Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his squad for a remarkable run of performances leading up to the international break following a 1-0 victory against Hull on Saturday. Speaking to BBC Match of the Day after the match, the manager expressed satisfaction with both the result and the team’s ongoing consistency through a demanding fixture schedule.
Praising Team Performance and Patience
Arteta stated that he was very happy with the performance and the victory, emphasizing that it was time to commend his players. As reported by 101 Great Goals, the manager noted that their achievements since the previous international break were remarkable given the challenging matches.
The team had to remain patient during the latter stages of the match to secure the winning difference. Arteta explained that although they continuously generated chances, the final pass was missing or the last shot ended up blocked.
He noted that the team discussed at half-time that if the pattern continued, the match would go down to the full-time whistle before a breakthrough eventually arrived. Despite his satisfaction with the attacking play, Arteta acknowledged that the team must still improve on converting their chances into the scoreline during great moments.
Questioning the VAR Penalty Decision
Arteta also commented on a controversial refereeing incident after Arsenal missed out on a penalty following a VAR review. Kai Havertz was pulled down inside the penalty area, but the spot-kick was denied because the German forward was ruled to be in an offside position.
The Arsenal boss admitted he lacked clarity regarding the explanation provided for the decision. He stated that when the referee was called to the monitor, he initially expected a penalty to be awarded before hearing that the final decision stemmed from the offside call.
The victory keeps Arsenal focused on their upcoming fixtures as the Premier League pauses for the international break.
