Football

Joe Willock reveals what Mikel Arteta told him before Arsenal’s win over Bournemouth


Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told Joe Willock to ‘have a hand in creating goals’ against Bournemouth (Picture: Getty)

Mikel Arteta instructed Joe Willock to take responsibility for creating Arsenal’s goals ahead of the side’s 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on Monday.

Arsenal’s academy products took centre stage at Dean Court as first-half goals from Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah booked the visitors a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Sam Surridge scored a 94th-minute consolation goal for Bournemouth but the Gunners survived the late scare and were the far superior team across the 90 minutes.

Saka, who broke the deadlock with an emphatic strike in the fifth minute, was deservedly named man of the match after the final whistle.

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But the award could easily have gone to Willock who produced an all-action display in an advanced position alongside Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli and Nketiah.

Asked what Arteta has asked of him since becoming manager, Willock replied: ‘He wants me to stay in the pockets and create stuff.

‘He said to me today, “Joe, today you need to have a hand in creating goals” and I tried to do that.

‘So hopefully I made him happy. It’s good.

‘I’ve got people like Mesut to learn from and he’s teaching me a lot so I’m just really buzzing to get more opportunities.’

Saka opened the scoring early on at Dean Court (Picture: Getty)

Willock added: ‘Arteta was a very good player, he’s a brilliant professional and a brilliant manager.

‘To learn from him now, growing up watching him, this is a dream come true.

‘I’m still trying to put more things into my game that I’ve learned from him and I’m trying to improve as a player under him.’

Arteta was delighted with the ‘work-rate’ and bravery his young side displayed against a strong Bournemouth team.

‘I’m very pleased. I knew it was going to be a tough game and we played a really young squad,’ said Arteta.

‘I wanted to see the reaction and I was very pleased because I saw a lot of things I really liked.

‘In the first half we were really, really good. They executed everything we planned in a really good way and showed he courage to make big decisions.

‘We played with that accountability, making decisions and I really liked it. They were terrific with their work-rate, showed courage to make those big decisions and not to play safe. That’s the difference.’

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