The Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin put the final nail in Cologne’s coffin last night by scoring our third, but he says it was the tactical introduction of Saed Kolasinac that was the turning point in the game after a very shaky start. The young Spaniard thinks that Arsenal will go far in the Europa League, and he was asked if this win over the Germans was important to our chances. “Definitely.” he said. “It’s a new competition for us and we knew we needed to set the tone. We think we’re one of the best teams in the competition, so we have to show that on the pitch. After not a very good start, the coach decided to change the tactics and it worked for us with Sead coming on, scoring and helping us to get a boost in the second half. I’m very happy.”
And did he think that the big delay affected Arsenal’s play in the first half? “Obviously with the nutrition we were ready to play at 8pm, but things happened and it meant we had to play an hour late. We had to be ready – these things happen sometimes, not often, but we have to be ready as players. We started a bit with cold feet but then after it just worked.”
So, a good comeback and a convincing second half means we’ve scored 6 goals in our last 2 games. Does that mean Arsenal are now ready to face the reigning champions Chelsea? “I think the win against Bournemouth in the league gave us a lot of confidence and today the win and coming back from [being behind] always gives you that boost. We’re going to train hard in these two days coming and then we’re going to be ready for Chelsea at the weekend.”
I hope so Hector, I really do….
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