From his vantage point on our touchline surrounded by noise raining down from the Emirates stnds, Mikel Arteta felt that were were destined to score a winner and beat Brentford.
Once again, the boss thanked our supporters for their positivity and passion to help drive our players on after they saw Declan Rice’s opener cancelled out by Yoane Wissa and our seven-match winning run potentially coming to an end.
But Kai Havertz’s 85th-minute header extended that run to eight successes and sent us to the top of the Premier League, and the boss believes that the Gooners inside the stadium made all the difference to clinch those vital two extra points.
Reflecting on the game, he said: “A great performance, a great result against a very difficult opponent. We overcame a difficult moment today and I’m really pleased with the way the team reacted, individually how they understood the task.
“It was incredible the way the crowd reacted as well; how much they helped us again today, the energy they put in, the enthusiasm and the noise inside the stadium - I had a feeling we were going to score.
“It’s impossible not to feel it. They are playing every ball, they are driving the team, they are pushing the team, they are supporting the team in a difficult moment, and it changes our world, honestly.”
The win sent us to the top of the Premier League with 10 games to go, but once the adrenalin from this victory over the Bees dies down, Mikel will be straight back to work.
He wants to ensure we overturn our 1-0 first-leg defeat against Porto and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, and he is urging our supporters to once again raise the roof and make Emirates Stadium a cacophony of noise on a huge night for the club.
“The Premier League is done, we’re not going to play a game for 19 days and now the full focus is on Porto,” he added. “We can achieve something that we haven’t done in 14 years [by reaching the last eight] so that’s the challenge ahead of us.
“More of that support or better please on Tuesday against Porto because it will give us a great chance to go through.”
Hear more from Mikel by watching his full interview above
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