Coach Mikel Arteta wants to focus on the away match against Lens in the Champions League on October 3 before thinking about the big match against Man City in round eight of the Premier League next weekend.
"It's great to win, it's the only thing we can control," Arteta said after the 4-0 win at Bournemouth in the seventh round of the Premier League. "Now we're just thinking about how we can prepare for a difficult trip to Lens. Man City is the next step, but there's a lot of good things to be had on Tuesday night, continuing to try to make the right decisions with the squad to maintain our form."
On October 30, while Arsenal crushed Bournemouth, defending champions Man City unexpectedly lost 1-2 at Wolves and ended their winning streak from the beginning of the season. This result helped the "Gunners" rise to second place in the table with 17 points, equal to Tottenham and one point behind Man City.
When asked about the possibility of winning the big match at Emirates Stadium on October 8, Arteta replied: "It would be great, but we have another match and there is still a lot to happen."
Arteta applauds Arsenal fans at Vitality Stadium after the 4-0 win over Bournemouth in the 7th round of the Premier League on September 30. Photo: arsenal.com
At the Vitality Stadium, Arsenal created a one-sided game and scored four goals in two halves. Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard scored in the first half, then Kai Havertz and Ben White sealed a 4-0 win in the remaining 45 minutes.
Arsenal have won their first three away games of a Premier League season for the fourth time, after 1930-31, 2004-05 and 2013-14, but it is the first time they have kept a clean sheet. Before beating Bournemouth, the Gunners had beaten Everton and Crystal Palace 1-0 in the Premier League. They also beat Brentford by the same scoreline in the third round of the League Cup. Arteta sees clean sheets as crucial and wants his players to show similar form and maintain their consistency at the Emirates.
The Spanish coach spent most of this press conference talking about Havertz. In the 54th minute, the German player was given the right to take a penalty and he shot to the left corner, against the judgment of goalkeeper Neto, scoring the first goal in his tenth official match for Arsenal. Almost the entire "Gunners" squad came to celebrate with Havertz.
Havertz (No. 29) celebrates after taking the penalty to make it 3-0 for Arsenal at Vitality Stadium. Photo: arsenal.com
Arteta was unaware that Saka and Odegaard would both give Havertz the penalty, and praised his players' team spirit. He was also happy that the team "showed their human qualities" by coming together to celebrate with Havertz, and was happy that the fans sang the German striker's name.
Arteta then quoted sprint legend Usain Bolt's classic quote about his player. "This goal could change everything, when Havertz will feel the love and appreciation of his teammates," the 41-year-old coach said. "I think in sport , like Bolt said, I have to train four years to run nine seconds. Sometimes you have to do a lot and not realize everything, but you will see it at the right time. With what Havertz has been through in the last few weeks, this moment is worth every moment before."
Arsenal's victory was not perfect when Bukayo Saka grimaced and limped before being replaced by Fabio Vieira in the 76th minute. Arteta said he had not spoken to the England midfielder so he did not know what his student's problem was and how serious it was.
Hong Duy
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