London’s “Arsenal” head coach Mikel Arteta shared his thoughts on the important victory (1:0) achieved away against Lisbon’s “Sporting” in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal.
According to the Spanish specialist, this success was very significant for the team. In his words, defeating a strong opponent on their own ground, a team that had not experienced defeat for a long time, was not an easy task. This clearly demonstrated how difficult the challenge facing “Arsenal” was.
“I am very happy. To win in the Champions League quarterfinal, away, against a team that hasn’t lost for a very long time… All of this shows how tough our task was,” said Arteta.
Arteta noted that during the match his team created many dangerous situations near the opponent’s penalty area, but lacked accuracy in the decisive moments. In his opinion, in matches against teams of this level, it is required to make maximum use of every opportunity.
“Every time we got close to the opponent’s penalty area, something was missing. We needed to act more precisely. To break through such a defense, you need to act quickly and efficiently,” said Arteta.
At the same time, the coach highly praised the determination and patience of his players. He especially highlighted the decisive moment at the end of the match, noting that the correct decisions made by two attacking players ensured the victory for the team.
“We came very close to scoring two or three times, and at the end there was an almost fairy-tale episode. The excellent decisions of two attacking players ensured that the game was decided in our favor,” Arteta’s words are quoted by the official UEFA website.
For information, the return match between “Arsenal” and “Sporting” will take place on April 15 at the “Emirates” Stadium in London. In this match, it will be decided which team advances to the semifinals, and fans are expected to witness another intense clash.
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