Mikel Arteta Arsenal
What did you make of that performance?
Well we are very disappointed to start the way we did the season. We didn’t get the result that we wanted or the performance that we wanted.
Do you feel the goals you conceded were soft?
Yes
Having no Auba and Laca was a problem tonight, do you know how long they’re likely to be out for and how big an issue was that in this game?
I don’t know but certainly I don’t want to use any excuses. We had a team that we put out there that are good enough to play the way we want to play and capable of achieving a different result.
A lot of Arsenal fans would be worried about that performance. What would you say to them about the trajectory of this team and the summer that came before it?
First of all thank them, because of the support they have given to the team from the travelling fans who were here. And after that apologise for the result and we know that we have to improve. We have two big games coming up right now and we need a different performance to get a different result.
Does this performance create some more urgency in the transfer market?
My focus is with the players that we have to try to make them play as best as possible and to get the best out of the team and try to find a way to win football matches and it’s the same in the next one.
Does a performance like that shift the dialogue on the transfer market though?
No, we are very clear of what we wanted to do. What our strengths are and where we can improve. I don’t think today’s performance shows anything different from what we’ve already seen.
Last season we saw a lot of struggles in the final third and with those struggles coming up again tonight, what is being done to address that?
I don’t think that tonight’s game is the one to analyse given the circumstances that we had on the day.
