London, Oct 14 (IANS) Mikel Arteta dedicated Arsenal’s 3-0 Champions League victory against Lille to life president Ken Friar, who passed away on Monday aged 92.
Friar served the club for nine decades and was instrumental in the Gunners’ move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium, which shines brightest on big Champions League nights like this win over the Ligue 1 side.
Friar was also a lifelong supporter, and Arteta was thrilled that his side managed to get the victory in a style that Friar would have appreciated at the place he helped build.
“That’s for him,” Mikel said post-match, as quoted by Arsenal website. “I’m sure that he has enjoyed the win, the manner in which the team played. I know that he was very, very proud about the position of the club right now, the players that we have and the unity and the connection that we have built.
“It’s a really sad day. When I woke up, I received a call from Richard Garlick to let me know that Ken had passed away. I had the honour to meet him, to spend time with him, to learn from him. His legacy is enormous; it was an absolute pleasure to spend time with him. He’s going to be missed, but the good thing is that he’s left a legacy. He’s going to live forever with this football club and everybody that has come across him.
“He never wanted to take credit for anything. He was super focused and thorough in a lot of things. He could joke; the energy that he had at his age was something incredible and that’s what made him so special, unique,” he added.
Arsenal scored three goals in seven devastating second-half minutes to make it two wins from two in this season’s Champions League with victory over Lille.
Three in seven minutes saw Jurrien Timber, Ebere Eze and Bukayo Saka all get on the scoresheet during a devastating period of the game, and Arteta was thrilled to see it all come together.
“It was a big change, especially in the execution and the technical quality of actions, especially in and around the final third,” he said. “In the first half we got into so many dangerous positions, but we really didn’t make much of that, and that allowed giveaways in areas where the opposition can run and lead really good transition moments.
“But the moment that technically we increased, we made a little adjustment to have different players occupying certain spaces, and we got connected with each other. It was just a joy to watch, and the three goals were brilliant.’
–IANS
bc/vi