviously Jokeres and Saka on the wings.
Which means Gabriel Martinelli will miss out.
But he had the full 90 today if I'm not wrong.
But he played a substantial amount of football
today anyway. Martin Eli does. On the depth in
our squad this season. Yeah, with all respect,
last season we were looking and we had five academy
players that probably had never played professional
football in the Champions League. So yeah, it
makes a difference. Today we decided to change
six players, I think it was, because I want everybody
to be really involved and feel part of it. And
it was great. And we had the feeling as well
that physically we were dropping because we played
a really intense match in Newcastle a few days
ago. The ones that came in again, they lifted
the level and they helped us to win the game.
And that's great. Yeah, I mean, yesterday, I'm
pretty sure I mentioned that if I was to make
changes, it would be the fullbacks. And unsurprisingly,
Miles Lewis, Skelly and Ben White came in. Having
said that, Ben White wasn't at his best today.
The Olympiacos swinger gave him problems. Daniel
Pedence, I think, formerly of Wolverhampton Wanderers,
was looking really good. I mean, seeing him up
close and personal, he is short, short. I mean,
bordering on a dwarfism, no offence. But, yeah,
because I had a good seat right at the centre
circle today, right in the midfield level. So
I saw the players up close and personal. One
other thing I would like to note is how... Big
and strong Myles Lewis Skelly is in great physical
shape for someone that's just turned 19. But
yeah, it's good to give some players some minutes.
Obviously, Martinelli came in. Odegaard came
in from the start. Marino started the game. Rice
was given a rest. So, good squad rotation. Obviously,
Jokeres played the full match. Yeah, on Saturday,
I expect to see Timber coming, Calafiori possibly
coming, Eze coming, Rice coming, Saka coming.
So, top players ready to come in and win that
game on Saturday. On Gabriel's fitness after
coming off, yeah, I think he's going to be okay.
He felt something. I think it was a kick, I'm
not sure. In the first half, he was a little
bit uncomfortable and towards the second half,
he was there. He should carry on, but we decided
not to take any risks because he's played a lot
of games. He's coming from a long -term injury
as well. And we need to look after him. Yeah,
Gabriel Magalhaes was... He went down today with
an injury, but he was taken off as a precaution.
And obviously, the evergreen... Ever so fantastic
young defender in Christopher Mosquera came in
and was an able, more than able, deputy. Didn't
put a foot wrong. Another clean sheet alongside
William Saliba, who signed a new contract earlier
in the week. So, I mean, even if Gabriel was
to not feature against West Ham, although I think
he'll be alright, we've got an able replacement,
Mosquera. On the history between Arsenal... and
olympiakos well i don't know there are stats
and hopefully we broke that one which wasn't
a very positive one credit to them i think the
atmosphere they created as well with the away
fans i think it was incredible i talk about the
manager i know really well as a team That through
their simplicity, they became really, really
efficient at what they do. And we knew that.
And they presented a very tough game, as we expected.
Yeah, I mean, it was a tricky game. Obviously,
to be fair, I'll give Olympiakos credit for not
just sitting back in a low block. They actually
attacked us, grew in confidence, stayed in the
game. They made Raya make a few top world -class
saves in that game. They made at least two. But
they gave us a really good game. They remained
competitive, which was very interesting. But
yeah, with regards to their away fans, they had
a great camaraderie between them. They had some
good chants. They created a good atmosphere there.
It was really good to see the Greek fans. literally
just come back from Greece a few months ago so
yes a country that I respect a lot on Jokeres
chasing his next goal okay this is going to be
an interesting one right so Victor Jokeres what
I sense is that he's doing better and better
Things every game. And today he was denied a
few times on one of the blocks and then he hit
the post. But I think overall his performance
was exceptional. Again, his work was really good.
And yeah, we want him to be scoring goals. But
if he doesn't do that, at least to do everything
as he's doing for the team because he's helping
the team a lot. Yeah, I mentioned yesterday that
Victor Jokeres, you know, he probably needs a
goal now. I make that 3 -8 if I'm not wrong.
So we come up against West Ham on Saturday. And
I'm sure he's going to be itching to score his
fourth goal for the football club. And that would
be another home goal. So I think I want to see
him score against West Ham. And I also want to
see him score away from home as well. So the
next opportunity to do that will be at Craven
Cottage against Arsenal Light. On whether the
floodgates will open for Jokeres once he scores
again. I don't know, but hopefully yes. And hopefully
it will be on Saturday. So yeah, that's just
Arteta literally concurring with what I said.
Hopefully he'll score on Saturday against West
Ham. On Martin Odegaard's creative actions tonight.
I think we have to play in our qualities. And
we have a front three with that pace as well.
With those timings in the runs. and we have players
we can activate, and we have to do that 100%.
