Arteta hails "incredible" Arsenal as Gunners boss explains Havertz U-turn

17 December 2023 , 17:01

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Arteta hails "incredible" Arsenal as Gunners boss explains Havertz U-turn

Mikel Arteta was delighted with the patience his Arsenal side showed in their "incredible" victory over Brighton.

The Gunners seized top spot in the Premier League with a 2-0 success at the Emirates Stadium. Second-half strikes from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz were enough for the Gunners against Roberto De Zerbi's men.

While Arsenal were dominant for large swathes of the game, it seemed for a long time that their opening goal wouldn't come. That was until Jesus nodded home just eight minutes after half-time.

Speaking after the game, Arteta praised his side for sticking with their game plan and having the patience required to break the Seagulls down. The Spaniard said: "Incredible performance. A joy to watch from the start to the end.

"The way we did it against this very good team. Even at half-time the scoreline didn’t reflect that. We fully deserved to win the game. We had 15 shots [in the first half], it was a lot. We had to keep going. We don’t have that accuracy in front of goal."

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He added: "We had to patient but at the same time we had to be patient against this team. When you have doubts they open you up. We didn’t do that. We had some issues in the camp and with Jorginho too we had another one. We need players."

Things were edgy for Arsenal until the closing stages and they might have had to make do with a point had Pascal Gross not put his shot wide. Arteta claims he was always aware of the danger facing his side with such a precarious advantage.

Mikel Arteta gives instructions to Gabriel Martinelli (Getty Images)

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Arteta added: "That’s the Premier League. You see it in every game. We had many situations to put the ball in the net and we didn’t, 1-0 isn’t enough."

Arsenal eventually got themselves over the line through German midfielder Havertz - the ex-Chelsea man scoring his third goal in his last five Premier League outings. He now appears to have overcome the difficult start he endured in his opening few months in north London.

Arteta has been left delighted with Havertz's reversal in fortunes at Arsenal. He said: "In terms of goals, yes. In terms of performances it’s exactly the same as he was at the start of the season. You can see he’s confident and enjoying his football."

Arteta and Havertz will be aiming to extend make it back-to-back Premier League victories next weekend as they face a top-of-the-table clash against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

Daniel Orme