The hard details of final scores and tournament outcomes happen. And in response we scroll back furiously through the choices, vibes and personnel that got us there, convinced there is an answer simply waiting to reveal itself, like the windsurfing dog inside a magic eye picture.
I know how it goes. If you lose those two games, I'm not in the conversation at all. I think we had two relatively-positive performances. Again, still so much about those that I'm not entirely happy about and want to keep improving on, but I think we've got things moving in a decent direction.
He's a young player who needs time to develop, as you can see now in Newcastle. So, I don't expect him to score 15 goals in Newcastle and then shoot us to a World Cup title. He's welcome to do that, but it would be extraordinary. I told him only last week to stay relaxed. We have trust in him.
He is a very demanding person. He knows the level we want, and he wants to fulfil the level we expect of him, Arteta said. He has been very consistent. He had a great game against Chelsea and scored to help us win the game. For the rest of his career, what he's done in the last few years, he has set the standard, and it's a standard we expect him to maintain.
For me, preparation for any game always started two hours after the one I had just managed. My drive home to the south coast on a Saturday night after a game could take three hours or more, and much of that would be spent on the phone while I had precious quiet time. When I was at Stoke City, my chairman Peter Coates would always speak to me then if we lost. If we'd won, he never bothered, knowing I wouldn't need comforting.
