It was a win that was well deserved and which sent the Arsenal faithful home happy, and it was clear that Mikel Arteta was still buzzing after the victory over Liverpool during his post-match press conference.
The Spaniard will have known just how crucial the result of the Super Sunday game was, given that, had Liverpool emerged victorious, they would’ve gone eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
That’s not an insurmountable target, but it would’ve been a real statement of intent from Jurgen Klopp’s side.
As it turned out, the Reds were never at the races, and even if one of Arsenal’s goals was as a result of a huge cock-up at the back between Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, that shouldn’t take anything away from just how well the hosts played on the day.
“They (his Arsenal players) put their heart and soul into every single ball,” Arteta said to gathered media in his post-match press conference including representatives from CaughtOffside.
“I could not be any prouder because I know how difficult it is to beat this team,”
He had every right to laud his players because of the magnitude of the victory, and it sets things up nicely for the next few games of the campaign.
Arsenal’s next game is against London rivals, West Ham, one of the teams to take a point from them late last season when the Gunners were 2-0 up.
Arteta will be hoping that he’s still smiling after that match too.