Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s "sensational" comeback win against Tottenham Hotspur as the Gunners took home local bragging rights in the North London derby.
Arsenal dominated the opening exchanges but failed to make a number of set-pieces count and were hit by sucker-punch in the 25th minute when a deflected effort by Spurs captain Son found the bottom corner.
It failed to rock the Gunners, who had been knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United on Sunday and lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle last Tuesday, with their seventh corner able to produce a leveller after 40 minutes when Gabriel’s header went in off Tottenham forward Solanke.
Trossard completed the turnaround soon after and, while the visitors enjoyed the majority of possession after the break, Arsenal produced a trademark resolute defensive display to reignite Arsenal's Premier League title hopes.
Victory saw the Gunners leapfrog Nottingham Forest into second place and close the gap on league leaders Liverpool to four points – although the Reds have one match in hand.
“Very proud of the team, I think we were sensational,” Arteta insisted.
“It was a good test to see after two big performances and not get rewarded in two different competitions you have to play the biggest game of the season for our people, in those conditions.
“It’s a test of attitude, what we are made of, the courage that we have. We really cared only about a result or the performance and how much we can do in terms of what is required in the game to be better than the opposition and I think we played from minute one with and without the ball to hurt them.
“I think we fully deserved to win the game and I think we made a lot of people really happy but really proud to see a team that behaves the way they have played again.”
Recent league draws with Brighton and Everton had damaged Arsenal’s league aspirations, especially with Liverpool previously in imperious form.
However, Arne Slot’s men have dropped points in each of their last two league fixtures and Arteta bristled when it was put to him that some had suggested the Gunners may have been out of the race.
He added: “Yeah we are [in the race], because it’s so much to play for and we can see how difficult it is for every team to win.
“The result gives us the chance to enjoy the moment, instead of momentum because the momentum start tomorrow to prepare Aston Villa in three days.”
Ange Postecoglou refused to make any excuses after his depleted Tottenham team tasted defeat for an 11th time in the Premier League this term.
While Spurs have battled with a spate of unavailability during the past two months, with eight players sidelined for this fixture, the 59-year-old Australian did not shy away from the fact their display at the Emirates was not good enough.
“Way too passive, allowed Arsenal to take control of the game,” Postecoglou admitted. “Really disappointed with the way we, both with and without the ball, allowed them to dictate the tempo and paid a price for it. The second half was a little bit better but nowhere near good enough.”
Moyes: No magic cure for Everton woes
New Everton manager David Moyes admits he is not a magician and will have to turn to the transfer market to solve their goalscoring problem after a suffering a double blow in his first match back in charge at Goodison Park.
After losing 1-0 to Aston Villa on his return after nearly 12 years away there was more bad news for the Scot with on-loan striker Armando Broja likely to be sent back to Chelsea as his ankle injury will sideline him for at least three months.
With goals hard to come by – this was the 11th time this season and ninth occasion in the last 11 league games they had failed to score – Moyes desperately needs reinforcements up front and Broja’s departure would at least free up a place for another loan signing.
“Ultimately it is not just this one game tonight, it has been other games and I think it is there for everybody to see,” he said.
“It’s not something I’ve just come in and said, ‘We’re not quite good enough at finishing’.
“By the way, I can’t ‘magic’ all that to change, I just can’t do it.
“I can see Sean [Dyche] got in a great group of players with their attitude and commitment but we are desperately needing to add some quality in certain areas, mainly to create and craft goals and finish as well.
“We are needing to get those levels up. The situation the club has been in it has probably not been able to go to a level of player in the market which might make the difference.
“We do need to add to the squad if we can but we just have to be careful we don’t go too much [due to profitability and sustainability rules] but we will try to see what we can do – definitely.”
Howe praises 'class' of Isak
Eddie Howe hailed Alexander Isak’s quality after seeing the Sweden international fire Newcastle United into the Premier League’s top four.
Isak became the first Magpies player to score in eight successive Premier League games as he took his tally for the season to 17 – 16 of them in his last 16 games – with a double in Wednesday night’s 3-0 win over Wolves.
Head coach Howe said: “It’s an incredible achievement. This is the hardest league in the world to score in against very good defences, especially with the fixture list that we’ve had, so to have that level of quality that he’s shown – and today’s goals were very different in how they’ve come about.
“The second goal will be underestimated, the finish, because it looks easy. It certainly wasn’t, but that’s his quality and his class because he always has that split-second extra to place his finish just down to the attributes and the technical ability he has.
“If you look at a lot of his goals, a lot of his goals have come from crosses recently where he’s in the right place at the right time.
“Goalscoring is an art form, it’s about being in the right positions, but he also then has the technical quality to finish in a calm way and not a lot of players can do that.”
After his opening salvo, Isak then turned provider to allow Anthony Gordon to cement the points with his effort surviving a lengthy VAR check, and a disappointing night for the visitors was compounded when defender Santiago Bueno saw a consolation strike ruled out for handball after a review.
