Why Arsenal win at Wolves was bigger for Mikel Arteta than beating Tottenham
Why Arsenal win at Wolves was bigger for Mikel Arteta than beating Tottenham
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It doesn’t get much better for Arsenal than beating Tottenham, but Saturday’s win at Wolves felt even bigger than their victory in the north London derby two weeks ago. That was certainly the sense you got watching Mikel Arteta and his players celebrate after the full-time whistle at Molineux.
Arteta was going around hugging everyone and hauling up his exhausted players from the floor. Over by the away fans, Gabriel whipped his shirt off and waved it above his head in a frenzy. David Raya and Declan Rice followed suit, with both of them picking out young fans in the away end to hand their shirts to.
Amid the ecstasy, the overall emotion for Arsenal and their travelling supporters will have been one of relief. Down to 10 men for the fourth time this season after Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off just before half-time, the Gunners were staring down the barrel in the title race.
But after battling their way to a 1-0 win, Arsenal still have Liverpool in their sights. The gap to the leaders is six points and, although Arne Slot’s side have a game in hand, their next two Premier League games are challenging trips to Bournemouth and Everton.
“I’m extremely proud of all the players,” said Arteta. “You can talk about our courage, you can talk about the spirit, but as well about intelligence. The way the players managed emotionally the game, it was unbelievable. “All of them, just face the situation, the challenge. That’s what I love about them. And I think that’s why our supporters celebrated and they were behind them, because they can feel that.”.
