Mikel Arteta is delighted with the tools he has at his disposal following Saturday’s win over Athletic Club in the Emirates Cup final.
Our manager was able to bring plenty of quality off the bench as we put three past our Spanish opposition without reply.
One such substitute was Kai Havertz, making an impact with a goal after replacing Viktor Gyokeres, who had headed home his first goal for us in the first half.
“In every position now, we have a different quality, a lot of players that can play in various positions as well with a lot of versatility, bringing different kinds of qualities and threats to the team,” Mikel explained.
“So, we’re going to manage that in the best possible way to maintain everybody with the right cohesion, hunger and the fact that at any moment we can change the puzzle and make it very difficult for the opposition.
“I’m very pleased with the performance, with the way we play as a team, the cohesion, the fluidity, the dynamism and the level of threat that we were able to provide throughout the game. A lot of big individual performances as well and I’m very pleased with the result and the clean sheet. Very happy with [it all].”
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Asked for his thoughts on the opening goal, which saw summer signings combine as Martin Zubimendi provided a delicious delivery for Gyokeres to meet, our manager was over the moon.
“The quality of the delivery from Zubi, absolutely top,” he said. “I think he was incredible today, the way he played throughout the game and for Viktor as well to get out that first goal I think is very, very important psychologically.
“Again, he was involved in a lot of very important actions in the game. Kai came in and scored an incredible goal as well. So, I’m very happy with the team today.”
With pre-season having come to an end, we took a moment to reflect on the last few weeks, all around the world and at home, and focus on how much the club means to so many people.
“Yes, unbelievable,” Mikel said. “Everywhere that we’ve been, it’s been sold out. They’ve been with the team throughout the pre-season. Today, again, the energy that they created, the support that they are bringing to the team, to the new players, you feel the excitement. You feel the excitement, you feel the energy there and that’s a really positive thing to have.
“Now we will review the match, review what we’ve done in pre-season and make the final tweaks. We’re very much ready to start the season on Sunday.”
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