Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Ezri Konsa and Declan Rice after their vital defensive contributions in the Premier League win over Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners picked up their sixth victory of the league campaign at City Ground on Sunday, but they had to do it the hard way with just one shot on target.
Noni Madueke’s deflected 80th-minute goal was the match-winner (1-0 win), but Forest were close to scoring the equaliser on three separate occasions.
Rice came to the Gunners’ rescue with a vital block to deny Chris Wood a free shot at goal in the 89th minute.
Murillo was just inches away from scoring in stoppage time soon after.
Right at the end, Konsa played Liam Delap onside with a lapse in concentration, but he made a terrific recovery tackle before the striker could test David Raya.
After the game, Arteta was asked about Konsa’s stoppage time tackle.
In response, the Spaniard said that Konsa and Rice were ‘unbelievable’ with their defensive contributions and showed an example of the club’s winning mentality.
He said (via Arsenal.com): “Unbelievable. Ezri’s and Declan’s, I think we had another one – that showed spirit and was a really good example of how much we want to win.”
Arsenal went into yesterday’s game with a six-point deficit to league leaders Manchester City, and the pressure was on them to win to close the gap to the Cityzens.
The club have had a dismal record at the City Ground. Having played out 0-0 draws in the last two seasons, a similar occurrence was on the cards before Madueke’s late winner.
Madueke secured the man of the match accolade, but Konsa and Rice put in a good shift. The pair registered a combined 14 ball recoveries against Oliver Glasner’s side.
Rice also bagged his fourth assist of the league season, which is currently the joint-highest.
Next up, Arsenal have a tough Champions League trip to German champions Bayern Munich, who secured a stunning 6-1 Bundesliga win over RB Leipzig on Saturday.
The Gunners beat Bayern 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium last season. It could be a different contest on the road with the Bavarian giants scoring over four goals per game this term.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com