Every word Mikel Arteta said on Bayern Munich, Trossard injury, big win, Madueke impact

Every word from Mikel Arteta's post-match Arsenal press conference following the clash with Bayern Munich

Mikel Arteta was celebratory after his Arsenal side put three past Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich. The Gunners move clear at the top of the table with five wins from five.

Goals from Jurrien Timber, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli on the night managed to end a winless run of more than ten years against the German club. It is a win that sends a statement, and the manager was very aware of that.

There was some bad news in that Leandro Trossard left the field with an injury. The Gunners boss gave his reaction to that and much more.

Here is every word from Mikel Arteta’s post-match press conference:

How do you keep your players on the ground after such a fantastic win, with a real sense that the momentum is building?

First of all, I have to praise our players because I think they had an incredible match against, in my opinion, the best team in Europe. Individually, we were immense to resolve all the challenges that this team brings to the table. They know how hard we work to prepare for every single game.

We know that the margins are super small. We started the week really well against Spurs, winning here at home. Today is another massive victory, but that's it.

Now we go home, have a nice dinner and tomorrow morning we start to prepare for Stamford Bridge.

If you describe Bayern as the best team in Europe, where does that second-half performance from you and the way you dominated that game leave you? Do you really feel as if, having built momentum and gone closer in this competition, you can go a lot further and really win it this year?

We've certainly been very, very consistent in the competition so far, but it's just the beginning. We are so pleased with what we've seen today.

Again, the energy that we created in the stadium, what the team transmits. The energy that we bring, the quality that we play with. It's incredible, and we have to maintain that because it's still very early.

Unfortunately, every three days you have to do it, and that's the beauty of it as well.

You speak about progression all the time and big moments in the competition. Does that feel like a big moment, first time beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League since 2015?

Well, they are a top side. I think they haven't lost in 20 or 21 games. You know the difficulty of that. We managed to do that in one game.

That's great, and that shows the capacity that we have. I'm very pleased as well with some of the players that have been given the opportunity today with all the injuries that we have. The ones that started, the ones that came to finish the game, the impact was immense. That's what we need. Everybody connected at that level.

How enjoyable is it as a manager when you look at the bench and you can see Noni, Gabi, Martin and you know you can just change the game with that kind of depth and that kind of strength?

Obviously, it's something that's still quite new. Well, I think I'm very happy. When I was looking at the bench at Bayern, the same. I look at the players, they are coming in and they can change the game.

That's what you require. At this level, we certainly have improved that, not only with the quality but also with the mindset of the players coming in. And that's something that is making a huge difference for us.

Can I just check on Leo's status and what that injury was and looking ahead to Chelsea, how on earth do you just pick 11 players when you have so many playing well?

With Leo, we don't know. He said he felt something. We didn't want to take any risk, obviously. And for the second one, because we know. And you just have to watch the game that they played against Barcelona yesterday to understand how difficult and tough and what a good team Chelsea are. So, we know tomorrow we start to prepare and we go from there.

Noni Madueke let out an almighty roar when he scored. It felt like relief to get that first goal, especially after his injury. How pleased are you to see him get that first one on the sheet?

Very happy. He's worked incredibly hard to come back. I think he was in a great moment before he got the injury. He's one of the players that he was performing at the highest level. And now we've got him back. He played on the left, he played on the right. He gave us something as a different edge in that front line. I'm very pleased to see him and hopefully many more to come.

You've gone three points clear at the top of the Champions League table now because of Inter's defeat. Is there a big aim to try and qualify as quickly as possible because of the number of fixtures that you've got on what's going to be four different competitions?

Yeah, obviously. In any competition, the quicker that you can wrap it up, the better. But we know the difficulty of that. We still have very, very difficult games ahead of us, but we are in a really positive position at the moment.

How did you make that decision between choosing between Mosquera and Hincapie? He obviously played well.

Yeah, I think he was really good. Yeah, with Piero as well. We need to understand where he's coming from. He came from Ecuador after playing two 90s, big trouble.

Played the derby, the first start that he had in the Premier League and he finished the game very, very tired. That's the good thing, that we have Mosquera who can play in different positions. He was superb, I think with Willy [Saliba]

Just given the injuries you've had this season, generally, are you ahead of where you thought you'd be? How much more is there to come from this injury?

Yeah, I don't know. Obviously, we didn't predict to have that many important players out. But the good thing is the way the team reacts constantly and plays after that to different positions. I think, for example, what Mikel [Merino] has done today is incredible.

So a big compliment to all of them because they are so willing to play, so willing to bring joy to this club and to win football matches. That's all we have to carry on.

Two years ago you lost a very tight one in the quarter-finals. So what would you say is the difference between the team now and the team two years ago? What are the improvements?

We are different, they are different as well. It was a different stage in the competition. There are very thin margins there in that tie as well, the way we went out. But that's part of the past. Hopefully, we learn, we are better and we're going to have to show that.

I just wonder about Califiori, the instructions that you gave him coming on the field. Because within a minute, two incisive runs, that second one, a really wicked ball in between the keeper, six-yard box, very hard to defend against. That second goal was all about Calafiori.

That's exactly what I told him. Get the ball, go to the flank, throw the ball to the keeper and score a goal. [laughs]

I like him because he has such an attitude and aura, he comes in to make things happen and he's always so positive with the way he plays. It's great that he plays with that mindset.