Having clinched a hat-trick of derby day wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mikel Arteta was delighted that his team found a way to get the job done once against the home of our rivals.
Gabriel’s header on 63 minutes was enough to clinch a third-straight win away at Spurs since 1988, and secure the north London bragging rights for the sixth time in the last eight fixtures.
And Mikel was thrilled that yet again, our supporters across the world will be able to toast another win at Tottenham, and admits the ability to create that joy is a privilege everyone enjoys having.
Reflecting post-match, he said: “We have the power to make a lot of people happy and proud. We certainly did that today in the manner that we won the game in the circumstances that we had before arriving into this match, and with this being the third consecutive away win here as well, it means a lot. So hopefully, they can enjoy it.
“There are certain things that we have to do better for sure, especially the simple things with the ball that I wasn’t happy at all with. But there are other things in the game that we have to do and the way we competed and defended, and the way we have the intention all the time to run in the spaces that they give you, it was unbelievable.
“Then you have to find a way to win in any context, and today it was tricky, because first of all they are a great opponent, secondly because we have to alter our plan quite a lot for the players that we had, and then you still win the game.”
As another record tumbles, this result meant we have won for the sixth league game on the road in a row, have won 10 of our 11 away league games in 2024 without trailing at any point, and kept a ninth clean sheet in that time.
While his players now boast the belief that they can go and win anywhere now, Mikel also feels that there’s a lot more behind those incredible numbers, but ahead of further road games against Atalanta and Manchester City next week, he is happy the confidence continues to flow through his players.
“I think we have to get a lot of things right in this league to be able to do that. It’s great, I love winning. I love winning especially when you make other people really proud and happy, so let’s enjoy tonight and get ready for what’s coming.
“That gives us a lot of energy, belief, a good platform to start and now recover, start to talk about Atalanta because it’s going to be a tough one.”
The boss’ final word went to his matchwinner, who is now one of only four Arsenal players to score 10+ headed goals in the Premier League, along with Olivier Giroud (27), Ian Wright (14) and Emmanuel Adebayor (12), and his output at both ends of the pitch continues to thrill his manager.
On Gabi becoming our latest derby day hero, Mikel added: “He obviously knows what it means and it’s going to go there in the history of these matches and he’s been superb.
“When a centre back has the capacity to do first his role in the manner that he does it and then adds goals to win football matches, then you’re talking about something else.”