Manager praises “incredible” attitude as injury-hit Arsenal regains top spot with 2-1 victory.
Mikel Arteta hailed his squad’s resilient spirit after a makeshift Arsenal side overcame a last-minute defensive crisis to secure a hard-fought 2-1 win over Brighton, propelling them back to the Premier League summit.
The Gunners’ preparations were thrown into disarray just before kick-off when summer signing Riccardo Calafiori picked up an injury in the warm-up, compounding the earlier loss of Jurrien Timber in training. Forced into a dramatic reshuffle, Arteta deployed midfielder Declan Rice at right-back and handed 17-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly his first start at left-back.
“What I like is that we are having a lot of issues and we are dealing with it in an incredible way,” Arteta said, his pride evident. “Yesterday we lost Jurrien and today we lost Calafiori. You speak to Declan and tell him he has to play there, and he said: ‘Okay, I’m up for the challenge.’ That attitude is great to witness.”
Despite the patched-together defense, Arsenal controlled large periods of the match. A first-half strike from Martin Ødegaard and a second-half own goal from Brighton’s Georginio Rutter seemed to have sealed a comfortable win, until Diego Gomez pulled one back for the visitors, setting up a tense finale.
“We all want to win so badly,” Arteta admitted, reflecting on the nervy finish which required a vital late save from David Raya. “The margin should have been bigger, but that’s the Premier League. We had to suffer, but we got the points.”
The victory, Arsenal’s third consecutive league win by a single goal, demonstrated a growing toughness within the squad. It also offered a positive note with the return of defender Gabriel Magalhaes from injury.
“We can only control what we do, and we are doing a lot of good things,” Arteta stated, looking ahead to a busy schedule. “Every three days is going to be a challenge.”
That challenge continues immediately with a crucial home match against Aston Villa on Tuesday, as the injury-hit Gunners look to defend their newfound lead at the top.
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