Arteta’s spiky TV interview as Arsenal boss slated by Sky Sports panel | Football | Sport
Mikel Arteta was not in the best of moods for his Sky Sports interview after the Carabao Cup fina (Image: Sky Sports)
Mikel Arteta had a frosty interview with Sky Sports reporter Patrick Davidson after Arsenal’s Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City. Nico O’Reilly scored a stunning brace of headers to hand Pep Guardiola’s side the first domestic trophy of the season.
Following the defeat, Arteta and his players were clearly distraught with the former taking some of those emotions into his post-match interview on Sky Sports. The two-minute interview with Arteta was spiky to say the least with the Gunners boss interjecting and also offering blunt answers to certain questions.
On the defeat, he began: “Yeah it’s painful when you get to a final and you have that will to win the first trophy of the season after eight months working on it, it’s always tough. The game had moments. In the first half, I thought we were very good. We had the best chance of the game so far to make 1-0 and then the game would’ve been different.
“In the second half we started no so great and in the first 15, 20 minutes we had problems. Sitting too deep and then giving the ball away straight away on too many occasions but the reality is they had two shots and they scored two goals. You have to give credit to the opposition and the level that they have and that’s no coincidence given what they’ve done in the last 10 years.”
Davidson then stated: “In the second half you suddenly seemed to find it so hard to get out.” Arteta then chimed in: “To get out from?. Davidson clarified that he meant through Kepa Arrizabalaga. Arteta then explained: “We weren’t precise, we had opportunities to break them through, we give the ball away, when we regained it we gave it straight back.
Mikel Arteta defended the decision to start Kepa Arrizabalaga (Image: Simon Dael/Shutterstock)
“Then they had momentum which they are going to have at times because they are really good on that, and then without really creating anything they scored a goal out on nothing and then three minutes later the second one. On Now is not the moment to talk about that.”
Davidson then said: “As ever with managers, if you win you’re a genius if you lose you have to answers the questions…” Arteta interrupted stone faced: “Which I am.” To which Davidson replied: “Which you are, absolutely.”
On the decision to play Kepa, Arteta then clarified: “No, I would do it again because he deserved to play this game and he’d been phenomenal for us and that’s it. Errors are part of football and anyone can make them.” Davidson later asked: “Do you think the weight of necessity, expectation, they’re used to winning, you’re trying to make a breakthrough, does that play any part today?
Kepa Arrizabalaga was at fault for Manchester City’s first goal (Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
Arteta answered: “I don’t think so because we would’ve seen it in the first half and that didn’t happen. We had eight incredible months together, today is a disappointment. Football is part of that but you have to work and improve and use that fire in the belly right now to have two amazing months at the end of the season.”
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The big talking point, as Davidson stated, was Kepa’s mistake for O’Reilly’s first goal with Jamie Redknapp, Micah Richards and Ian Wright all against the decision to play him over David Raya. The latter said: “The gamble didn’t pay off. It was the fashion of the mistake that makes you think “that’s a No2”.
“It’s something you wouldn’t see a No1 goalkeeper make and it’s unfortunate because it’s the turning point. If we don’t concede that goal and we get the subs on, we might get into the game a bit.”
Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards were in agreement over Kepa Arrizabalaga (Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
Redknapp added: “I know people will say it’s sentiment and he played in the earlier rounds, but Kepa is not as good as Raya. That’s why he is the number two.
“So why, in a major cup final when you’re trying to get across the line and you’ve not won a trophy in so long, do you decide to play him? You have to take responsibility for that. That is a monumental error. He’s not a bad goalkeeper – he isn’t not as good as Raya. It has come back and backfired big time. That’s not me being wise after the event, I said it before the game.”
Richards agreed with his fellow pundits: “I think you’re right. [James] Trafford was brought in as the No.1, he was ready, it’s just that [Gianluigi] Donnarumma became on the market. The difference between Raya and Kepa is so big. You’ve got to go with Raya. We can talk about it after the game but ultimately we’re talking about it because it cost Arsenal the game.”
