Arteta impressed by ‘personality of younger players’ in victory
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was impressed by the performance and ‘personality’ shown by his younger players during Arsenal’s win over Molde.
The Gunners went behind in the 22nd-minute after a great strike by Molde player Martin Ellingsen.
The Norwegian caught keeper Bernd Leno unprepared with a curling effort from outside the box.
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Arteta’s side equalised just before half time thanks to an own goal from defender Kristoffer Haugen.
The ball was scrambled over the line as Haugen tried to prevent an Arsenal player from reaching it.
Another own goal saw Arsenal take the lead in the second half.
This time it was Sheriff Sinyan who was unlucky.
He tried to clear a cross close to his own goal, but managed to divert the ball into the net in the 62nd-minute.
After taking the lead, the home side finally managed to show some class. Nicolas Pepe fired a third into the bottom corner not long afterwards.
Midfielder Joe Willock scored the final goal of the game in the 88th-minute, ensuring Arsenal picked up all three points.
Speaking after the match, Arteta told BT Sport (via BBC Sport): “It was really important for us to win tonight and go top of the group. We had a convincing victory and the boys tried to go for them from the first minute.
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“We went a goal behind but it was about the reaction, we created lot of chances.
“If they did not score the own goals, we had players there for the tap in. We could sustain attacks and we did not want to let them run on the counter because they are a threat.
“I really like the approach that the younger players are having for each game, they want to make the difference, they are playing with a lot of personality.
“Joe Willock could have scored more, he created a goal and had a good performance. Keep doing what he is doing consistently and his chance will arrive (in the Premier League).”