Mikel Arteta sends clear message to Premier League rivals over transfer interest in Arsenal star
Mikel Arteta has effectively put paid to one club’s interest in one of his players.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has effectively shut down any and all transfer links involving one of his key players. The Gunners defeated Chelsea 3-2 in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday night, with Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi on the scoresheet.
The Gunners will be disappointed not to have put the tie to bed, with Mikel Merino having a big chance to make it 4-1 at one stage, but Robert Sanchez, to his credit, partly atoned for a forgettable night with a superb save.
In any case, Arsenal do take a lead into the second leg, and they will be strong favourites to progress to the Wembley final. Speaking after the game, Arteta had some special praise for one player in particular, with Ben White producing a fine performance, scoring and assisting Gyokeres for his goal.
Arteta said: “I think I've said it many times about how I feel about Ben and not [just] what he's done in the last few weeks, but what he's done for us in the last few years.
“He's shown that in various contexts that he's a player that's going to give absolutely everything for the team, that he's always there, he's someone you can count on in any circumstances, and I think tonight he's done what he has to do.”
Those comments effectively put to bed any hope Everton had of signing White this month, with the Toffees having been linked with a move of late.
White is a key part of Arteta’s plans, and it doesn’t look as though the Spaniard will sell the defender at any price or any time soon.
Arteta on the win
Speaking about the win more generally, Arteta added: “First of all, I have to praise the players for the performance in the game that we just played against a really good opponent. With so much quality on that pitch, we had the feeling at the end, after the 1-3 and the very dominant period that we had in that time, that we had two massive chances to score the fourth one.
“The result would have been very different, but in that moment, they had an action, they created a corner, they scored a goal and it's game on. So that feeling is not perfect, but as well we have to value what the team has done again.”
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