Mikel Arteta defended Arsenal's style of play ahead of Arsenal's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and spoke about his desire to win the competition. The comments came after criticism of the manner of Arsenal's 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Arteta answers criticism
Arteta dismissed criticism of his side as coming from only a very small minority. The Arsenal boss said: "I don’t have that impression because we have scored so many goals, have more possession, more shots, different players participating, no goals from set-pieces so the story is completely different to last year."
What he said about supporters and standards
The Arsenal boss said: "I think we are talking about a very small minority." The Arsenal boss said: "I think the other ones have enjoyed a lot the way we have played and dominated games this year, and I think we have proven that. So that’s my opinion."
The Arsenal boss said: "If you analyse the other top teams in England, what they are talking about, they all have a list." The Arsenal boss said: "We all have a list because none of us are perfect, thank God we are not perfect, because we can still improve even though we have won the amount of games that we have done."
The Arsenal boss said: "Otherwise the next day what do you do? You just expect to be better than the opponent and that’s it." The Arsenal boss said: "Especially in the Premier League, we know that’s very far from the reality."
His Champions League ambition
After Arsenal came close last season, Arteta also spoke about his wish to win the Champions League. Arteta said: "I’ve tried, but I haven’t managed it. That’s the reality."
Arteta said: "I tried for many weeks during the summer but when I hear the music and see the scenes, I want it so badly." Arteta said: "We know that we have to go step by step but I think that fire is within the team and all of us individually because we know what we had to go through, by a penalty, not being champions of Europe."