Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta Celebrates Dominant 4-1 North London Derby win: “We Dominated Every Part of the Game”
LONDON, October 1, 2023 – Mikel Arteta expressed immense satisfaction following Arsenal’s commanding 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s first North London derby of the Premier League season, held at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners delivered a decisive performance despite a number of players being either missing or not fully fit, extending their strong start to the campaign.
Arsenal capitalized on dropped points by Manchester City and Liverpool to not only gain ground in the title race, but also assert their dominance over their biggest rivals. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for Arsenal, followed by a hat trick from Eberechi Eze – the first North London derby hat trick in 47 years – before a long-distance effort from Richarlison briefly threatened to shift the momentum. Arsenal ultimately secured a six-point lead at the top of the table and bragging rights in North London.
“It’s a very special day for us,” Arteta said after the match. “We knew the importance of the match and what it means to our people. To give them that joy with our performance, the hunger, and the atmosphere created at the stadium. It’s a gorgeous day.”
Arteta emphasized the importance of intensity and precision in securing the win. “We said we wanted to impose ourselves but it has to start with intensity in the duels and being very precise. They have a very good team and we had to earn it. we look very dominant. We scored two majestic goals to start with and in the second half we maintained the consistency.We have things to improve, too.”
The manager lauded Eze’s performance, noting he “could’ve scored four or five,” and highlighted the importance of players stepping up in big games to “create those magic moments that unbalance a team.”
Arteta also pointed to the growing depth of his squad, praising the versatility of players like Mikel, who he said “does the job for us” when deployed as a nine.
While acknowledging the positive momentum,Arteta cautioned against premature title talk. “We have really good momentum but you can see how difficult every game is in the Premier League. It’s a long run,” he stated. He also previewed a challenging week ahead, with upcoming matches against Bayern Munich and a trip to Chelsea.