Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Saturday’s victory against Leeds United at the Emirates.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta delivered more praise for Leeds United after Saturday’s 2-1 victory at the Emirates as he again declared that Daniel Farke’s Whites deserved to be where they are.
Defending Premier League champions went into Saturday’s return to action against Leeds looking to bounce back from the surprise 3-0 defeat at Brighton before the international break which left the second-placed Gunners just three points above Farke’s fifth-placed Whites.
Leeds then produced an excellent first half display the Emirates and Farke’s side put themselves on course to actually go above Arsenal in the table when taking a 1-0 lead through James Justin after the break.
United then pushed for a second but their defensive hard work at the other end was finally undone as Ricardo Calafiori got himself free to convert after Ben White had nodded a Noni Madueke cross back across goal.
The momentum was changing and Arsenal then bagged what proved the game’s winning goal as a flowing team move was finished off by a thumping finish from substitute Bruno Guimaraes.
The victory ultimately sent the Gunners level on points with Manchester City ahead of City’s clash at Liverpool on Sunday but Arteta saluted Leeds in his post match press, declaring that United deserved to be in a great position and were an incredibly dangerous side.
“We are coming from three weeks without 16 players and after a heavy defeat, and we had all these things in the tummy. Today we had two objectives: one, to face the challenge because it's a team that hasn't lost in the Premier League and they are in a great position because they fully deserved it, as I said in the [pre-match] press conference.
“Secondly because we had a point to prove. Something was touched in our identity against Brighton, especially in the manner that we reacted after being in a difficult situation.
“They are incredibly dangerous”
“And today, even though we started extremely well and being really dominant, we didn't capitalise on the spaces, the situation, the overlaps that we had to attack the ball and the box much better. So that left the game a little bit open and we knew that they don't need much to threaten you every time they are putting the ball in the box.
“They are incredibly dangerous and we got into a situation being one down at home and after that [Brighton] defeat and a 12:30 kick-off, it is a bad mixture.
“We got out of that through touching again and pinching our desire to win, to have a reaction, to show the personality and courage that we have in this team. Once we equalised, the energy changed, the finishers came in and made a huge difference again to help us win the game.
That's what we are made of. We know that it's going to be every single week the same because every game that I have watched in those two weeks, which has been a lot to understand what is happening in the league again. I's not going to be any different to that.”