Arteta happy to give our supporters derby day joy

Mikel Arteta was delighted that we managed to give our supporters the best possible afternoon by beating Tottenham Hotspur and staying in the hunt for the Premier League title.

We roared into a 3-0 lead at the break after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed into his own goal, Bukayo Saka finished off a great counter-attack and Kai Havertz headed in a corner, and make it look like a convincing derby day win was on the cards.

However we allowed our opponents back into the game when a mistake from David Raya allowed Cristian Romero to score, and then we conceded a penalty which Heung-min Son dispatched to set up a nerve-jangling finish.

But Mikel was thrilled that we managed to get over the line in a game where there was so much pressure on us to get the victory.

“It’s a north London derby against our rivals playing away from home in a beautiful stadium against a really good team,” he said. “You're going to have to suffer and that's part of the enjoyment as well. So hopefully now we have given our supporters a great afternoon and the opportunity to be proud of the team.

“You’re coming here knowing you have to win every game. You're [trying] to win the league. You come to your rivals in this place where you know what has happened to other big teams here, and you have to perform and win the game.

“It feels like we have made it really hard for ourselves, especially the way the game started and the control that we have with the 3-0 and the way we were performing in the second half.”

An uncharacteristic mistake from Raya saw him play the ball to Romero to score, but Mikel was delighted with how we responded to that setback, and galvanised as a team to make sure it didn’t derail our chances of victory.

“This is part of the game and I love the reaction of the team and especially the individuals that were involved in those mistakes because they showed real character," he added.

“[Raya] stepped up and did what he does best. And that's when you see the players - when things are at stake, it’s the courage. It's very easy to talk, but you have to do it on the pitch when something like this happens. I don't know if I would have that courage to do what he's done, so big compliment to them.”

The victory was extra sweet for our boss, as it was his 100th in the Premier League, coming in just 169 games.

While he was delighted it coincided with a win against Spurs, he was happy to share the credit with everyone else who played their part in ensuring the red half of north London is shouting loudest tonight.

“It's really good, a special day as well to celebrate,” he added. “So, thank you so much, everybody at the club, all the staff that are working with us every day, and especially our players to make it happen.

“The physios and the masseur and nutrition - everybody that is involved to have our players in the best physical and mental condition to approach every game. It's been a really demanding April, and we have the whole squad ready, apart from Jurrien [Timber]. They are in a great place and we need that. We knew how important it was going to be.”