In Thursday’s 2-1 Europa League first-leg Arsenal faced a defeat to Villarreal as the home team record a 2-1 win. Mikel Arteta appreciated Bukayo Saka, as he won a penalty and Nicolas Pepe took the advantage giving the north London club a lifeline. However, the Gunners manager said his team must not keep relying on the teenage winger to produce game-changing moments.
“We didn’t want to come here and lose, but as the game progressed we needed a result. If we have to lose, that’s probably the best result we could have got,” the coach told BT Sport.
“Two different halves. [In the second half] we became ourselves. In the first half, there were a lot of moments where we weren’t ourselves. There was a lack of control. Lack of threat and desire to attack the opponent’s penalty area. In the second half, it was completely different.”
Mikel Arteta appreciated Bukayo Saka
“We needed a moment of magic and Saka produced it again. We are very used to Saka playing well this season, but it shows we need to do more as we can’t always rely on him. Leno was very good, he saved us in the Moreno episode.”
“Aubameyang had a good moment to equalize. I’m sure we have a chance to win.”
Bukayo Saka on the match
Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka has commented on the 1-2 defeat to Villarreal in the first leg of the Europa League 1/2 final.
“There was a lot of good stuff in the second half. It’s a semi-final, and to start the game like that… We didn’t create anything, we were passive, we lost every single tackle,” said Saka to BBC.
“Happy that in the second half we pulled ourselves together and gave ourselves a chance at the Emirates. We showed that we are better than them, even with ten men, so it all depends on us. When we play properly, we can beat anyone.”
Both the teams now head into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next week.
