Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has spoken out after his side’s 3-2 victory over Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday, with the Spaniard defending David Raya.
The Gunners were 3-0 up by half time, with an own goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg then followed up by strikes from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.
And while Tottenham got themselves back into the game after goals from Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min, their comeback ultimately wasn’t enough.
Arteta was delighted at full time, with his side now four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was pleased with his side’s victory over Tottenham in the north London derby
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And the Arsenal boss has defended Raya after the goalkeeper gifted a goal to Romero, insisting mistakes are ‘part of football’.
“It was a really emotional game. Very tough place to come, obviously an incredible atmosphere at the stadium and a great team to play against,” he said.
“At 3-0 up you’re in control of the game. We come into the second half and we dominating the game and creating chances.
“And then, yeah, an individual error happens that clicks something, it puts a wrong message in your brain.
“But I think we started to deal with the situation better.
“Another one and then it’s game on and they have the players and the courage to commit a lot of players forward.
“We had to dig in, suffer, react and I’m very pleased with the way my team has done it.”
When quizzed on Raya, he added: “It’s part of football.
“It’s a sequence of play, I don’t like it, I don’t like the principles that we apply in that moment and the orientation of the ball.
“After that, that can happen, you misjudge the situation, you try to make the pass and you don’t and you are in doubt.
“They scored to take advantage of that.
“The penalty is another principle inside the box that you cannot do. It’s part of football.
“What I love is that David does that [the mistake] and then he was sensational in the last 20 to 25 minutes of the game.
“This is what I love about our players.”
Saka has also spoken out after the result in north London.
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Arsenal star David Raya made a huge mistake during his side’s 3-2 win over Tottenham
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And the England international has admitted the last 20 minutes weren’t ‘nice’ but was pleased his team were able to dig deep and secure all three points.
“That last 20 minutes wasn’t nice but it was worth it,” he said.
“We know it’s a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home so once they got one, the crowd was up, they was up, and the momentum shifted their way.
“But, I’m proud of all the boys who fought to their end, and we got the three points.”
He added: “We just need to be calm.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka was impressive during his side’s win over Tottenham on Sunday
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