Arteta: 'Nothing is better than beating the strongest team to win the Cup'
"It feels great," Arteta said after the victory at Wembley on the evening of August 6. "I think there's nothing better than winning the title at Wembley against the best club in the world the way we did. It's really encouraging."
Yesterday, Arsenal started poorly, but created more chances in the first half. In the 26th minute, Kai Havertz hit goalkeeper Stefan Ortega's foot and Gabriel Martinelli failed to kick back. 40 minutes, Havertz continued to squander with a right-footed kick that was blocked by Ortega, from Bukayo Saka's cross.
The difference came in the 77th minute, when Phil Foden passed Thomas Partey in the middle of the field and Kieran Tierney's indecisive clearance created conditions for Kevin De Bruyne to create Cole Palmer's heart in the far corner to open the scoring. The match at Wembley was pushed to the high end in the 11th minute, when striker Leandro Trossard hit the foot of midfielder Manuel Akanji and changed the direction into the net, equalizing for Arsenal. In the penalty shootout, "Gunners" won 4-1 to win the 17th British Super Cup.
According to Arteta, Arsenal created many great moments throughout the game, especially in the first half and regretted the missed opportunities. The Spanish coach admitted Arsenal made a mistake in the middle of the field and then broke the ball badly when Palmer conceded a goal. But he praised the players for keeping their faith and motivation, fighting until the last seconds to equalize and win on penalties.
While coach Pep Guardiola complained about the long injury time, Arteta expressed interest in English football applying the same rules as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. "Now, the clubs will have to rethink buying time. And we have to prepare to play 100-minute matches because it will take place weekly," the 41-year-old coach said.
After the match, Ramsdale said that Arsenal had proven they could beat Man City in decisive matches. When asked about this statement, Arteta replied: "I don't have to agree or disagree. That's what the players feel, and they believe can beat any team. It's a unique challenge. different from their maturity and how often they play finals."
The Spaniard then praised Ramsdale's excellent performance and revealed Arsenal practiced penalty kicks a lot in pre-season. Arteta also assessed Havertz put pressure, exploit the space, choose a good position, but lack of luck to score.
Arteta denies winning Man City will increase expectations or pressure, but will add faith, motivation and spirit to Arsenal in the Premier League next season. The 41-year-old coach wants the players to immediately focus on the opening match against Nottingham Forest on August 12 and evaluates this match will be very unpredictable.
