Here is every word Mikel Arteta said during his post-match press conference after Arsenal were beaten by Southampton
Mikel Arteta spoke to the media following Arsenal’s defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final. The focus on how this result must not bleed into other competitions fell at the forefront of the conversation.
Naturally, there was an emphasis, therefore, on wanting to bounce back. The chance will come in Lisbon before hosting Bournemouth, and the aim will be for several players who missed tonight to return to the side.
Gabriel Magalhaes left the field with an issue, too, which will be a further irritation for the Gunners’ head coach.
Here is every word the Arsenal manager said during his post-match press conference:
How disappointed are you with your team tonight?
Yeah, really disappointed in the manner that we lost the opportunity to get back to Wembley. I think the game had many, many, many periods of dominance from our side when we generated chances, situations. We didn’t capitalise on that enough.
And then when you defend in and around the box and play in the manner that we did today, you’re going to put yourself in a really difficult position, and they didn’t capitalise on that, and that’s the reason why we’re out.
Were you frustrated with some of the work rates as well at times?
No, not at all. We never considered that as a problem with this team at all.
I think we’ve often talked about the idea that there’s been a lot of chances created and a lot of games this season that you’ve not taken. Is this like a broader thing that’s going to be discussed, maybe towards the summer, and how the club needs to change certain things, players? Because it seems we do talk about that aspect a lot.
I love my players. What they have done for nine months. I’m not going to criticise them because we lost a game here in the manner that they tried. And the way they are putting their bodies through everything. Some of them probably didn’t even have to be here today. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to defend them more than ever.
Someone has to take responsibility. That’s me and we have the most beautiful period of the season ahead of us. And now is the moment. In the season, you always have moments. Normally two or three. This is the first moment that we have.
With a certain level of difficulty, we’re going to say difficulty when we’re going to play the Champions League quarter-finals and the run-up for the league. If this is a difficult period, I believe there are many other ones that are much more difficult. So stand up, make yourself comfortable and deliver like we’ve been doing all season.
It feels like individual areas have become a fair bit of a theme in the last few months. What do you put that up to?
They’re a part of football, and unfortunately, when you make them, you hope that the opponent is not going to capitalise. And today they have done.
What about Gabriel?
I don’t know. I think he felt something. I don’t know exactly what it is. We’re going to have to assess him. But obviously when a player asks him to be substituted, it’s not good news.
Obviously there’s lots going to be made of back-to-back defeats in two competitions. And the next match in another competition in the Champions League, more pressure. How would you stop it becoming a rot and the players struggling to deal with the pressure?
Giving them clarity, giving more conviction, trusting our players, believing in what we are doing. And continue to do that with the tweaks that every game demands. But especially maintaining the speed, the attitude and the energy at the highest possible level. Because that’s critical to perform at the level that we need to win matches.
Mikel, what did you make of Southampton’s performance? So often teams are more than happy to put 11 players behind the ball, but they seem to actually want to play football.
I congratulate them. I think they are really good side. It’s not a surprise of the run that they are in. And as I said, they are far more efficient than us when they matter the most. And that’s why they are in Wembley, so wish them all the best.
Is that a concern though, that if teams do maybe show a bit more attacking potency against Arsenal, then Arsenal do look vulnerable at times? I think City showed it in the final against Southampton tonight.
I don’t know. I think we have played against any kind of behaviours from the opponent. We played 51 games, so imagine the amount of games that we played and won in different ways. I think it wasn’t about that. Without taking any credit from Southampton, it was mainly related to some things that, in my opinion, we have to do much better.
You’ve been chasing four trophies, it’s never been done. Do you think they’ve made it so hard, do you think that’s played a factor in this defeat tonight?
No, and I don’t want to put any excuses around the players that are missing, or the players that are here with issues. It’s not the case, I think. Let’s look at ourselves in the mirror. Accept the situation, reveal against it, and go again to Portugal with, again, freshness, with clarity and looking forward to it.
I know it’s a different era, but the last time Arsenal won the league in 2004, they lost two domestic cup semi-finals and the quarter-final of the Champions League, and then kicked on to win the league. Could it be almost a blessing of some sort?
I don’t know. We are out, so now while we are out, we have still that pain, but when that pain goes, we have to use the time that we’re going to have in the best possible manner to maximise every result that we have, to be better. That’s it.
You’ve partly answered this already, but how do you stop this defeat from bleeding into the other competitions? In particular, I suppose the Premier League, everybody says a defeat in the FA Cup may cause uncertainty in the other competitions. How do you stop that?
In the same manner that you have to stop when you win, win, win, win, win, like we’ve been doing so you don’t think that you are better than what you are because you are winning. So, very clear, we talked about that many, many times. You have to be very stable in this competition, in any competition that you play, and especially with the amount of games that we’ve played. And we’ll continue to do that.
