Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Noni Madueke after he came off the bench to fire the Gunners to victory at Nottingham Forest.
The victory was the third consecutive Premier League triumph, achieved by a goal from one of Arteta’s so-called “finishers”.
Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes were also in top form at the back and Arteta was delighted with the centre-back pairing as the two defenders enjoyed a physical battle at the City Ground.
That’s every word the Spaniard had to say as the champions made it three wins from three.
Make sure you never miss the latest Arsenal news and reviews Football London is one of Google’s preferred sources
Can you tell us a bit more about Noni as a person?
“Do we have time or not? Noni. Look at me. I’ve got a smile on my face because he’s a special character. It’s someone he likes in and around the locker room, the way he communicates, the way he talks to people. He’s just a special guy. I think I saw in an interview that a couple of our players, if you had a problem, who would you call? credit and explain that he’s in a good moment, I think after the break, another thing, another level of anger, He also showed another confidence in his actions and now it is what we expect from a player like him.
Do you think pushing the game further to the left is a real option?
“Yeah. He’s a player who doesn’t really care about left or right. He’s played more minutes on the right wing, but right now the team needs him there as well and he’s doing really well.”
Getting goals from finishers is great, but are you lacking rhythm in terms of getting those goals faster?
“Yes, but there have been other games where we should have scored in the first half. I think we’ve played 11 competitive games and won 10. So we’re going to have different ways to win in a lot of different contexts. Today we knew we weren’t going to score in the first 20-30 minutes.
“We would have encountered a different forest because they are very well covered. They put up a Christmas tree [3-4-1-2] there. There is no place to play. You must be so neat and tidy. Whether it’s in open play or set pieces, you need to create a lot of chaos in the box.
“We did that a couple of times and created two big chances. We didn’t even score, that’s the difference. And the longer the game goes, we say, ‘Okay, now we have to play a different game, because the moment we start to increase our frustration level, the game is going to be really dangerous for us because we’re going to take more risks than we need to.'”
“But the players, especially in certain positions, will play an important role to control these transitions, because in the end I believed that the physical level would be lower, the gaps would be a little bigger, the time would be more, I would be more efficient there. And it ended because the game changed and the context of this game changed a little bit because we moved two or a little bit. They required incredible individual actions to witness but generally not take into account.”
In Noni, she was too shy to join the celebrations, but Dec pushed her forward, won the love in the dressing room?
“He got the love because he got some stick in the dressing room with something we did a few days ago and I’m so glad he did that to give the stick back to the boys. But it shows how much I like him too and I think it was a gesture for him.”
Gabriel and Konsa were terrible, was this victory possible without them?
“No, because obviously they have a lot of quality. They have a lot of physicality. We predicted 50 balls in the air to constantly deal with that kind of ball, and I don’t know how many balls we had, but it would have been really close to that. Not only that, but what happens after that ball and the consequences. And always being on it because every move is extreme.
“And when you think it’s over, then Chris Wood comes on, Callum Hudson-Odoi comes on and then you start having a different problem and now you’re man-to-man with two centre-backs with a different element of risk. But that’s the Premier League, that’s the quality and that’s the best league in the world.”
Eze suspended at halftime? What was your honest assessment?
“Because I wanted something else. I wanted a different profile on that left side and I’m here to make decisions and three days ago he played, he scored a goal, he could have scored two or three goals against Villa and had some very good moments. And today was different because the game and what the game required was different and we were in time to change it and it is.”
Finally, what about the block from Konsa?
“Unbelievable. Consa and Declan, I think Gabi, had another game and it showed the spirit and how much those boys really want to win. I think it’s a good example.”
Glasner completes your midweek mentality, is grinding out results the hallmark of champions?
“Yes, but I think it depends on the game the opponent wants to play as well, and today was really different to Lille and it will be very different to the game we play in Munich three days from now. We go 96 minutes, full throttle, man-to-man, everything and everything. But that’s why you have to adapt to it, because you have to adapt to it.
An unusual season due to the Man City case, the focus is on you, were you happy with the team’s reaction to the Brighton defeat?
“100 percent, because now there are three wins after this defeat. As I said, 11 games, 10 wins after inheriting all 18 players from the World Cup. I think we are in a good place. We can always improve and we must improve and that is the ambition we want to be the best version of ourselves.
Beaten Forest, Sunderland and Villa did not win there last season. What does it say about your team?
“It shows how difficult it is for us to even be champions and that’s the reality and to expect another different game, I don’t think that’s the reality of the league and we certainly don’t think so. We’re winning this way and almost every game every team is winning this way and I think the level is going up again and we’re going to have more surprises.”
Thousands of Arsenal fans improved on match day last season. This is how they did it.
Various Prices
Seat Unique
Buy official packages at Seat Unique
Official premium experiences at the Emirates are now available for the 26/27 Premier League season. Make it easier than ever to turn an ordinary fixture into something truly unforgettable.