Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was only too eager to heap deserved praise on his side’s gutsy resilience after they came from behind to maintain their perfect record in the Premier League so far.
The Gunners had begun by falling behind against Fulham on the heel of an unusual mistake from ex Manchester City stalwart Gabriel Jesus that allowed Aleksander Mitrovic to nip a goal, but they valiantly bounced back to win 2-1.
Captain Martin Odegaard gamely scored the equaliser before Gabriel redeemed himself with a late winner in Arteta’s 100th Premier League game in charge.
Speaking after the game, Arteta said: ‘It is a big boost winning like this. We made an error, it cost us.
‘This is part of football, mistakes are part of it and it’s going to continue to happen. It’s about how you respond to that and I’m really pleased.’
‘I’m really happy with the performance, with the attitude and the mentality the team showed.
‘We were on top of the game. It was about being patient because the goal would come because we were deserving that, but we had to avoid mistakes.
As expected, Arteta refused to entertain hopes of a title challenge despite Arsenal’s impressive early season form – they are yet to drop a point and sit top of the league after four games – when he was queried about it, saying instead: ‘No it’s the start of a long season. We need to be humble and hungry.’
He commented on how Gabriel made good later on his early mistake, saying: ‘It’s not a coincidence because Gabi has changed his mentality and the way he approaches every day is different to a year ago.
‘How he looks after himself every day, what is most important in his life apart from his little daughter and his family, and how consistent he is every day in his habits and how much he really wants to become one of the best.’