A work of Art? No we won ugly
MIKEL ARTETA boasted that Arsenal had “won ugly” after two set-piece goals sunk West Ham.
Rob Holding and Gabriel scored either side of Jarrod Bowen’s goal for the hosts, and Arteta made no apology that battling for a Champions League place would not always be pretty.
“It was phenomenal,” said the manager. “In England you say you ‘win ugly’? From my point of view, we won ugly. But I’m extremely happy to see a team that has this capacity to find a way to win and show the character they did.
“We showed incredible spirit because when we could not play the way we wanted, we had to find a way to play the way they prefer. We adapted. You have to find a way to win – forcing mistakes, being brilliant, digging in, clean sheets.
“I’m really happy, especially for Rob as he hasn’t played the minutes he deserves. He was man of the match. He is always there when we need him.”
Arsenal, in fourth, are two points ahead of Tottenham with four to play.
“Mathematically everything is open,” said Arteta. “We’re going to have to play Leeds on Sunday and win again because everybody is going to put on pressure. We have to handle that. We have a great opportunity, willingness and motivation. The level in this league is extraordinary. Teams win the same at home and away.”
David Moyes questioned whether there was a handball in the build-up to Arsenal’s second goal, but is more focused on the battle to turn around their Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, with West Ham 2-1 down.
“VAR has got it wrong a lot of times, or I might be wrong,” said the manager. “Today was an opportunity and I’ll tidy up this one and then start thinking about Thursday tomorrow.
“We did a good job against a good team but, ultimately, we got done on set pieces.”