Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta could not hide his joy as he watched his side dismantle red-hot Aston Villa on Tuesday.
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Villa were on an 11-game winning streak in all competitions and were dangerous in the first half.
But Arsenal kicked on in a big way in the second 45 and simply destroyed their title rivals as Gabriel, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus all scored.
Here’s the latest Mikel Arteta reaction on a statement win for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta reaction
On the game and the win: “It was a beautiful evening. We knew it ws a very tough match to play, top opponent. We had the first 10 minutes a bit shaky and we had to adjust things. Credit to them because they break our press and had two situations they could run and they are very dangerous there. After that we grabbed the game a little bit without creating apart from the two big chances for Viktor [Gyokeres] too much but more control in the game. The second half, the way we started it was amazing. We really turned things up. We were really efficient in everything we did. We deserved to win the game,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
On what he changed at half time and if he gave his side a ‘good old fashioned rocket’ to get them going: “A rocket is great but it is not enough. Against them you have to be really meticulous and understand really well the timing of things when you do them. Everybody working together to achieve that. We adjusted and the times were right and the players were super efficient in everything they did. Big credit to them because against this team it is not easy.”
On being ruthless in the key moments in the second half: “That is the difference. We have created a lot of chances in the last few weeks and we needed scrappy goals to win the games. Today the quality of the finishing and the way we put the ball in the final third, in the box, it was top. That made a difference.”
On how important Gabriel is: “We saw today it was a great example. He comes back after six weeks out. Should have been probably eight. He comes back early and straight away against one of the best strikers in the league and how difficult it was to mark him. And the impact he had on the game was tremendous.”
On how beautiful an opportunity 2026 is, being top of the table in Premier League and Champions League: “It has been a great 2025. On the personal level, professional level. The way these guys and the club and the staff made me enjoy my job every day. 2026 we know what we want. We are going to have to work really hard for it every single day. I think we are in the right trajectory.”
