Mikel Arteta reveals his strategic plans for the upcoming match against Manchester City
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed that his team’s ability to win ‘ugly’ will be a big asset as they face Manchester City next weekend.
The Gunners beat Spurs 1-0 in the North London derby this weekend. Gabriel scored the only goal of the game in the 64th minute. Tottenham managed 15 shots but none troubled Arsenal as they won their third game of the campaign.
Reflecting on the derby win, Arteta says he is glad the result made the club’s supporters happy:
“We have the power to make a lot of people happy and proud. We certainly did that today in the manner that we won the game in the circumstances that we had before arriving into this match, and with this being the third consecutive away win here as well, it means a lot. So hopefully, they can enjoy it.”
Sunday was the Gunners’ third straight derby win over the last two years.
Mikel Arteta had sleepless nights during the international break
The Spaniard who signed a new contract with Arsenal recently, said he was restless with the number of absentees the team had before the game on Sunday. However, he is proud they were able to secure a win:
“We had to adapt a little bit because of some of the players we lost,” Arteta said.
“I prepared for Tottenham for five days, then in one moment I lost one player and in another I lost another. I didn’t sleep much!
“There were no excuses, no crying. The players have thick skin. They love the game. Sometimes to win you have to do the ugly things and they love to do that.
“I loved it, because day after day the players are hungrier and hungrier.”
Tough week ahead for the gunners
Mikel Arteta believes that Sunday’s game is a good sign ahead of the upcoming match against Manchester City:
“It is a tough week coming up,” Arteta added.
“The players believe already. We have a won a lot of big games, but this will give us a lot of energy and belief.”
The next week will see Arsenal go away to Atalanta in the Champions, visit the Etihad in the Premier League and host Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup. Three games in the next seven days will take a huge toll on the Gunners’ squad; and with Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard out due to injury, every result will count.
This weekend proved Mikel Arteta’s team can grind out results ahead of a challenging upcoming period.
