CARSON, Calif. -- LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena spoke after the Galaxy's 4-0 victory over Toronto FC.
(On the Galaxy’s decision to release Stefan Ishizaki...)
ARENA: Tonight was Ishizaki last game for the Galaxy. We’ve granted him a release and he’s going to be heading home to Sweden to finalize his career. His wife is due with twins very shortly, so it’s a move necessary for him and his family. We want to thank him for his outstanding contribution over the last 18 months. He’s done an outstanding job.
(On Toronto’s performance...)
ARENA: Think about this Toronto team and you add Jozy [Altidore] and Michael Bradley – they are going to be a very good team as they close out the second half of the season. [Sebastian] Giovinco is very good, with all his teammates around him I can imagine that they will be a very outstanding attacking team.
(On Giovinco...)
ARENA: We were aware of where he was and whenever we could – we brought a second player around him to help stand him up – we did that.
(On Robbie Keane’s performance...)
ARENA: Good job. He’s getting sharper each and every game. It’s been a while. Missing a couple of months is never easy and it takes some games. Robbie’s needed about a month, month and a half to get going again. He’s only going to get better.
)On Sebastian Lletget’s performance...)
ARENA: He continues to play well. He’s a good player. He uses his body well. What more can you say? He’s probably scored four or five goals for us as well. He’s made an outstanding contribution.
(On Brian Rowe’s performance...)
ARENA: I thought he had a good solid game. He had to make a big save in the second half on Giovinco, came out, punched some balls and his distribution was pretty good. I think the other night in San Jose was a little bit of a rocky start and game for him. I think he needed that game to get settled in and tonight he looked pretty composed.
(On the team’s performance...)
ARENA: It was good. The start of the second half wasn’t good on our behalf, but we certainly expected that approach by Toronto. They did a pretty good job getting after us. The third goal was critical.
(On Baggio Husidic’s performance...)
ARENA: Solid game. Typical game for Baggio. With the addition of Gerrard, we will be able to move him in a more comfortable position where he likes to play. Baggio’s had a very good year for us.
(On what Ishizaki brought to the Galaxy...)
ARENA: We needed a right sided midfielder, an experienced player. He brought that. He was a very good teammate. Well-liked by everyone. In his first year, he helped win a championship for us. He has positioned our team again to be a team that hopefully can make the playoffs and contend for another MLS Cup. He’s been an outstanding player for us and we’ll miss him.
(On the impact that Steven Gerrard will have on the Galaxy...)
ARENA: When you insert a player of his caliber, things are going to look different. He’s obviously a first class player. He’s going to make us better in the midfield. He’s going to improve our passing as a team; he can score goals; he’s outstanding on set pieces; there are a lot of things that he should add to our team. We are going to let him have the proper time to get him integrated. He’s going to need some games and get used to his teammates and his teammates getting used to him. Once he gets settled in, he’s going to make an outstanding contribution.
