Arteta on preparing to face "one of the best teams in the world"

Although the pre-season high might have ended for some Arsenal fans after their 2-0 defeat by Manchester United on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta remains optimistic about his squad. 

The Spaniard felt there were a lot of lessons to be learnt, both about their upcoming friendly against Barcelona and the Premier League season that awaits them: "It’s going to be more challenging, more difficult, the level and preparation of the team is excellent and we knew today," Arteta began, "we knew the test was going to be really demanding, like it’s going to be on Wednesday against one of the best teams in the world".

The match also featured appearances from Arsenal's new arrivals, like young defender Jurrien Timber, who played the first hour of the faceoff. His performance pleased his new manager, who believes he has landed well amongst his new teammates.

"The first one with Jurrien, we are really pleased with his performance and the things we asked him to do", declared the manager, "Obviously he is adapting really quickly to the team, and you could see the confidence, the determination that he plays with".

Lots of eyes were on the Gunners' midfield, which featured star signing Declan Rice, as well as the club's skipper Martin Odegaard and first summer signing, Kai Havertz. Here, Arteta feels patience is needed for it to "flow better", as his players spend more time on the pitch together: "When they play 55 times together they will be better.

"It will flow better, they will understand each other better and will be more dominant and better. But it takes time to glide and we have to respect that", he continued. "But I saw a lot of positive things, and things I like much more than the game we won the other day against the MLS even though the result is very different".

 

July 22, 2023