Ruben Selles Pleased With Performance In Arsenal Cup Win

The Royals secured an excellent 5-2 victory against Arsenal under-21s at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Tuesday night. Goals through Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan (x2), Caylan Vickers, Harvey Knibbs and Sam Smith secured the win in the EFL Trophy.

Here is what manager Ruben Selles had to say; he spoke to the official club website.

Selles on the victory

“It was a good performance from all the players. We had a clear idea on how to play the game and they were ready to execute it.

“We were front-footed and clear in the ideas that we had. We know that in these kinds of games, if you sit and wait you will get nothing. We applied pressure, won the ball high. Our opponent had some talented players but we attacked and defended as a team.

“We need this kind of game to lift the spirit and to show that we are capable to win football matches and play good football.

“In the cup, with the rotation of players that every team does, it is about organisation and communication. We are organised and know what we are doing… and all the players have been working really hard.

“And they are working hard in the team spirit and team-building. So it is good to see more and more commitment as a team. And it is good to see performances like today.

“I trust these players because I see them working every day, and I see how hard they work and how good they are at the things that they do. I know we haven’t been getting the results in the league, but I know how much effort they put in.

“So for me, it is the correct thing to do when the opportunity comes, to give them the space to play and express themselves.

“We have a lot of young, talented players and ones that are taking their opportunities in the cup. We know they can be really good. So hopefully we can sustain performances and results and start to get points in the league also.

“It is always good for our players to play against good players and show a performance like today – that means that we can do it, and that we can have a lot of different attributes in a football team. It’s not about individuals – it’s about working together. We are building that spirit as a team and I hope that we can build it more in future.”