Arsenal stays in race
LONDON - Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his players’ mentality after an impressive response to their last-gasp defeat at Porto as they blew away Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Gunners scored twice in each half of their 4-1 home victory to record a sixth straight league win, a run in which they have racked up an aggregate scoreline of 25-3.
Saturday’s performance kept the pressure on the Premier League’s top two of Liverpool and Manchester City.
“I think we had a great performance, big credit to the boys after two days and just half a day to prepare the game,” Arteta told reporters.
“The way we executed everything, the intensity, the commitment, the determination, the aggression and progression in everything that we were doing with the ball. They played with a lot of courage and we got rewarded.”
The Arsenal manager was particularly pleased with his side’s reaction.
“We showed how much we want it ... I could sense it from the moment we were in Porto that we were ready for the game,” he said.
“In sport, things happen for a reason, you have to learn from that. We have to understand why that happened and be better.”
Arteta, however, was still keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“We could have scored many more today,” he said. “We have to continue to do that, keep developing, all the things that we can still do better.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said his team can still make up the eight points between them and Aston Villa to achieve a top-four Premier League finish despite their shock home loss to Fulham on Saturday.
Alex Iwobi scored deep in stoppage time as Fulham shocked a sub-par United 2-1, the London side’s first win at Old Trafford since 2003 and only their second in 61 years.
“I said from January on we are (playing) finals, and we won many finals,” Ten Hag told reporters. “Now we lost one final.”
Other results: Aston Villa 4-2 Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Everton, Crystal Palace 3-0 Burnley, Manchester United 1-2 Fulham, AFC Bournemouth 0-1 Manchester City, Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle United.