Mikel Arteta was quick to praise his team’s efficiency in front of goal as Arsenal secured the north London bragging rights with an impressive 3-1 win against Sp*rs.
The Gunners repeatedly cut through the visitors in a thrilling first half as Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka all got on the scoresheet.
Despite Son’s late consolation, the boss was rightly pleased with a performance that hinted that his squad are, finally, moving in the right direction.
Asked whether today was the day his ‘project went bang’, he said: “Well certainly, I think we all agree that we saw a team that convinced from the beginning, with good energy and high rhythm, with a lot of quality, great cohesion and understanding of what we wanted to do with and without the ball.
“Then we were super efficient. That is something we have been lacking in the final third, the right pass, the shot to hit the target more and I think we did that all really well in the first half.”
The atmosphere at north London derbies rarely disappoints and today was no different. The home fans were deafening before, during and after the game in a show of support for players who’ve owed them a big performance.
“It is one of the nicest things I have experienced in this stadium,” said Arteta. “To win it, to win it in the way that we did, and to feel that connection with the team and the supporters made it really special.
“I am proud of the way we played and I’m even more proud of the way we were able to give something back to the fans because they really stuck behind the team.”
He added: “I think when we didn’t have [fans] we missed it. It’s impossible to attract people and to connect with what we are trying to do if we don’t have fans, if we don’t have our supporters here.
“It’s such a different thing when you sense that they believe, that they are willing to support and we want to entertain them and play in a way that they can be proud and that happens at the same time. That’s why I think we are all enjoying and that we’re really happy today with what we’ve seen.”
North London is red!
Just want to highlight we are 4 points off second and 5 off top. That is mental
And Saka, ESR, Auba and Martin haven’t even got out of 1st gear yet!
Only 32 matches left in the season though. Only 96 points left to play for. 🙂
If we win all other games 1-0 we will have scored an avarage of 1 goal per game
Arteta prem manager of the month in Sept? That would have been a ballsy bet!
as if the day couldn’t get any better Arsenal 5 man city 0. ohh u go girls
Awesome win! Arteta got his tactics and squad spot on today
Let’s hope this run continues. Feel for Ramsdale conceding his first goal but overall a great performance.
If we start to see more of this positive forward football that is both pleasing to watch and effective, I think Arteta will buy himself a lot more time to fine tune the team.
Yes, I felt for Ramsdale too. But at least it didn’t affect the result.
Down with horse shoe ball. Defence aside it’s largely the same players in attack from last season. While the additions tick all the boxes the move away from the ponderous ball movement is starting to pay dividends. Here’s hoping for more of the same.
I really, really like this team. I do. The characters are great. ESR, Saka, Tierney and Odegaard are just lovely lads. It’s hard not to like them. I had a United fan on my WhatsApp’s saying he really liked this side.
I’ve got to thank Mikel for that. When you have kids sometimes you think, “I love you, but right now I don’t like you” and I’ve felt that way about a few Arsenal sides of late.
But I’m falling in love with Arsenal all over again.
I think the best of our recent signings is Ramsdale. Had a terrific game and then he came up for his Q/A with Seaman and he appeared so cool and likeable. The kind of player that connect with the fans. He is going to be a fan favorite soon. Mor eimportantly, his game management has been top notch so far. Looked really assured and that is gonna reflect on the rest of the back 5 too.
⚠️ Massive ‘getting ahead of myself’ warning ⚠️ (but fuck it, life is short and hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things) :
We could push United for fourth.
Liverpool is a much better side than us right now–but they don’t have the depth that the other three top sides do, so very susceptible to injuries. Man United have no coherent plan, but so many good players it may not matter. Man City and Chelsea have both a coherent plan and endless supplies of top players. So, top four will be very hard indeed.
Couldn’t agree more. This side is so full of character and energy. They’re starting to form bonds and play for each other now too and it’s beautiful to see. Even the Arteta-haters have to give it up to him for putting together such an exciting young team.
I was surprised he left Pepe out; I thought it should be Smith Rowe. Kinda makes you think he might know what he’s doing.
I’ve been saying for weeks the best formation is with the two technical attackers and Saka (technical and direct) with a direct striker (Pepe or Auba) ahead of them and a double pivot behind. But hey, as you said, I don’t contribute much tactical analysis… I guess I’ll keep deferring to you.
