Every word from Arteta’s post-Everton presser | Press conference | News

After an incredible finale to our 2-0 success against Everton that maintained our lead at the top of the Premier League, a jubilant Mikel Arteta was soon taking questions from the media in attendance at Emirates Stadium.

He was asked about Max Dowman’s history-making goal, his decision to bring him on, and the lift this result could give us among other topics.

Here is everything the boss had to say said:

on whether he has come back down to earth:
Because of my jump [celebration] you mean?! It was a phenomenal moment. We talked before the game to play with that relentless desire to win every action and have the conviction that we are going to find a way to do it, and the effort, the quality, the commitment of the players was sensational, and then it ended up in a manner that probably none of us expected. It was one of the best moments that we lived together at the Emirates.

on what he was thinking to bring on Dowman:
Probably in my head, I had a gut feeling. Yesterday he was training and in the last few days and I had a gut feeling that it was a moment for him. Probably because he doesn’t seem to be fazed by the occasion or the moment or the context or the opponent. He just plays so naturally. He makes decisions to make things happen and what he delivered was incredible.

on whether the late goals were a massive moment:
It is big because you put so much passion, effort, hours into this, which is our passion. When you turn around and you see the bench and their eyes just filled with that happiness, that joy that you’re almost not believing what has just happened. It makes all the sense in the world for what we do and the difficult moments that we go through. And the reaction of the bench as well, when I see everybody so willing and so generally happy about the team winning in the manner that we did it, it’s so special.

on the impact of our substitutes:
All of them – Gabi [Martinelli], Mosquera had to come in when Jurrien was out and I think it’s been the theme of the season. I think the impact of the finishers that the players have played is the reason why we are here, basically. That says a lot about the people that we have in the dressing room because sometimes my decision, maybe they’re not right or they’re not fair, they take it in the right way with only one objective, which is to help the team to win.

on what he said to Max before he went on:
Go and do your thing and win us the game, and the same with Viktor and Martinelli. I said these are the moments in the season when something special has to happen. He knows he has the ability, which when I have to give him the opportunity, he will deliver.

on what this will do for the mood in the camp:
I think it’s been incredible the last couple months. It’s been sensational. We are in every competition and we are competing in every single game like it’s the last one. Some days we’ll be better, some other times exceptional, some other times not that good. But that relentless desire to win that I feel in the team is just one of the best things that, in my opinion, this team has.

on if he’s had to learn to trust his gut:
I don’t know. I think in the end, the decision that you make has to be delivered. If you feel them and you don’t feel it, I think it’s not right. You just have to see him train every single day honestly; some of the things that he does, he does it against these defenders that are some of the best in the world. So he can do it against anybody else and the doubt is always that he’s 16 and the crowd and the pressure and expectations but he doesn’t seem to be fazing him very much about that and he had an incredible moment for all of us.

on if he would have made that call earlier in his career:
I don’t know. Probably. I don’t know. It’s easy to say. I don’t know. I did it because, to be fair, I feel the same, the staff, they have so much trust in him. Or in Viktor or when it’s Martinelli or Gabby Jesus or Mosquera, you turn around and they’re ready and really desperate to play and that’s what we need.

on the composure Max showed for his goal:
For me, it felt like 45 seconds. I think it was really special because you could sense that he was building up, building up and you see there’s no goalie there, it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, and everybody was lifting. It was incredible. It was so loud, so energetic. What a moment.

on how Max has gained his trust:
I think his character, his personality and the fact that he doesn’t seem to be fazed by the pressure or his teammates or the opponent. I’ve seen a lot of players with talent but at 16, very few that can cope with that level of demand.

on whether Max could start games soon:
Calm! Let’s come down to earth today and enjoy the moment because it was intense and it was worth it and we’ll see tomorrow.

on what he thought about Everton:
It was very hard, they’re a really good side. They’re really well coached and every time they went in and around the box, you sense how dangerous they are and they’re very difficult to break down. You play as well with the fact that the game, the longer it goes, you have the necessity to win the game and the will to win it and you have to be calm. I think the team showed a lot of maturity. The crowd as well, I think it was good today to be composed and wait for the right moment and leave the place to make the decision when it was needed to deliver the moment. At the end it was all happiness.

on what was he thinking at 0-0:
What I was thinking? I don’t know, I was pushing with every inch of my body to go to that goal, and somehow we scored a goal. We cannot demand those players to give everything and us not to be there. I see them and how much they want it and now we’re all striving to try to help them.

on whether his Dowman introduction was his best ever sub:
I don’t know, obviously Viktor scored the goal as well, so his contribution and the speed of the game every time he got involved in the action was different, that’s for sure. I think he created a different energy in the stadium.

Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.