After making six changes to his starting lineup for the FA Cup match against Manchester City, Mikel Arteta expressed his pride in the players who were given the chance to play, despite the team’s 1-0 defeat on Friday night.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, is held back by Albert Stuivenberg, Assistant Manager of Arsenal, as they speak with the fourth official during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, is held back by Albert Stuivenberg, Assistant Manager of Arsenal, as they speak with the fourth official during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta rotated his lineup in order to give more opportunities to players who were eager for more playing time. After the game, Arteta said he felt  they performed well and that the loss will only increase competition for starting positions in the coming weeks.

Arteta said, “I’m very proud of the boys, they fully deserved the chance to play.

“We kept saying that everyone is important and if that’s the case, they have to play, and they gave me another reason today to keep trusting them and have them contribute to the team.”

Despite the disappointment of the loss, Arteta believes the team will be better prepared for their next match against Manchester City, which will take place at the Emirates Stadium in just two weeks time.

The manager also expressed his frustration with the manner in which Manchester City scored the winning goal, stating, “I think we could have taken much more than we did but there are some learnings there as well.

“We didn’t defend well enough for the goal, and we were punished on the only action where they went through us.”

Arteta also expressed his gratitude to the team’s supporters for their dedication and sacrifice in traveling to Manchester on a Friday night to support the team.

He added, “They were incredible again. Thank you so much for making the effort to come here. They were very noisy and really supportive of the team so there’s a big appreciation for that.”

Also speaking after the game, Pep Guardiola was keen to stress than City’s next game against Arsenal would be totally different.

“(My players) are incredibly happy,” said Guardiola.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola issues instructions to Riyad Mahrez during a break in play during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola issues instructions to Riyad Mahrez during a break in play during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on January 27, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

“It’s not the Premier League, it’s another competition. We are happy to be there after beating Chelsea and Arsenal in the first two rounds.

“It will be a completely different day in Emirates. Mikel doesn’t rotate much in the Premier League.

“The impact from Oleks, Ødegaard…. we know it’s going to be different with more pressure.

“Now we have days off until the next game. Time to rest a bit and prepare a final against Spurs again.

“Game by game. FA Cup is an important competition, and we are so satisfied, but this (result) will be forgotten by them when we are there.

It was a tight game. A difficult one. We knew it would be for their quality.

“The second half was better apart from 10 minutes after the goal. When Bernardo and Kyle came on it was much better and Julian as well.

“I didn’t expect their approach to go man to man and it made the process difficult.

“Stefan Ortega makes a good delivery so in the second half we contacted Erling more than usual.

“Now I know they can do it [man to man marking] when we go there.

“Martinelli is an incredible weapon. Ødegaard plays in the pockets.

“They are a really good team otherwise they could not be where they are. They are aggressive, they know exactly what they have to do.

“All the little details they control really well. We had to defend really well and be good in the set pieces.

“We knew it would be a difficult game, but we were able to beat them and go to the next round.

“They saw what we can do. We saw what they can do. Maybe we change something, especially for the players that we select.

“When you play man to man Rico is not as necessary like for example Kyle.

“Jack was brilliant. Erling – it was a tough game for him. We did everything against an exceptional team.

“All the managers try to do good things, but this game was open and we needed guys in the middle with good movement to attack the space.

“Julian is good defensively and offensively as well. His impact on this game was brilliant.

“I am delighted because I know he can play with Erling.

“It was a good victory; the next round, we will see.”