Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised his side’s stout defending after they narrowly defeated Man United at Old Trafford, but admitted they played it too “safe”.
Kai Havertz set up Leandro Trossard for the only goal of a dour game that takes the Gunners to the top of the Premier League table, one point ahead of Manchester City who have a game in hand.
Although Arsenal were far from their best, they did manage to pick up their first away win over the Red Devils since 2020 while keeping an 11th clean sheet on the road, the second-most ever by a team in a Premier League campaign.
“We know how tough it is, that’s why we have only won twice in 21 matches here,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “We started the game really well, the goal affected us with the things we had to do on the ball.
“Playing backwards, playing safe, it wasn’t progressing our play. We started to give our balls away and it was open. But the way we defended, we didn’t give away much at all.
“The attitude of the whole team, the way Kai was chasing people all the time, the discipline and creating habits that were super important were very good today. It’s a collective thing.
“We are really happy to win, especially what we did in the second half. That’s another step the team has to make, to be even more dominant. But it was high stake today, the same at Spurs, great credit.
“You don’t have margins for error, these are big teams that make things difficult against you and you have will to win, that’s emotional.
“Today we wanted to open the door, last day in front of our people, our families will be there, let’s create the most beautiful day together.
Asked if he will be watching Tottenham play Man City in the hope the club’s north London rivals will do them a favour in the title race on Tuesday, Arteta answered: “We will certainly be watching the game.
“We watch all the games. We need the result. It’s football, there are always possibilities.”
