Arteta: Now we believe we can beat the best
MIKEL ARTETA insisted that his Arsenal team would not get carried away after they stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points.
The Gunners inflicted a first League defeat of the season on their north London rivals Tottenham, beating them 3-1 to extend their lead over Manchester City, who play Manchester United this afternoon.
‘Looking at the table, it’s great, obviously,’ said Arsenal boss Arteta. ‘It gives you a great feeling. But we are a really hungry and humble team, believe me. We know where we are, we have done nothing yet.
‘There are things to improve and that’s the direction we’re going. I could feel the passion the day they came back from international duty. The game is more than three points and you have to play with the passion and coolness, and they did it brilliantly today.’
Asked if his team were genuine title contenders, Arteta said: ‘I leave that to you guys, we’re just at the start. And we’re really happy with the way we are.’
With the atmosphere at the Emirates the best for years, Arteta praised the players for creating a bond with supporters, which he feels is improving over time.
‘Absolutely,’ said the Spaniard. ‘It started in the dressing room. You get the right people, the right players and they start to connect with each other, then that takes it to another level.
‘There is huge power of the team at any level [of football]. You start to get connected and deliver that on to the pitch and then you connect as we have done with our fans and it becomes something really, really powerful. It is the biggest success this group of players have had.’ Arsenal had a poor record against top-six sides last season and were beaten by Manchester United last month, but Arteta said he was not interested in sending a message to rivals.
‘For me the message is for the players and for everybody at the club that we are able to play at this level against these kind of opponents and that should give them confidence,’ he said. And he praised his team’s game intelligence in consolidating their lead when Emerson Royal was sent off after 62 minutes, sealing the win with Granit Xhaka’s goal as Spurs struggled to adjust with 10 men.
‘They have to understand what the game demands and it can be tricky but I think they are really intelligent in the way they handled the situation and they did what the game demanded,’ said Arteta.