Mikel Arteta tagged Arsenal’s dramatic 3-2 victory over bottom side Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday the club’s most loudest and emotional moment since his arrival.
Arteta who was forced into making an early substitution following Leandro Trossard’s injury in the first half was made to watch his young guns go two goals down with one of those goals being the second quickest in Premier League history.
It was a frustrating evening at times for the Gunners as Bournemouth in a bid to protect their lead defended with ten men. Arsenal did not stop believing! They kept throwing a barrage of attacks to their visitors, and following substitutions from Arteta, a comeback was achieved.
It started in the 63rd minute when Thomas Partey halved the deficit. Arsenal then through substitute Ben White who was scoring his first goal for the club drew level before another substitute Reiss Nelson completing the comeback in the 90+7 minute.
It was victory achieved after persistent attacks and resilience. When facing the media after the game, Arteta said;
“It was probably the loudest and most emotional moment we have lived together. The journey that we’ve been on together and how the supporters and team are together, adding the important moment we had today, it was very special.
“Everybody is probably overwhelmed a little bit. It was madness from the first second of the game with a routine we knew they could do and we defend so poorly.
“Then we just had to climb a mountain with 10 players behind the ball. We tried every single way, we didn’t score the goal and suddenly, we are 2-0 down with a set play again.”
Arteta continued to describe how his team secured the three points.
“After that, we don’t lose the shape, don’t lose the discipline and start to do all the simple things right and try to score the first goal. We showed maturity and resilience to do that. Once we did that, the atmosphere changed and the energy.
“Once we scored the second, it was ‘OK, let’s throw the toys out and go for it’. The subs made a huge impact today, I’m so happy for Reiss after the difficult months he’s had.I think the team and individuals showed they had a different level of willingness to win, determination and initiative, because when the game gets ugly, there is a moment where you can lose momentum. You can start to hide and to navigate through the game.
“But the players didn’t do that. They wanted the game, every time with the ball, they took risks, took initiative and kept trying until we broke them down. It was great to see that from the team.”
The Spaniard then described how he celebrated the winner.
“(When the winner went in] you lose sight of where you are. I started to run and I didn’t really know where I was running to! But just looking in the faces of everybody, the staff, the players, our supporters with that joy in their eyes, it’s great to live.
“It was an extraordinary day, a beautiful experience at the end. Very dramatic, but worth living because it was a great end to it.”
That victory meant Arsenal who have not won a league title since the 2003/04 season maintained their five point lead at the top of the table.
