Arsenal finally ended a 24-game winless run against their big six rivals with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford – their first Premier League victory at the ground in 14 years.
The Gunners were by far the better team and unfortunately only managed to score once, but their solitary strike was crucial as it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who ended his five-game run without a goal from the penalty spot. .
Here’s what manager Mikel Arteta had to say after the game.
Arsenal/Pool/Getty Images was at the top.
“I think we deserved the points,” he said (via the club’s official website). “I’m really happy that after 14 years without a win, we’ve been able to come and do what we’ve done today.
At the same time I asked the players, ‘Please, let’s be us and play with our identity and our style’. I think we did that from the first minute against a really tough opponent. Obviously they have a lot of quality and we deserved to win the game.”
Mikel Arteta is looking to become only the second manager in Arsenal history to win his first two games against Man Utd, after Herbert Chapman in 1925-26 #MUNARS pic.twitter.com/orbVuYULar
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 1, 2020
Arteta became the first Arsenal manager to win his first two games against United since the great Herbert Chapman in 1925/26.
Arteta said: “I didn’t know that but obviously it’s great. If we want to fight with them, we have to beat the top teams. Home. We have to improve. This is the gap and we have to do it as much as possible. “It’s about shrinking as much as possible, as quickly as possible. That’s the challenge we’re facing.”
The party prevails again / Poll/Getty Images
Summer signing Thomas Partey was among the best players on the pitch during the game, continuing his impressive start to life at the Emirates Stadium.
“He was really good, but I don’t like to talk about people because they all contributed a lot,” insisted Arteta. “It was really difficult to select the team and it is getting more and more difficult, but I am happy that whoever I pick, they are ready to give everything and play with great spirit.
“That’s a big factor for me because we played without fear and believed in our style of play.”
Arsenal finally beat their rivals in the Premier League / Paul Ellis / Getty Images
A run of 24 games without a league win against a top side has made Arsenal somewhat of a laughingstock in years gone by, but Arteta hopes things will turn around after this win.
He added: “Yes, obviously there are many factors and obviously it’s not a coincidence, so if we want to fight with the big teams we have to change it dramatically and very quickly. Because if we don’t, we’re not. We won’t have the consistency that’s needed at the highest level, so it’s a big belief for the players as well.
“To be fair, this season we went to Anfield and we played them head-to-head, then we went to the Etihad and we didn’t accept losing the game, then we came here and did the same, except this time we won.”
Waking up this morning like this…
? @Aubameyang7 pic.twitter.com/PxjXSLz0Ok
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 2, 2020
“He probably added to the pressure because he knew how important it was for us to win today and how important the moment was, but I think he took it very well and I’m very happy for him because maybe “He wasn’t scoring, but he’s been working really hard and contributing to the team. He’s been doing everything else and he got the reward today.”
Arteta wants the momentum to continue / Poll/Getty Images
“We’re also creating expectations because we beat United and then we beat Chelsea, and then we beat Man City in the cup, then Liverpool. We want to prepare them all the time. These teams are They are at a different moment in the process. We always want to compete with them in the league.
“We’ll develop in other things and we’ll get better, but we need to develop the belief that we can go into any arena and be competitive. That’s something we already have, in my opinion. I.”
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