Emile Smith Rowe was speaking to BT Sport after the 1-0 loss to Olympiacos, which still saw Arsenal progress to the Europa League last 8 on aggregate [3-2].
On progressing to the next round
"It definitely means a lot to us after going out last year to this team, it’s a good feeling for us. But it’s a very disappointing result today."
On not doing it the easy way
"Yeah, definitely. We didn’t start well, it wasn’t the best performance from us. Like you said, we’re through, it’s been a big week for us and we’ve got to move on and forget about this."
On whether there were tired legs
"Yeah, probably after the game on Sunday, the north London derby. We looked a bit fatigued at times. Overall, disappointing, but we’re happy to get through."
On the second half
"It was really difficult. We knew they have really good players and they are good on the counter. When they got the goal they really started to push on. I felt we never really took control of the game after that. We got the result in the end."
On this being a learning experience
"We’re on a journey together. There are young players and experienced players on the team and we’re all trying to help each other every day. We have to keep going game-by-game and keep pushing through together."
On getting a knock early on
"Yeah, I’m all good man. There was a little bit of fatigue and stuff, but I’m just going to recover and then we go again on Sunday."
On his England under-21 call-up
"I got a message from one of the coaches. Obviously, it’s a really happy moment for me and my family. I can’t wait to get over there and get started. I was with my mum and dad at the time. I showed them the message. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity so I can’t wait to get started."
Apart from Arsenal, Granada and Roma are through to the next stage as well as Dinamo Zagreb who have knocked Spurs out of the competition overturning a 2-goal deficit scoring 3 at home.
