The lads gave everything
“Arsenal proved their quality, how big players they have. They are extremely strong in combinations and really fast. For us it was a strenuous game, in the first half we couldn’t put enough pressure on their build-up. We had problems with Lacazette who was getting the ball deep and made space for wingers. We let them squeeze us.”
“In the second half we improved our performance, but we failed to score from two big chances. On the other hand, Arsenal could go alone on our goalkeeper and hit the post after a set piece. When it looked like the game would end up in a draw, we conceded a goal from a chance we shouldn’t allow. Luckily, we managed to equalise.”
“The lads gave everything, but we could be even better in some stages of the game. After all the events before the game, I feel great about the result. Arsenal were very strong with the ball, sometimes we showed too much respect. We mastered the previous games better.”
“The substitutions helped us with movement on the pitch and with quality of the play. We need to get better for the second leg, we were often late by the players when we played high pressing. When you let Arsenal play with the ball it is difficult to win it back.”
“Ondřej Kolář is one of the heroes of the night for me. Ten days ago, I wouldn’t believe he could start at Arsenal and make such performance. It meant a great deal for our players to see his determination, to see he goes into the game literally with no previous training.”
“Zimič [David Zima] did not play bad, but Holi [Tomáš Holeš] made such a great performance that he overshadowed him in some stages of the game. He played as centre-back for the very first time, at the age of 28, away at Arsenal against such great players. It is a wonderful story. I cannot recall a single bad decision from him. It was difficult, he could prepare only for three days for this role, but he made a superb performance.”
“I am glad for Lukáš Provod. Some people did not believe him, they said he made too big step from the second Czech league directly to the Champions League. But I was amazed from the very beginning. It was only question of a self-confidence. He’s been showing great performances recently. For the team he is extremely important, similarly to Tomáš Souček.”
“There is now Prague Derby ahead, we are already thinking about the line-up. It’s difficult to guess the chances to progress. We need to get better, show better individual performances and be stronger in the defence. Arsenal failed to score from two big chances and it will not happen again.”
