Mikel Arteta Arsenal
How disappointed are you and can you tell us about the team you were able to pick?
Very disappointing because when you have the final there you have that level of excitement and we were really looking forward to. We did everything we could to put a competitive team out there and I think we had our moments against a top side. In the first half certainly when we had the chances we hit the bar, and you have to score and in the second half in the beginning it’s the same thing. But when that happens that’s difference. The first time they came forward past our half way line they scored a goal with a bit of luck. That changes the tie. The second time we gave the ball away in dangerous areas after just regaining the ball and when they can attack the space between your full back and your centre back in one movement it’s very dangerous because they have the quality to finish the game off.
Should Tomiyasu have showed Jota down the line for the first goal?
He slipped. He was trying to block the ball, he almost had the ball and he slipped. After that he tried to block the ball, it goes through his legs and the other way was the keeper. So I think it’s difficult to prevent that one.
What’s your reaction to Partey’s red card and losing him for the weekend?
It’s again a big loss. We have to learn from that. We’ve played the last three games with 10 men and against top sides you can’t do that because you’re completely exposed. It’s difficult enough to beat them, but with 10 men it’s then a real challenge. It’s not what we need for sure with the amount of players that we have out not to have him.
How big an issue are the red cards now?
Well it is because it has happened for different reasons. We have to eradicate that completely. We want to be competitive, we want to be winning matches and having a good sequence of matches, and to do this again we have to stay the same with 11 players.
There’s been a good feel-good factor around Arsenal recently. Do you worry this defeat will affect that?
Well I’m extremely proud of how our supporters have tried to help the team and the momentum that they’ve created because I know what those players have done to play tonight. Five or six of them haven’t had any training sessions and they were still willing to compete and the way they competed against this team is remarkable. So I will try to use that in a positive way to use it towards Sunday.
Does this show how far you have to go to compete with the top sides still?
Yeah because you need to have a squad of 20, 22 top outfield top players. To do that takes time.
Is Tomiyasu still having trouble with his calf or is he just lacking match fitness?
No what he’s done is incredible. We didn’t want to push him, we had to play him because Cedric and Calum were unavailable. Without them we didn’t have any full backs and the second he knew that he said ‘I will play’. He still didn’t have any training sessions with us and was still willing to play and compete in the way he’s done today. I’m extremely proud and grateful for the players that we have.
You’ve had more red cards than any other Premier League team since you took over. What do you put that down to and how will you address it?
It worries me because it’s a massive factor in football matches and we’ve seen that. We’ve lost matches, three matches when we played Man City here, [Liverpool away] and tonight, and that’s a big reason for that. We have to eradicate it, we have to start to play consistently with 11 players and we have to learn big lessons from that and we can’t accept any excuses now.
