William Saliba is confident Arsenal can rekindle their season as they attempt to bounce back from Premier League disappointment at Newcastle against European rivals Inter Milan.
The Gunners head for the San Siro on Wednesday evening hoping to soothe the pain of a costly 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park on Saturday by banking three Champions League points.
Success in Italy would prove the perfect preparation for next Sunday’s short league trip to Chelsea, and the France international sees no reason why both games cannot go in their favour.
💬 "Next week we have two big games to come back with the win."
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 2, 2024
Saliba is eager to show a reaction, starting on Wednesday night in the Champions League 👇
He told the club’s official website: “Next week, we have two big games to come back with the win. I think we will do it if we give everything.
“(Inter is) a big game. If we win, we have the confidence back and we have to do it. We all want to play big games like these.”
Arsenal found themselves trailing new leaders Liverpool by seven points on Saturday evening with Manchester City surprisingly having gone down 2-0 at Bournemouth after Alexander Isak’s goal condemned them to a second successive 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park.
The Gunners enjoyed long periods of possession in the game, but lacked the craft to break down Eddie Howe’s well-organised side.
We haven’t had him for the last four or six weeks and we don’t have him yet
Asked afterwards if the absence of injured skipper Martin Odegaard was a factor in that, head coach Mikel Arteta said: “We don’t have him. We can discuss that all day long.
“We haven’t had him for the last four or six weeks and we don’t have him yet. But we have many other answers that have been very effective.
“Today we need to look at ourselves and congratulate Newcastle and move on.”
Saliba too admitted he and his team-mates had not been at their best, and that they did not deserve to win the game.
It ends in defeat at St James’ Park.
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 2, 2024
We’ll move forward together. pic.twitter.com/GaSdsCeUiE
The defender, who returned to league action at Newcastle after suspension, said: “We are a bit sad because we wanted to win here today.
“Unfortunately we didn’t because I don’t think we played our best game. But we have to stick together and be ready for next week.
“Maybe we deserved a point, but I do not think we deserved to win today. They had one chance and they scored. We were on top trying to equalise, but I think we have to do better.
“The game is finished and we have to be focused on what’s coming. When you lose, there’s not a lot of positive things, but it’s okay, we don’t have to be so sad.”
