Mikel Arteta admits he is filled with 'relief' after crucial win over Chelsea having fallen perilously close to the relegation zone... with Arsenal boss urging his players to use victory as a 'turning point' for their season
- Arsenal ended a seven-game winless run with a 3-1 Boxing Day win over Chelsea
- Goals from Alex Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the win
- Tammy Abraham scored a late consolation before Bernd Leno saved a penalty
- Gunners boss Mikel Arteta praised his side's young players for their resilience
Mikel Arteta could not hide his 'relief' at ending Arsenal's winless run with a 3-1 victory over high-flying Chelsea - hinting the win could be a 'turning point'.
The Gunners beat Frank Lampard's Blues in yet another London derby thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka on Boxing Day.
It was a first win for Arsenal and Arteta after a seven-game winless run in the league and the Spaniard hopes the fortunes of the 14th-placed Gunners can change.
Mikel Arteta revealed his 'relief' at winning after Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-1 on Boxing Day
Goals from Alex Lacazette (right), Granit Xhaka (left) and Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the win
Arteta told Sky Sports: 'I think the word is relief and proud of the performances players put in happy and happy to give the fans something as I understand they'll be disappointed with our results.
Our players were suffering, our fans were suffering, and today at least a really special day, Boxing Day in a London derby at the Emirates and winning the way we did it.
'Hopefully this is a turning point, it's going to elevate level of confidence in the team as I know they can play at this level. Chelsea we know how good they are but in big moments we were the better team.'
The Gunners were dealt a blow before the kick-off as it was revealed that defender Gabriel Magalhaes had been in contact with somebody with coronavirus and has to isolated, while fellow Brazilian duo David Luiz and Willian were ruled out with a non-Covid-19-related illness.
Arteta drafted in Spanish defender Pablo Mari for his first Premier League start of the season, while the Arsenal boss also gave a nod to youth with Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Saka all starting.
Arteta praised his side's resilience after being dealt several injury setbacks before the match
Arteta also handed start to several youth players including Saka (L) and Emile Smith Rowe (R)
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was only fit enough to start on the bench following a calf injury but was not needed in north London.
Lacazette's penalty and a free-kick from the impressive Xhaka gave the Gunners a two-goal lead at the interval before Saka's cross-cum-shot sealed the points.
Arsenal were made to sweat for their victory as Tammy Abraham scored a late consolation while Bernd Leno had to save a Jorginho penalty in stoppage time.
Arteta praised his side's resilience to respond to the injury setbacks - though claimed he thought his side would slip up towards the end.
Tammy Abraham scored a late strike for Chelsea before Bernd Leno (right) saved a penalty
The Arsenal manager added: 'When you start to see everything going against us, playing with ten-men, injuries, players missing out with Covid, unlucky in games you start to think "wow what do we need to win a football match?". So today when we conceded the penalty I was thinking this is not possible.
'We had a good mixture of youth and some experienced players, all of them were superb. Even the mood before the game I could sense it was really good. Proud of the group of players that we had.
'We have to carry on, we mentioned it was a big week for us. Let's carry on, still got things to improve and let's focus on that and be better for the next game.'
"filled" - Google News
December 27, 2020 at 03:22AM
https://ift.tt/3rxtLKH
Mikel Arteta admits he is filled with 'relief' after Arsenal's crucial Boxing Day win over Chelsea - Daily Mail
"filled" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2ynNS75
https://ift.tt/3feNbO7
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Mikel Arteta admits he is filled with 'relief' after Arsenal's crucial Boxing Day win over Chelsea - Daily Mail"
Post a Comment