After we recovered from the setback of seeing a two-goal lead slip away against Leicester City, Mikel Arteta was proud of the attitude of both his players, and the Emirates Stadium crowd, to go on and win the game again 4-2.
After James Justin’s double hauled the visitors back level, a string of incredible saves from Foxes keeper Mads Hermansen denied us time and time again, and we entered second half stoppage-time staring down the barrel of two dropped points.
But Mikel was delighted that both his players and the home supporters refused to accept the fate, and that was rewarded when Leandro Trossard forced Wilfred Ndidi into an own goal before Kai Havertz made sure of the victory.
“You can start to feel sorry for yourself – what else do I have to do to win?” Mikel mused post-match. “No, we have to do more things, because what we have done is not enough To have that mentality, purpose and perseverance is really impressive, because it’s easy to say here but very difficult to do it out there.
“I think our supporters, the crowd, were exceptional at that, creating that atmosphere of belief, energy and not an average fear of nerve or insecurity. So thank you so much because they helped the team a lot to get the points.
“I’m really happy, really pleased with the performance, the attitude of the team and the way we played and dominated the game.
“I’m especially happy with the way the team reacted when it got very difficult, with a really unexpected two goals conceded which put the game at stake. We - the crowd included - showed unbelievable emotional control, a lot of belief and clarity into what we are continuously doing and a lot of courage at the end to find a way to win it.”
Things were looking rosy at the break when goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Trossard put us in firm control, but some sloppiness at the start of the second 45 would eventually allow Steve Cooper’s team a foothold back in the contest.
Having seen the lead vanish, the boss was glad his team managed to keep their heads, reset and felt they regrouped to win back the two points that had slipped away, and move them level with the league leaders after six games.
Reflecting on what changed in the second half, he added: “We gave the ball away, there is a counter-attack, a free-kick, and on top of that there was a deflection, the ball goes in, it’s one of the worst ways to start the second half. The second time that they scored, it’s a worldie from Justin, so shake hands and say well done, and we have to do the game again.
“Emotionally, you are in very different position - you are expecting, or you were a few minutes before. But if you want to win in any context, you have to be able to do these kinds of things, the team showed again another step, another layer in development and I’m really happy.”
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