Arsenal defeated Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at home in the second round of the Champions League stage in the early hours of this morning. After the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was interviewed by Prime Video, sharing his thoughts on the match and his team's performance.
On the overall performance of the game, Arteta said, "We are very happy with the team's performance. Paris Saint-Germain is a very individual team and when they are in control of the ball, it's difficult to deal with. We dominated the first half and created a lot of chances, but things got tougher in the second half. However, I think we handled it well and showed great strength and team spirit."
Speaking about Havertz's form, Arteta spoke highly of it: "Havertz has been incredible. His ball movement, his understanding of space, his timing and his ability to rally the team are all outstanding. His professionalism is admirable and he has now become a real threat around the box and is one of our key players at the moment."
On the team's set piece ability, Arteta said, "Set pieces are another weapon we have. We have great shooters and a very strong team that can compete for the ball. We work hard for it and the coaches and players believe in it. They understand that set pieces are the key to changing the game."
Speaking about the players' positive attitude towards getting back on defense, Arteta appreciated, "The players are actively involved in getting back on defense, they don't find it annoying, rather they see it as their responsibility to the team. They have started to like this way of defending. It all depends on how you feel when you do something, and if you really have that sense of responsibility then you can do well. Our guys run and recover the ball every time and that's what it takes to be a top team."
Finally, Arteta spoke about the different styles of play employed by the team, "Sometimes you may not want to play a certain way, but if your opponent employs it, you have to adapt and make adjustments. We worked on a lot of different situations in preseason and how we respond to them. We want to keep winning in any situation, so we have to learn to adapt and change."
