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Mikel Arteta And Arsenal Stars Revel In "Deserved" Derby Win Over Tottenham

Mikel Arteta said his team were "phenomenal" after watching them beat neighbors Tottenham 3-1 in Saturday's north London derby.

Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka scored for the Gunners, while a Harry Kane penalty was all Spurs could muster.

Spurs finished the game with 10 men after Emerson Royal was shown a straight red card for an ugly foul on Gabriel Martinelli when the score was 2-1.

But Arteta was convinced that Arsenal had been far superior even when it was 11 vs 11.

Arteta told BBC Sport: "The players grabbed the game and deserved to win it. It was the whole team - starting from the back to the front. They really connected today.

"I hope this will give them more belief that they can win at this level in the way we want them to play.

"We have connected with our supporters and when that happens it is a really powerful thing.

"We had a really meaningful opportunity to give a lot of people happiness on a beautiful day and we have delivered that and it is a really great feeling.

Mikel Arteta pictured celebrating during Arsenal's 3-1 win over Tottenham in October 2022

Mikel Arteta pictured celebrating during Arsenal's 3-1 win over Tottenham

"We are focussing on what we are doing. This is a sign that we are going in the right direction. We need to maintain that now and go for it.

"You feel the desire and humility - they haven't won anything yet and that is important to have that humility, which is a big driver for us."

Xhaka also stated in his post-game interview that Arsenal had been far superior to Spurs.

Speaking to BT Sport, Xhaka said: "From the first second I think we were the better team.

"After we conceded we were struggling a little bit, but in the second half we were much better and I am so happy to score and help the team to win."

Fellow scorer Jesus added: "To be honest it's the second time I scored in a derby. The first was for Brazil against Argentina.

"I'm very happy, I want to score in every game and the way the team played from the first minute showed how we wanted to play.

"We deserved to win, I don't know how many chances we created.

"I am feeling at home because of the guys, the staff, the club and it's helped a lot. I'm really happy here and we are in a good way."

Arsenal are now four points above Spurs in the Premier League table.

The Gunners have finished below Tottenham in each of the last six seasons but are being widely tipped to end that streak with Arteta's current side.