ReactionArne Slot press conference: 'We are heading in the right direction'

The Reds registered the second victory of their tour of the USA at Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday night with goals from Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho.

Excellent team moves saw Slot's men go 2-0 up with just over half an hour played and they then successfully held on to their lead after Kai Havertz pulled one back for the Gunners towards the break.

Read on for a full transcript of the head coach's post-match press conference…

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On the support in the USA...

Yes, that's a long question but it's true that football grew in the States. It's the third time already that I see a lot of crowds inside a stadium because we had the [Real] Betis game and yesterday I visited the [Philadelphia] Phillies – they played the [New York] Yankees. So it's been a good tour for us now – the facilities are great, you can see the fans are loving us playing here and we love to play here as well, especially if the results keep on going like this.

On the win...

I think even though it's a friendly, you always want to aim for a win. You should aim for a win even if you have a small-sided game during a training session. You need to win your games, you try to do everything to win. So that's a good thing that we did that today but I'm more pleased about the way we did so. Of course I saw the second half that we had a hard time with Arsenal – they dominated possession completely. But we defended really well and I was really pleased to see this because [there were] a lot of bodies behind the ball every time they arrived into our 16. Real big, open chances I don't think they created in the second half. First half, after the first 10 minutes, it was an equal game, where both teams could have scored a few goals more. So, [I'm] pleased to see how we played the first half and how we defended the second half.

On the experience of playing in the USA...

I think the good thing about playing here in the States is that many good teams are here, so we face strong opponents – with Betis and now with Arsenal and the upcoming game against [Manchester] United. It's very nice to see that the fans love to see us play over here, they come with big numbers – I think the stadium was sold out today, so that says a lot. And the facilities, like I said, are good, the temperature is good. So we've had a good tour until now but one game [is] coming up and we would like to finish that in the way we started this tour.

On the young players impressing...

Yeah, it's impressive. If you see that, like you said, we miss quite a lot of players that have played a lot of minutes for us last season, if you then come up to such a strong team like Arsenal had today, you're always curious to see what they can do. During half-time we had to add a few more youngsters. In the end of the game I think both teams had a lot of youngsters on the pitch. But it was good to see that all of them worked really hard and I think that's the first thing you have to do if you want to compete against a team that dominates possession like Arsenal did in the second half. So they did really well and I don't think one of the youngsters stood out today. The one that stood out last week, you could see today that his defensive duties, he can work on that a bit.

On whether Salah has been a role model for younger players since the team returned for pre-season...

Yes, but I don't think he's only this for this season: he has been that for several years. He came back really fit, but from what's been told to me that's normal for him. He always comes back really fit. But if I only use Mo as an example, I would not be fair to the other [senior] guys because the others are strong and fit as well. One of the main positive things until now is all the boys are fit, we have no injuries at all, so we hope we can continue like this and their fitness levels go up and up more. We felt today how hard it is and how tough it is to play against a team that wants to press us high – and we want to press them high. So, you need to be really fit to play games like this and we are working on this. We are heading in the right direction.

On Harvey Elliott's performance...

He had two great assists, but what I believe is that the team created these assists for him as well. Playing out from the back, getting him in the right positions – or another No.10. Then it is up to him to bring the most of these situations and he did that today with two assists. If I am a bit hard on him, I think there were two or three other situations where he could have done better. But that's what the team is doing for him; we make sure he and the other ones like Mo and like Fabio come in the right positions where they can show their quality. Harvey did that today with two good assists.

On the change between the first and second halves...

No, I would have preferred to keep the same playing style as the first half. Although the youngsters did really well, I think we had to change a few of our players who have played a lot of minutes for us. A few youngsters came in, they did really well defensively but we couldn't keep pressing them really high anymore as we did in the first half. I think that works both sides, so Arsenal maybe positioned themselves a bit differently and better, and for us although the youngsters did really well we had to change a few players that are starters for us, I would say. That's also a difference.

On whether having a natural forward in Diogo Jota made a difference...

Yes, he did. I think that helps to have someone who naturally plays in that position. Although Arsenal were man-v-man all over the place, then it helps if you have a striker who is smart and is intelligent, knows when to make the deep runs [and] knows when to hold the ball. I think it was him who bounced the ball towards Harvey, where Harvey could give the assist to Mo. It helps to have someone used to this position, especially if you play a team that is man-v-man all over the pitch.