Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's manager, spoke after leading his team to an away victory over Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals first leg.
Mikel Arteta, the "Gunners" manager, said he was both delighted and happy after his team won 1-0 away at Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals first leg. He also praised goalkeeper David Raya for his numerous saves and Kai Havertz for scoring the winning goal in injury time at 90+1 minutes.
Arteta said, "Of course, I am very happy. It was a great night, an important moment of the season, especially given the situation we are facing. I think we had something to prove, and yesterday I talked about the identity and things I wanted to see on the pitch, and it happened exactly as I wished."
"Sporting is a very tough opponent. They had won 17 consecutive games here and had been unbeaten at home for a long time. We really had to work hard. We had periods of true control of the game, with many situations in and around the penalty area, but sometimes we didn’t create enough danger—lacking sharpness, movement, and better final passes. Still, we controlled the game as we wanted."
"But after that, they had two crucial chances that David Raya saved for us. He was excellent, incredible—I don’t know what words to use, but that was enough. We’re very glad to have him in the team."
"As for Kai Havertz, I’ll tell you how I feel about him. I love him, and I see his quality every day in training. It’s hard to ask for more from our supporters and people, but my feeling is to give him love, and we’ll get the best from him."