Arteta compares Havertz to when he first met his wife
"I told Havertz that things always start out difficult," Arteta told Sky Sports after the comeback win at Emirates Stadium. "It was also very difficult when I first met my wife. I had to flirt and text. If she agreed on the first day, it probably wasn't okay. I think persistence helped me 'fall' her. In the end, she agreed, wanted to be together and that was great."
Arteta married Bernal in 2010 and has three sons. Bernal, born in 1981, of mixed Argentine and Spanish descent, was crowned Miss Spain in 1999 at the age of 17. Because she was not old enough to compete in Miss Universe that year, she represented her country at Miss World and entered the top 10.
Havertz is one of four new recruits to Arsenal this summer, recruited for a total of $83 million from Chelsea. At Emirates Stadium yesterday, the German player continued to combine with Declan Rice and captain Martin Odegaard to form Arsenal's midfield trio.
Havertz continued to have an ungainly match day, extending the short circuit to five matches. In the 13th minute, he missed the ball from less than 10 meters after a foul by Diogo Dalot.
More than ten minutes later, it was the 24-year-old midfielder who passed the error in the middle of the field, creating the conditions for Christian Eriksen to steal the ball and then sloping up the middle before poking the gap left for Marcus Rashford to charge up. The English striker turned the ball into the penalty area and then shot to the far corner, causing goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to touch the ball and could not save it.
In the 59th minute, when the score was 1-1, Havertz rushed into the middle, collided with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and fell down, resulting in a penalty. But after going to the sideline to review the video, referee Anthony Taylor changed his decision and canceled the penalty. After that, Havertz made way for Fabio Vieira from the 77th minute.
In this match, one minute after Rashford opened the score for Man Utd, Odegaard scored with one touch from outside the penalty area to equalize the score. The turning point came in the 89th minute when Alejandro Garnacho's goal was rejected by VAR for offside. Then, in the 6th and 11th minutes of injury time, respectively, Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus scored to seal a 3-1 victory for the hosts.
"It's amazing," Arteta added. "We work really hard and plan everything to live out moments like this. What is it like to see the fans bond with the team and celebrate in a big and historic game like this? That's great, very happy."
The Spanish coach praised Rice for a great performance, dominating the midfield, making good interceptions, connecting the lines in many moments and will score more goals. He also confirmed that Thomas Partey suffered a groin injury in training, requiring further examination, but will definitely have to sit out for a few weeks.
Arsenal rose to fifth with 10 points, equal to West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham, two points behind Man City, and Man Utd dropped to 11th with six points. After a break to make room for the national team, the "Gunners" played Everton on September 17, while Man Utd returned home to host Brighton on September 16 in round five of the Premier League.
