Arsenal 2 Napoli 0: We’re as hungry as ever, says Mikel Arteta
Arsenal 2 Napoli 0: Mikel Arteta praises the Gunners' spirit and desire as Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud both score
Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal’s desire and spirit after the Gunners produced a scintillating display to beat Napoli and maintain their 100 per cent start in the Champions League.
Club-record signing Mesut Ozil swept Arsenal into the lead in the eighth minute when he deftly directed Aaron Ramsey’s cut-back past Pepe Reina.
Olivier Giroud then scored his sixth goal of the season when he tapped home from close range after being found by Ozil in the 15th minute.
The result leaves Arsenal top of Group F and three points clear of the Serie A side – and Arteta was thrilled with the display.
“We were really good on the ball, winning it back early and playing very efficiently as a team. The first 45 minutes were terrific,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“Our defence is really important. We know that we’ve got the talent up front to score the goals and I think this year everybody is working really hard.
“We have great solidarity around the team and everybody knows that as soon as we lose it we need to get it back quickly. When we win the ball back in the final third we are very dangerous.”
The Spaniard continued: “It’s only the early stages of the season. We haven’t won anything yet and we still have a lot of work to do. We can improve.
“We’ve got a lot of injuries as well, we’re waiting for a lot of players to get back.
“There’s a lot of hunger around the team and we want to keep winning. It’s very nice to win every game and we want to keep the run going.”
Giroud, meanwhile, reserved special praise for Ozil, whose sparkling first-half display was one of the driving forces behind the win.
“Mesut is a very good player,” said Giroud. “He plays it really simple and it’s really easy to play with him.
“I have a good understanding with him on the pitch and it’s really easy to play with him.”
