Arteta cites promising Arsenal trait behind Brentford victory; names star who is ‘really good’
Mikel Arteta hailed his side’s team spirit as they gained revenge on Brentford with a 2-1 triumph at the Emirates Stadium.
The Bees had opened their Premier League account by beating the Gunners 2-0 back in August last year. But they were very much second best in north London. Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka bagged the second-half goals, with Christian Norgaard netting a late consolation for the visitors.
The result means Arsenal sit sixth in the top-flight standings but are just one point behind fourth-placed Manchester United. But, with two games in hand on the Red Devils and three on fifth-placed West Ham, they currently hold all the top-four aces.
The Emirates outfit could have scored more goals. But Arteta was happy with what he witnessed and felt a strong bond between his charges helped them land the spoils.
“I think today we were really, really good,” he told BBC Sport. “We have a real belief in what we are doing, the players are enjoying the togetherness and the spirit they have is tremendous. They just want to keep pushing themselves.
“We have another game on Thursday, we’ll try to win it and go game by game.”
That game is against in-form Wolves who have won four of their last five league contests.
Arteta praise for young Arsenal pair
Smith Rowe opened the scoring just three minutes after the break. In doing so, the 21-year-old became the first Arsenal player to hit double figures this season in the goals scored column.
Saka added the second on 79 minutes to notch his eighth of 2021-2022. And Arteta believes it is right that their names should be up in lights.
“They have to get the headlines because they do what is most difficult and win the match by an individual action,” he added. “They deserve credit for that, but I thought the rest of the team were very good too.
“We do a lot of work with them individually, mentally with the psychologists, to fill their belief. They see how they are with the supporters, that energy and that’s probably their biggest strength.”
And the Spaniard made special mention of Smith Rowe who has already been capped twice by England.
“He’s been injured. He’s worked really hard and when he plays like he did today, he’s really good,” he continued.
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