The Gunners were without key players Declan Rice and Martin Odegaaard for Sunday's (15.09.24) Premier League clash and the coach was left impressed by the manner in which his team battled to victory at the home of their fiercest rivals.

Arteta said: "Super happy obviously. We know what it means to our club and our people to win a north London derby.

"We had good moments and others where we had to suffer. We suffered because we had to adapt the plan because of the players that we had available.

"I loved it. The second we started to get that news (Odegaard injury), the team got hungrier and hungrier to play that game. It’s a big compliment to everybody at the club to behave in a certain way.

"We have people that are hard and have thick skin. They love the game and we love winning.

"In order to love the game and win you have to do things that people call ugly. Enjoying those ugly things is a big compliment to this team right now. When you’re able to do that, normally you get a good gift."

Arsenal once again showed their strength at set-pieces with Gabriel's headed winner and Arteta paid tribute to coach Nicolas Jover for making the team so productive in that aspect of the game.

The Spanish manager said: "In his field, in other fields, as a person, the relationship that we have, that’s why I made the decision to bring him to (Manchester) City when I was there and then to Arsenal.

"Him and the staff have injected a belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches. This is a really powerful one. It’s given us a lot so a big compliment to all of them."