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Arteta praises players as he targets more success following Community Shield win

Mikel Arteta praised his players and their attitude after they won the first piece of silverware ...



Arteta praises players as he t...
Soccer

Arteta praises players as he targets more success following Community Shield win

Mikel Arteta praised his players and their attitude after they won the first piece of silverware in the new English season on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to win the Community Shield.

The game finished up 1-1 after normal time with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring for the Gunners after just 12 minutes while Takumi Minamino equalised for the Reds late on in the second-half to send it to spot-kicks.

Aubameyang was then again man of the moment - scoring Arsenal's final penalty with Liverpool's Brewster hitting the post to miss his.

The victory marks the second piece of silverware at Wembley for the north Londoners this month after they beat Chelsea in the FA Cup Final just four weeks ago.

Arteta, who is only starting his first full season as manager of the club, was full of praise for his players at full-time,

"I am so happy, we knew the challenge we were facing against this opponent.

"The courage of the team, how impressive we were with the ball, when we made the decisions to break against Liverpool and put some issues against them in the back-line.

"I am pleased with how we sustained the pressure too in the penalty shoot-out."

The Spaniard was particularly happy with how his players responded after conceding the equaliser,

"I think in the last 10 minutes we took the ball, dominated in the final third and created two good chances to win it and I'm really pleased in how they competed.

"Hopefully they can get used to it, winning creates a really good atmosphere, it creates belief so let's go, let's try to improve again."

Once again, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the match-winner and made the difference for his side.

Arsenal fans will obviously be happy with his performance but also remain nervous as his future which is still uncertain.

He refused to be drawn on this after the game.

Arteta though had only positive things to say about him,

"Big games and big moments need big players and he responded really well to the pressure.

"He was magnificent in the FA Cup Final and he was magnificent today."

When asked specifically about his contract and a deal to keep him at the Emirates he simply said "we are close."

He then went on to outline his plans for the season going forward,

"We are working with the club to try and make plans but we know how the market is and we are happy with the squad, I know that my job is to try and make it better.

"We have a lot of things to improve but to be able to compete against these sort of teams in a final like this makes me really proud."

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Arsenal Community Shield Mikel Arteta