Every word Mikel Arteta said on Arsenal thumping Aston Villa, Rice injury, Odegaard form

Mikel Arteta spoke to the media following Arsenal’s massive Premier League title-boosting win over Aston Villa

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke to the press after his side secured a huge, confidence-lifting victory over Aston Villa. A team that has been a thorn in the side of the Spaniard, Unai Emery, even decided not to stick around to shake the hand of the Gunners boss post-match.

For weeks, the Gunners have been narrowly beating sides despite creating plenty of chances and recording high expected goals statistics. It was posited what would come, a damning loss of points or a statement victory and tonight the answer was discovered.

Arteta was also quizzed on the absence of Declan Rice, who is believed to have suffered a bad kick to the knee in the last game. He watched from the stands, with hope that the issue is not too serious.

Here is every word from the Spaniard’s press conference:

On the performance?

I'm so happy. We play every three days, we played an opponent today that comes from 11 wins in a row. Superb team, very difficult to play against, and we knew that we were going to have periods throughout the game.

We talked about emotionally how demanding it was going to be and we struggled in the first ten minutes, arriving a bit late, playing through us and creating some open space situations that they are very dangerous at. Then we adjusted, got a bit more control, two big chances by Víktor and the one was a scrappy situation inside the box. We didn't manage to score in the second half.

We competed for everything then much better. The timing was better and the goal was fulfilled in an extraordinary way, so efficient in everything that we did. Unlike the last few games where we had so many big situations, today we were very prolific and accurate to make the difference.

Villa have been a team that has really hurt you in previous seasons? Is there more of a swell of happiness when you manage to get one over a side that has damaged you so much in the past?

Especially when you play against a team that is in such a moment as well. They are really good, they are extremely well coached, very clear what they want to do, how they want to help you. They are very efficient at it, so they can drive you into a game that is constantly a very thin line.

You have to navigate it, they can be comfortable navigating through that. We did it in a difficult moment and then we took the opportunities in a great way.

You mentioned in the last couple of games you wanted the margins to be bigger and obviously they were tonight. I was just wondering, after that first goal went in, it seemed like the players really smelled blood. I was wondering if you think that is a fair way to assess that period in the game and how you saw that situation.

Yes, we wanted to continue to go on. We took the halftime, the things that we had to alter to be more efficient. But actually, after you have to, then you get more blood, but after you have to, really grab it, and we did it.

I think individually we had some huge performances, we were very efficient in the final set, attacking the box, and that made a difference.

Tonight and at the weekend, how important has Odegaard been and are we seeing his best?

Well, he needed some consistency as well. Obviously he had two times a shoulder injury, then he had a big knee injury and that takes a little bit of time. Now you can see that he is flowing, that his energy level is back to where it is, that he is taking risks, that he is affecting the game in a great way. I think he was playing really well today.

Just looking back on this month now that it's finished, do you think you played like potential champions? Maybe not your best at times, difficult moments and producing a performance like that to end the month?

Well, I always said that to continue to win you have to win in different contexts. In some games we did very good and the margin should have been much bigger. We didn't manage to do that, so we went for smaller margins.

Today maybe the margin wasn't that big, but we made it because we were extremely efficient and ruthless in the opposition box. That's the way, and we won with a lot of injuries. Today we lost Declan, Richy, some others came back.

Gabi came in after such a long time without scoring a goal and scored a wonderful goal. Everybody is ready to contribute and that's the way.

Can I just ask you about the two Gabriels? They've both come back, you must be so pleased for both of them. Very different stories, but they've come back at the same time.

Yeah, about Gabi Jesus I already spoke. Big Gabi, he comes from an injury of six weeks, that probably should have been a bit longer. He plays against probably the team that is the hardest to control, especially the front players.

And the striker that they have in terms of their movements and impacts the game in an incredible way, both defending and the opposition box.

Was there a handshake at the end? We couldn't see whether you shook hands with their manager.

You saw it, but it's okay, it's all good.

Was that unusual? Was it disappointing?

No, that's okay, that's part of the game and it's not unusual at all.

Firstly, just to check on Declan, do you expect to have him back for the weekend?

Depends, so that swelling has to come right down for him to have the chance to function. He wasn't able to do that today yet, he's improving, but let's see what happens in the next couple of days.

You said the team clicked in the second half, was that a tactical thing, was that a mental thing? And how do you harness that going forward?

When it happens, normally it's a lot of factors. I think we were more aggressive, we were more determined, timings were much better. And that is about execution and dealing, especially when you have a man-to-man orientated, winning that action, yes or no, that clicks everything and makes a difference. And we're very good in the second half.

You mentioned those early troubles and it seemed like Villa were getting a lot of joy breaking through your press early on. What changed?

Well, certainly their behaviours have to change because the moment you allow them to attack your back is a big problem because they have runners from inside, they have people that can pick up passes from deep positions, they have players in the last line that are excellent at making the runs, pulling shoulders and attacking your backs. And you have to control that because every time you give the ball away, they have the capacity to do that.

And how well does it reflect on your team that they didn't drop back, they didn't try to mitigate?

I really like that because you're going to go through different patches and periods against top opposition like Villa and then you still have the ability to come out on the game and deserve to win it.

Obviously, when you talk about in-dressing, what sort of belief does that give the players when you win a game like that against a team that's been on such a run that this season could be the year that you win the Premier League?

The belief is energy as well because they put in so much. We play every two and a half days. The schedule is very, very demanding. We have some very tough matches, injuries, but the players are so willing. So winning helps all that. All the sacrifices and commitment that you put in get reflected in results and great performances. That's so satisfying but we know there's still so much to play for. It's a great way to end the year, that's for sure. Tomorrow have a good night with our families. Then the next day we are in and we have to go to Bournemouth and we know what that means.

I just want to get your thoughts on Martin Zubimendi, that's now six goal contributions, that's a career-high for him. How impressed have you been with him, how quickly he's settled into the Premier League and into your side?

I think I mention it a lot of times that it's a position that is very, very difficult to get an impact in the manner that he's done it so early. But credit to him, credit to his teammates as well, how easily they make it for him. Today he's done something that in my opinion he's got the ability to do.

He's arrived in the right moment, attacking the box and finalising actions and he did it with such a composure.

Thank you.

Happy New Year to you all!