Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta appeared in press statements after the victory over Newcastle 2-1 in the sixth round of the Premier League.

The coach said: "I am extremely proud and I think we fully deserved the win, based on the way we played, performed, and fought. Looking at the chances we created, we deserved to win. We did it in a dramatic way, but we deserved the victory."

He added: "This is how you elevate yourself to a different level, by going through such moments and learning from them. It was a huge opportunity to send a clear message and prove who we are – to ourselves and to everyone – as a team."

Regarding whether the win represents a strong message, Arteta said: "For us, yes. Because they are a great team and it is very difficult to play against them. The level of consistency and quality we showed today was at its peak."

He continued: "I think the way we played – the courage, determination, and quality we showed today – all confirm that we want to reach the next level. To achieve that, you have to come to places like this, especially when results happened yesterday, we had to show our determination and desire to achieve our goal."

He emphasized: "You have to come to this place and win. You must find a way to achieve that, and what we did today was amazing."

Regarding the decision to field a large number of attacking players, he said: "We had to throw everything we had. I think (Nick Pope) was outstanding, all respect to him, but we believed in our ability to win, and I think we fully deserved it."

As for the cancellation of Giokiris's penalty, he concluded: "If there is no clear and obvious error, VAR should not intervene. Clearly, VAR should not have intervened, because the situation was indeed a penalty."