Premier League week 19
Arsenal were against the walls after a series of disappointing results. The game against Chelsea was a must-win as many experts thought as Chelsea victory would end any hopes for the Gunners to reach the top 4.
Arsenal retuned to winning ways with goals coming from Lacazette and Koscielny [2-0]. With the win they close the gap to three points behind Chelsea at the fourth place.
6 Premier League clubs for 4 spots
Manchester United keep winning [7th straight] and are tie with Arsenal at the fifth place. We have a very tight race for the last 2 spots awarded to Champions League that includes Tottenham.
Defender Koscielny comments on his return and his goal:
Today we needed to win. We made a mistake last week and today it was a game for six points. If we lost we would have been nine points behind – and if we won then it’s just three points. We should be in the race for the top four because it’s very important. I think the commitment today was amazing from all the boys.
We talked a lot and today on the pitch we showed which way we want to go together. It’s good to play like this because in football it’s not easy to win, but when everyone fights for each other it’s better and easier.
I’ve been putting in work in the gym! We know free kicks and corners are always important in modern football because there are a lot of small details, so today I’m happy to score because it’s very important for the team. This game was very important for us so I’m happy for the team.
When we talk about clean sheets it’s not just about the defenders. Today we showed everyone that we worked together. The strikers worked well and that helps the rest of the team, as at the back it becomes easier to win the challenges and win the ball back. It’s good for our head. We can keep this moving forward.
In football being injured is always difficult. Football players just want to be on the pitch and I worked hard for six months to be here with my teammates and to just enjoy it.
Chelsea coach, Sarri, comments on Arsenal wanting the win more than his team:
“I am extremely angry. Very angry indeed because this defeat was due to our mentality more than anything else, our mental approach because we played against a team that was far more determined mentally than we were and this is something I can’t accept.
We had a similar issue in the league game at Tottenham, we spoke a great deal about that particular loss and our approach at the time. I thought we had managed to overcome this issue but it seems we have the issue with having a sufficient amount of determination, being mentally solid.
So I am not happy because I prefer to come into the press conference and to speak to the players and talk about tactics and why we lost from a tactical and strategy point of view. But the fact of the matter is it appears this group of players is extremely difficult to motivate.’
‘When you see this kind of game when one team is more determined than the other, we can’t really talk about tactics. we were not as determined, we were not strong enough, particularly the first goal we conceded.”