I think you have missed the point; it was to point out that Arteta sees things in training that we cannot. Everyone knew that against Spurs there would be a double pivot with Partey and Xhaka (not Sambi, as you kept demanding). That means one of Pepe, Smith Rowe, Saka, or Odegaard must sit. Odegaard is a no-brainer. I (and a lot of others) think Pepe has been our most important attacking threat this season, so he would have to start. Arteta decided that despite Saka’s (relative) lack of form so far, and Smith Rowe’s unproven ability to finish, they… Read more »
Not saying at all that Pepe hasn’t been good. He has and it is rough on him to be dropped, but this is exactly what I have been saying: Our best balance leaves a choice between Auba and Pepe up top – obviously Auba is the more natural choice there and he fits so well when he has enough technical quality behind him. I think ESR and Saka pick themselves, I think the talk about Saka’s form has been way over the top too. Not like he’s been shite, just lacked the final bit of quality in a few games.… Read more »
That fist half dosplay was immrnse, best i have seen Ardenal play in years. Hopefully a corner has been turned
That first half was so good, i have lost the ability to spell
I presumed beer was involved
Happy birthday Andrew…keep up the good work…you’re making a lot of people happy
Well, I think when one criticises, rightfully I might add, given what’s been going on, one should also be magnanimous to admit you are wrong when you are, so totally happy, and will be the first to admit was wrong in thinking the lights Arteta said he saw was not the one I thought it was, you know, the one the deer saw, before it got hit?..well done lads and well done Arteta😁
Waiting for the haters (qwaletee et al) to jump in….. nothing? Ok.
Just wanted to give Arteta a shout out. He has probably been to hell and back the first few weeks of this season and once again he shows he can arrest a rut. He deserves praise. He was brave with Xhaka today. It could have backfired but it was absolutely the right decision. Also tip of the hat to Edu. I know we’ve got a small pool of data to work with but all of the signings look great.
Absolutely. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved Xhaka to be sold during the summer….but once he wasn’t & we didn’t buy a senior option in midfield, we have to suck it up & accept he is going to play a lot cos we simply don’t have better options. People have lost all reason when it comes to Xhaka. When you see that performance today & think that people on here regularly suggest Elneny would do better than him. That way madness lies folks….
Nah, I’m willing to stick my neck and say in terms of incomings, that’s a 9/10 window. From Tomiyasu to MØ, they’re all really efficient and spot on signings. Their character too! Phew!
Considering Tierney is our longest serving player in today’s backline and two of them had just joined the squad, I’m quietly confident that this can be the start of a solid new spine for us. 3 games on the trot with the same defensive personnel and results are starting to flow. Add Ramsdale into the mix and things are looking even brighter at the back. Happy to give Ben White time to develop as his partnership with Gabriel also seems to be budding. Still hoping Saliba comes back to this squad and become a stalwart for us too.
Finally played with the hand break off in that first half, was great to see and really should be our default from here on out. Let them back into it a bit in the second half mind, sat too deep, something to learn from. Keeper and back 4 look set imo, the question is whether we stick with the 4-2-3-1 throughout or we keep the option of a 4-3-3, especially for more defensive sides. The Xhaka injury didn’t look too good either. The way his knee buckled and even the fact he was able to hobble off the pitch screams… Read more »
This should be the blueprint from here on out. Not just the work rate and attacking intent, but the roles and balance in each position and understandings developing all over the pitch.
And I forgot the last time we we’re consistent and effective on the counter!! Love it
Also Tomiyasu, I think, has had the best debut run of games for an Arsenal defender since Sagna!
Can we have more of that please 😊🙏
And the icing on a very red/white cake is the ladies have thrashed Man City 5:0! I am going to make a prediction here, I reckon the ladies will win the league this year!
Hahaha! Well ahead of you mate. They look unstoppable.
The biggest difference for me is we now have 4 defenders who actually want to defend. Tomi and Gabriel are monsters, so competitive. Partey in front is a proper marshall as well it just gives us such a solid foundation, brilliant to see. Oh and ramsdale what a keeper.
Saka flows on the right….Pepe stalls all day,everyday….playing Saka on the left to accommodate Pepe cost us more than we can fathom.. maybe a draw against Brentford or Chelsea? Our starting eleven is set for now…would probably still play sambi over him though
If we can play on the counter attack like we did today I bet Pepe would have also scored.
Corrrect me if I am wrong but I feel like we haven’t scored 2 on the counter since Henry.
Also poor Pepe can’t compete fans affection with two Hale End boys but still he is fantastic when confident
I thought when Saka was a bit fatigued late on, Pepe was the perfect option off the bench to really scare the shit out of that Spuds defence.
100% agree. We don’t play that fluid football we did the first with Pepe starting..I think he can be a great super sub
Really chuffed for Arteta. While i have been very critical of him i also really want him to succeed. All the criticisms become massive positives.
Also love Thierry Henry trying and failing miserably to blend in with a retro shirt and baseball cap.
All round good day…
That as Wrighty’s shirt
What a game. The boys show lots of hearts. The young lads didn’t disappoint hopefully this will be the turning point of our season. Keep the faith and believe in the process. Let’s keep the momentum going and maintain this level of performance
I hope the fans at the stadium continue to inject this much energy every single game we play at the emirates
If Arteta can only help us not bring back Pepe on pitch that team was just nice
…and that team will play 32 games without need for substitution and recuperation.
Some comments are painfully myopic.
Trust in the process hence forth.
This team can deliver.
Odegaard’s intelligence is so high. Some of the touches he had today were truly world class. Dare I say Bergkamp-esque?
TomiGUNYasu!!!!! 🙂