Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta praised his striker Eddie Nketiah for proving him wrong by scoring two goals against Chelsea in the Gunners' 4-2 away win on Wednesday that boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
“If there is one player I think have been unfair with I think it is him,” Areta told reporters, saying he had not given enough game time to Nketiah.
“Today he showed me again how wrong I was.”
Nketiah's future at the club is up in the air with his contract up at the end of the season.
The 22-year-old has been on the periphery for much of this season, with the vast majority of his league appearances coming off the bench.
Arteta also praised Bukayo Saka for taking his first penalty since missing for England in last year's Euro 2020 final shoot-out defeat to Italy.
“Honestly the first thing that I thought was he was back in the summer and what happened,” he said
“For him to have the courage to say I'm going to take it again, because I'm sure it was in the back of his mind, for me it is 'chapeau', even if he misses,” Arteta said.
Arsenal's victory was a major boost in their bid to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish and Arteta was delighted that his side had shown they could compete on the big stage.
“I said to them if you want to be playing Champions League football you have to come to big stages and beat those top teams,” he said.
“Tonight we have done it and I am really proud of them.”
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said his team had to halt a string of defensive errors that have seen the European champions concede 11 goals in their last three home games.
“This amount of mistakes of this calibre, it is simply impossible and I don't see it in any other matches but I see it now in consecutive matches of our games and it has to stop,” Tuchel told reporters.
The German said he thought Chelsea had overcome the defensive frailties that contributed to their 4-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge to Brentford and their 3-1 home loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier this month after solid performances more recently.
“They get the full praise when they do it like they did it the last three matches and they have to face reality that this is impossible to win matches like this,” Tuchel said.
Tuchel also lamented the penalty conceded in injury time when Cesar Azpilicueta fouled Bukayo Saka who scored from the spot to seal the 4-2 win.
“We have three ball losses in 10 seconds and then we do a foul where it's ... not even the slightest danger ... and we rob ourselves the chance to have six minutes maybe for the equaliser,” he said. — Reuters
Arsenal boss Arteta says he was wrong about two-goal Nketiah
Image: Mike Hewitt / Getty Images
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta praised his striker Eddie Nketiah for proving him wrong by scoring two goals against Chelsea in the Gunners' 4-2 away win on Wednesday that boosted their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
“If there is one player I think have been unfair with I think it is him,” Areta told reporters, saying he had not given enough game time to Nketiah.
“Today he showed me again how wrong I was.”
Nketiah's future at the club is up in the air with his contract up at the end of the season.
The 22-year-old has been on the periphery for much of this season, with the vast majority of his league appearances coming off the bench.
Arteta also praised Bukayo Saka for taking his first penalty since missing for England in last year's Euro 2020 final shoot-out defeat to Italy.
“Honestly the first thing that I thought was he was back in the summer and what happened,” he said
“For him to have the courage to say I'm going to take it again, because I'm sure it was in the back of his mind, for me it is 'chapeau', even if he misses,” Arteta said.
Arsenal's victory was a major boost in their bid to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish and Arteta was delighted that his side had shown they could compete on the big stage.
“I said to them if you want to be playing Champions League football you have to come to big stages and beat those top teams,” he said.
“Tonight we have done it and I am really proud of them.”
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said his team had to halt a string of defensive errors that have seen the European champions concede 11 goals in their last three home games.
“This amount of mistakes of this calibre, it is simply impossible and I don't see it in any other matches but I see it now in consecutive matches of our games and it has to stop,” Tuchel told reporters.
The German said he thought Chelsea had overcome the defensive frailties that contributed to their 4-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge to Brentford and their 3-1 home loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier this month after solid performances more recently.
“They get the full praise when they do it like they did it the last three matches and they have to face reality that this is impossible to win matches like this,” Tuchel said.
Tuchel also lamented the penalty conceded in injury time when Cesar Azpilicueta fouled Bukayo Saka who scored from the spot to seal the 4-2 win.
“We have three ball losses in 10 seconds and then we do a foul where it's ... not even the slightest danger ... and we rob ourselves the chance to have six minutes maybe for the equaliser,” he said. — Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Soccer
Sport
Cricket
Rugby
Pages