Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says his side were deserved winners after their 2-0 victory over Newcastle United at St. James Park on Sunday.
Despite the Magpies’ strong start, Martin Odegaard gave the Gunners the lead with a brilliant strike to mark his 15th goal of the season, which currently makes him the club’s joint-top scorer as at the time of writing.
An own-goal from Fabian Schar doubled Arsenal’s advantage but the game was far from straightforward, despite the scoreline, as Mikel Arteta’s men had to dig deep to maintain their lead and also keep a clean sheet in the process.
Almost a year ago, Newcastle beat Arsenal to end the Gunners’ Champions League hopes but it was a different scenario this time around, just as Arteta predicted.
The win moved the North London outfit back to within one point of league leaders Manchester City, though the Citizens have a game in hand, coupled with a far superior goal-difference to go with.
Arteta hails statement win
Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta said: said: “It meant a lot. It was a real test, they hurt our pride last year and in sport, when you have another opportunity you have to make sure you learn from it.”
“We had to remember how we felt a year ago when we were here. Today had to be different. We had to play the game with a different level of implication, intelligence and maturity, and we showed a real fight today and a desire to win.”
“They are creating something important here, that atmosphere was rocking. They have a great team, great organisation, great individuals, and we won here. That, in my opinion, is a big statement as well with how far we’ve come.”
Mikel Arteta is aware the Premier League title is no longer in Arsenal’s hands but insists his players will still give their best until the very end.
He added: “It’s been critical because it’s the most important part of the season, the nicest part of the season. Today we are second, but to play for the championship with three games to go against this team, and win, it doesn’t get better than that.
“If you want to be involved in elite sport, you have to embrace those moments. There’s no giving up. I saw a lot of people after the City game almost turning back. I hate that, I’m not going to accept that from anybody, from the team, any members of staff.
“We have to keep going because you never know. We have to keep digging – we’ve done it for 10 months, now is the moment to do it even harder than before.”
