Every word Mikel Arteta said after Arsenal beat Leeds, Saka injury reaction and big title boost

Here is every word Mikel Arteta said after Arsenal beat Leeds United 4-0 at Elland Road in the Premier League

Mikel Arteta faced the media following Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Leeds United at Elland Road. Goals from Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Jesus and an own goal from Karl Darlow after Noni Madueke’s corner was not cleared.

The win moves Arsenal seven points clear at the top of the Premier League before Manchester City travel to Spurs, and Aston Villa host Brentford. It was a much-needed result following the disappointment of last weekend.

There was, however, a big blow in the form of Bukayo Saka, who appeared to pick up a muscular injury in the warm-up before the game. Arteta gave his reaction to the game and the injury to the press, including our Arsenal reporter Tom Canton.

Here is every word from the Spaniard’s post-match press conference here:

Thoughts on that performance?

Well, very, very happy obviously. A very impressive performance, a very impressive result. And in the context that we’ve done it, when you have the difficulty of the game and the opponent that we’re facing, with the recent form and the style of play that they have at the moment, the energy that the stadium brings, and then the fact that after three results that didn’t go our way in the league, we really wanted to show how much we wanted it. And I think we’ve certainly done that today.

Can I just ask about Bukayo Saka, he had to come out of the warm-up, what is the issue he has there?

So in the warm-up he had a little niggle, he wasn’t comfortable to start the game, so immediately we made a decision to make that change and bring Noni in. And he was ready, because you cannot do that in two minutes. The way he prepares, the way he’s waiting for opportunity, I think he paid off today because he really impacted the team.

Are you pleased for Noni though, because he’s had to wait, be patient, and then to make an impact like that just shows the strength that you’ve got. And then of course you bring on Martinelli and he sets up a goal as well. It’s incredible what you can call on.

Yes, but that’s only possible if those players are with the right mindset. We talked before the game, it’s going to be a long game, we’re going to have to navigate through different moments in the game, and we’re going to need everybody fulfilling the role that they have on the day, and I think the players executed that incredibly well.

You mentioned the context of the three previous league games. Was that as much today about mentality and answering some of those questions from the outside?

Mentality is good. And the mentality, I mentioned it to you, to play with that level of enjoyment about where we are, and then with the conviction to believe in what we do and how good we are, and that we can beat any opponent. And we certainly done that, but then you have to show the quality as well in this league to do it, and it came out in great ways from different players as well.

You started with Kai in midfield, what was the thinking behind that and Martin going to the bench?

Because of the type of game that I expected as well, and how aggressive and direct they’ve been recently, and I believed that the game was going to allow us more spaces and the temperature would come down in the second or third part of the game, and that’s why we could have changed the game with different qualities in the team.

Just on Martin, he came on, he was involved in the third goal, he set up the fourth goal. Considering there’s been a lot of talk around him recently in his form, you must be delighted to see him responding that way.

So happy, so happy the way he reacted. But in general, the team, and obviously certain individuals, it’s normal. The opinion, the noise is part of that.

What we can control is what we can do, how much we want it, and trying to get the best out of yourself and the team in every moment. The rest is not possible, and we’ll have to be judged on that, because there’s nothing else that we can do apart from giving our best.

With all the noise around the three games without winning the league, what does it show about your team in terms of the fact that when they were ahead, they put their foot on the throat and got four past Leeds…

Well, it’s very impressive. We talk about that noise, but it was a great noise as well, the fact that we were the first team in the Champions League to win eight games in a row. That’s a lot of noise, but a very positive one.

We want to talk always more about the other noise. The other noise is part of that. The expectation is to win every game.

We compete against incredible opponents, and we know that’s the case, but that has to fuel your energy and desire to win more than anything else, in my opinion.

Martin [Odegaard] comes onto the pitch and has a great impact on the play. Does that sometimes show in terms of the wider context that no player’s position is safe, as in the captain, even he can be on the bench?

It’s not [about] safe. The role can change because the game has different needs, and we play every three days. The fact that you can contribute and help the team to win from a different angle, I think it’s a great thing to understand.

It’s not so easy in certain players, but Martin and the rest of us have done that today.

You restricted Leeds to just three shots. Their xG was very low, 1.15. How important is it that the team gets back to that defensive resilience and that level of control?

It’s something that we want. You always have an opponent in front of you that is going to test that, and you have to execute the actions and be very, very consistent. You don’t want to concede nothing. It’s really impressive because it’s a really tough team to restrict them to that and between all of us we’ve done it.

You had some nice words to say about Leeds after an August game. You’ve had two very good results against them this season, but nevertheless, how difficult have they been to play against? Do you think they’ve got enough to stay in the division?

I think so, and I think what they’ve done is very smart. I said it. It’s really tough.

They are really well-organised. They have threat, they have quality. They have a lot of variation in relation to game context, to play in different ways.

They have an amazing stadium with a beautiful atmosphere of football. That brings the level of the rest of the team to a really difficult level, too much. So, yeah, I hope they do.

Just to follow on that, you’ve been around the country this season, around Europe as well. Is that one of the most hostile atmospheres you’ve faced this season, would you say?

No other word. That was a beautiful football atmosphere. When you talk about the tradition, the history of this league, this kind of stadium, this kind of atmosphere and people, that’s what makes it unique.

It’s a joy to play football in this kind of atmosphere.