Soccer

We are in September – Mikel Arteta dismisses importance of last-gasp Arsenal win

The Gunners left it late to see off Leicester.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta saw his side leave it late to beat Leicester .
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta saw his side leave it late to beat Leicester . (Adam Davy/PA)
By Philip Duncan, PA

Mikel Arteta has played down the significance of Arsenal’s late show against Leicester.

The Gunners looked set to drop two points at the Emirates after James Justin’s double cancelled out first-half strikes by Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.

But Trossard’s side-footed volley from a Bukayo Saka corner in the fourth minute of added time deflected in off Wilfred Ndidi before Kai Havertz made it four in the ninth extra minute.

The last-gasp win allowed Arteta’s men to join Manchester City on 14 points after Pep Guardiola’s side were held to a 1-1 draw at Newcastle.

Asked if the victory was even sweeter given their rivals’ failure to win at St James’ Park, Arteta said with a wry smile: “This is the sixth game in the Premier League. We are in September.

“We want to win every game. We do our best to do that and we go game-by-game and try to improve every week. But, regardless of what we do, we are in September.

“Of course, we want to create the right platform for the season and in order to do that we have to continue to win, win, win.

“That is the demand when you see the level of the other teams in the Premier League. But we can only control what we do.”

Arsenal will now set about preparing for their sixth match in 17 days when they take on Paris St Germain in the Champions League at the Emirates on Tuesday.

Trossard was dismissed in first-half stoppage time of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at City last weekend, but the Belgian returned six days later to spearhead his side to a crucial victory.

“Obviously, we’ve had a tough run with the fixtures, but we have come out of it really well, scored some good points on the road and we’re just happy to have the win after a tough game,” he said.

“I had some good opportunities and when the ball doesn’t go in, you need to keep believing. Everyone kept believing going forward and pushing to create chances. That’s what we need.

“If it doesn’t go your way, you need to keep pushing and that’s what we did. In the end, the luck was on our side.

“It shows how the team bonds together. It’s a great team. We’re happy and now we’ve got a big game on Tuesday.”