After his midweek pep talk to players and fans alike, Mikel Arteta couldn’t hide his pride as Arsenal produced a pitch-perfect away performance, hammering Leeds United 4-0 to temporarily restore a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Noni Madueke, a late stand-in for Bukayo Saka after the winger was injured in the warm-up, was central to the first-half dominance, first delivering a pinpoint cross for Martin Zubimendi to head the opener, and then whipping in a corner that Karl Darlow could only punch into his own net.
If the first half was artisan, the second was emphatic. After riding out some early pressure, the Gunners rediscovered their attacking fluency, adding two excellent goals; Viktor Gyokeres volleying home from substitute Gabriel Martinelli’s cross, before Gabriel Jesus, also off the bench, arrowed a finish into the corner after some neat footwork.
Arsenal could have added further gloss in the closing stages, but after last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, this was the perfect response.
“I’m very, very happy, obviously. A very impressive performance, a very impressive result,” Arteta told his post-game press conference.
“And in the context that we’ve done it, we knew about the difficulty of the game and the opponent that we’re facing, with the recent form and the style of play that they have at the moment, the energy that the stadium brings.
“And then the fact that after three results that didn’t go our way in the league, we really wanted to show how much we wanted it, and I think we’ve certainly done that today.”
He added: “The mentality is good, and to play with that level of enjoyment about where we are [top of the table], and then with the conviction to believe in what we do and how good we are, and that we can beat any opponent. We’ve certainly done that.
“But then you have to show the quality as well in this league to do it, and it came out in great ways from different players as well.”
Arteta also highlighted the importance of squad players making an immediate impact, whether it was Noni Madueke stepping in for Bukayo Saka just before kick-off or the influence of second-half substitutes.
“That’s only possible if those players are with the right mindset,” he said.
“We talked before the game, it’s going to be a long game, we’re going to have to navigate through different moments in the game, and we’re going to need everybody fulfilling the role that they have on the day, and I think the players executed that incredibly well.”
This was Arsenal’s third clean sheet in four matches and, despite some recent lapses, there is a growing sense of defensive stability — particularly with Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba re-establishing their partnership at centre-back.
“It’s something that we want,” said Arteta. “You always have an opponent in front of you that is going to test that, and you have to execute the actions and be very, very consistent.
“You don’t want to concede nothing. It’s really impressive, because it’s a really tough team to restrict them to that.”
Today’s win puts the pressure back on the chasing pack, with Manchester City heading to Sp*rs and Aston Villa hosting Brentford. You’d expect the gap to close again, but who knows – perhaps our spineless neighbours might finally shock the football world by winning a home league game.