Mikel Arteta has showered praises on his players for their intensity and spirit as we came from behind to win the North London derby.
Martin Odegaard equalized after a Erik Lamela opener before Alex Lacazette sealed it from the spot.
Despite dominating for the most part of the game, we nearly let the win slip in the last ten minutes after Spuds were down to ten men.
Mikel Arteta admitted that his players need to get better at game management
. Here’s the transcript from his interview with Sky Sports…
On how much credit his players deserve…
Full credit. To do it the way we did it today after two and a half days [preparation] after coming back from Europe, to play the intensity and to show the quality that we did and the spirit that we showed throughout the game, it was incredible. Going one-nil down after the way we were playing was very disappointing and probably the worst-case scenario against a team like Spurs. But we reacted with a lot of personality. We kept playing and we deserved the win.
On the final 10 minutes…
The last 10 minutes was probably the worst we’ve played. We could not manage the game, we could not manage the tension. We should have done much better and that’s something we need to improve as a team.
On being reliant on luck at the end…
We were too reliant on luck [in the final minutes]. The way we played the game we should have won the game in a more comfortable way. We should have seen out the game in a much more comfortable position. Things to improve!
On making good headway down the left…
We prepared the game the game trying to exploit some areas that we believed we could. We have to give credit to the players. We had some really strong performances today. Individually they really stood up and then you could see the energy that they were playing with. When you do it that way, you have a chance to win. It [the win] is totally up to them.
On whether he thought it might not be Arsenal’s day…
No, but this is football. It is about how you react and this team has shown recently that they have the reaction within them. They are not going to give up, they keep trying and keep believing. We kept playing, generating chances and a lot of good situations and we got rewarded for that.
On how this season’s two derbies compare…
A lot [of progress], but I think we played quite well in the previous one. They are so efficient. They don’t need much to score a goal or create dangerous situations. You’ve seen that again today. The first goal that Lamela scored was pure quality. It’s an incredible goal. We have a lot to improve but we’re going in the right direction.
On the penalty…
I haven’t seen it but on the bench they said it was clear.
On Aubameyang being dropped…
We have a way of living together, we have to respect each other. That’s it. He’s an incredible guy, he’s probably one of the most important players in the team, he’s our captain. These things happen, we move forward and enjoy the victory tonight and dedicate it to our fans.
On it being more disappointing because he’s captain…
These things happen in football. We have 24 [players], there’s a lot of things going on in our lives which people are finding really difficult under the restrictions that we have. It’s part of our job.
On whether Aubameyang was late…
I will never tell you anything that happens in that dressing room. I can tell you the reason but not the facts.
