Adi Hütter: "It is important to see what separates us from the European top level"

Obviously disappointed by the result and a harsh score come full time (3-0), the Monaco coach nevertheless wanted to highlight the selflessness of his players in front of the media, after the defeat against Arsenal.

They fought until the end with their weapons. Diminished by notable absences to face one of the best teams in Europe, the AS Monaco players unfortunately fell to the Gunners at the Emirates (3-0). It was a defeat at the end of which Adi Hütter nevertheless wanted to remember the character of his players in a press conference. 🎙️

Good evening coach. What are your feelings after this match?

First of all, I have to admit that Arsenal deserved this victory, because they were the better team on the pitch. I was happy with the first 20 minutes after we came back from the dressing room. I saw what I wanted to see, even if I wouldn’t say that we dominated this match at that moment.

At this level, it is not possible, not acceptable to make such mistakes that can be seen as downright gifts. And yet we were lucky that Arsenal missed a lot of opportunities

Adi HütterOn the team's mistakes

But we were much better in any case, and we had three opportunities to equalize through Thilo Kehrer, Breel Embolo and Takumi Minamino. Then the changes Arsenal made brought some freshness to their team and we clearly gave them the second goal, which they didn’t need.

Did these mistakes cost you a better result?

At this level, it is not possible, not acceptable to make such mistakes that can be seen as downright gifts. And yet we were lucky that Arsenal missed a lot of opportunities. On the other hand, I am really satisfied with the way we attacked the second half, playing the courageous football that I want to see.

Once again we have a very young team, which came close to finding an equalizer. Unfortunately a gift of a second goal is too much at this level.

Can you tell us about the tactical change at half-time?

We made a change at half-time, bringing on Takumi Minamino, an experienced player. We went from a 4-3-3 to a more attacking 4-2-3-1, which obviously gave Arsenal more space.

It was a good change in hindsight, which changed our mentality on the pitch. The confidence was back anyway and that’s what I expect from my team, to be more aggressive. But in the end, I repeat, the Gunners deserved their victory.

Do you think that the lack of experience of some of them could have played a role?

I would say that it was important to see what separates us today from the best teams in Europe. You mentioned Eliesse Ben Seghir and Maghnes Akliouche, and I think they delivered a very decent performance. They play beautiful football and I like that. Today they showed again that they are very talented.

For their development, I think that this match at the Emirates Stadium was a good thing, against a top team in Europe. We must not forget that Lamine Camara also was battling relegation last year in Metz, and that it is a big step for him to play a Champions League match against Arsenal. But it is a good experience for them, and even if we are obviously disappointed tonight, it is a good lesson for the future.

Are you struggling more defensively at the moment?

We were very happy to have 10 points after four games to start our Champions League campaign. Especially before facing big teams like Benfica, Arsenal here in London at the Emirates, then Aston Villa and Inter Milan away. It’s not time to look for excuses, but in this young team, we missed our captain Denis Zakaria, who knows the Premier League, as well as Wilfried Singo, one of our best defenders.

Dans la foulée de Reims, nous aurons un nouveau match de championnat contre le PSG le mercredi, avant de finir par la Coupe de France juste avant la trêve. C’est donc un enchaînement très rude, mais nous avons quelques joueurs qui vont revenir de suspension, ce qui nous permettra de faire tourner.

Folarin Balogun was also missing up front. It wasn’t all bad tonight, I saw some good things too, but Arsenal are a fantastic team with an extraordinary style of play and we will learn a lot from tonight’s game.

Can you give a comment on the busy schedule to end the calendar year?

The fixture list is busy right now, since we will return from this trip very early in the night tomorrow morning, before continuing the domestic season with another trip to Reims on Saturday morning.

Then shortly thereafter we will have a new league match against PSG on Wednesday, before finishing the year with the Coupe de France just before the break. So it’s a very tough run, but we have a few players who will be returning from suspension, which will allow us to rotate against Stade de Reims.