M. Arteta: "We did not look for excuses"

2024-09-16 11:36 © AFP

The injury-plagued London "Arsenal" team managed to defeat the "Tottenham" team by a narrow score of 1:0 in the North London derby on Sunday.

In this match, Mikel Arteta had to cope without injured players Martin Ødegaard, Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney. Additionally, Declan Rice was unable to help the team due to suspension.

The "Arsenal" manager admitted after the match that the situation was not easy, but his team did an excellent job both in training and on the pitch.

"The preparation for this match was not enjoyable, as I simply had no time to sleep.

It seemed like we were ready for everything, but then injuries started to occur. We had to change everything fundamentally.

Nevertheless, this situation further mobilized the team. I want to thank all the club staff, as they reacted appropriately to all these problems.

We didn’t look for excuses, but simply accepted this challenge," said M. Arteta.