He did it in Newcastle a few times in 15 minutes,
and that's a game that I want for him. Well,
when you say players with pace up front, certainly
Martinelli has pace, as does Victor Jokeres to
an extent. However, Trossard's more of a ball
-to -feet, dribble -dribble type of guy. He didn't
have the best of games today. His finishing was
a bit off. His radar was a bit off. But obviously,
for me, I think we're going to see a period where
now Trossard will be on the bench and would have
to now come on as an impact sub. I think Arteta
has just used this game to kind of give him minutes,
save the players that will actually play on Saturday
in a game we need to win. And yeah. And also,
obviously, to give everyone an opportunity to
play because it's a strong squad. On Lewis Skelly's
performance. Very good. I think he played a really,
really good game. Every level, defensively and
attacking. And he looked really focused. He understood
really well when to take chances, when to keep
the game flowing. And very simple. And I'm pleased
with what I've seen today. Yeah, I agree. Myles
Loskelly didn't put a foot wrong. Some good trademark
runs. Very robust, tough, sturdy, but with quality.
So he mixes the good physical elements and attributes
with technical. quality which is very rare in
a player to have the physical because usually
a player's more on one side they're more either
more physical or more technical however he is
a fantastic combination between the two played
really well some good runs i like the way he
draws fouls protects the ball well and um and
knows when to release it as arteta did mention
on odegaard's challenge of being a leader and
a creator. I think that creativity part is his
nature. So it doesn't bring any pressure to him
because it's his best ability to generate things
that not a lot of players can do. And he has
that total freedom from my side to do and to
explore and to tailor his content and to fill.
The moment and where he needs to generate those
spaces, and I think he's certainly done that
in the last two games. Well, one thing I would
say is the fact that we've got other similarly
creative players in and around him means he has
more space automatically. The same goes for Bukayo
Saka, who actually scored his goal tonight from
the left because he switched with Eze, which
is something I haven't seen in years. Bukayo
Saka on the left wing. Abreche Eze playing on
the right was a bit of a strange one, but I'd
like to see Arteta mix up the tactics a bit.
Something less predictable and that was definitely
Saka being the left. As for Odegaard, so as I
mentioned, because we've got so many good attacking
players, you can't really double up on him, giving
him more space. And the fact he's getting more
space will allow him to do what he does best,
which is kind of create. as the manager did allude
to. On the importance of protecting players with
rotation, yes, especially with Bukayo, because
he comes from a long -time injury. He's played
45, 60, 70 minutes in a really short period,
and today it was more risky, so we decided to
keep him. Gabi did really well, and I think on
the right as well, and with Deccan, because he
had some incredible outputs three days ago. He's
played so many games. He's going to have to play
so many games as well. And it's great to have
someone like Mikel come in and perform really
well. And when we need a different profile, bring
him in on the pitch. Well, I like the fact that
he said he's going to have to play so many games.
It's because he's expecting and anticipating
to go far in the Cups because Declan will obviously...
in every league game pretty much. I think he's
got the fitness to be able to play every game
anyway, but I think it's a case of keeping him
fresh, rotating the squad just as Pep used to
do. Pep would, in a certain Premier League game,
you'll just see a top player on the bench and
you'll be like, rah, you'll be perplexed, bemused,
dumbfounded. Just as we saw Saliba on the bench
on Sunday, I think now and again you can have
a Saliba, Gabriel or Rice or Saka on the bench
as we had today. Bring another top player in
and still win the game. And we did. On facing
his former coach, Jose Luis Mendilibar. Well,
great to see him. So glad that he's doing so
well. Very happy for him. And it's strange at
the same moment because he was my coach. So when
you have to play against your former coach, it's
always something weird. I'm getting older, which
I think is good. I learned a lot from him, from
my time with him. And it was a good experience.
Thank God we won the game. And I wish him all
the best. Yeah, I mean, like I mentioned earlier,
we inflicted Olympiacos. I need to double check
whether it's their first defeat of the season.
But they haven't lost in Greece anyway. So that's
one thing I know for a fact because I follow
the Greek league. However, it was a good result
to beat them. Tougher tests await. I think this
Champions League campaign has a storyline in
most of the games. So one of which was today
where Olympiakos knocked us out of the Europa
League a couple of years ago when Pierre -Emerick
Aubameyang missed that gilt -edged chance late
on. Next up, we've got Atletico Madrid, who knocked
us out of the Europa League in the semi -final,
which was painful. Very painful. And then, obviously,
you've got Inter Milan, who beat us last season
with a penalty. That was a harsh decision. In
a game we dominated anyway. And then, obviously...
Last but not least. The old foes. Bayern München.
That's the one I'm really looking forward to.
One love.