Arsenal won the North London derby, although the closing 20 minutes of the game were not refreshing for our Gunners. Spurs scored two goals off Arsenal’s errors and were pushing to salvage a tie, but they didn’t. Arsenal won 3–2. Even so, Odegaard and his Gunner teammates were left to hold on for the victory.
Bukayo Saka has already confessed that the final minutes of the NLD victory were frustrating.
I’m sure you’d like to know how Mikel Arteta handled the situation, including the pressure his squad endured as Spurs attempted a last-minute comeback.
Well, the Arsenal manager has shared the amusing and spiritual thoughts he had in the dying minutes of the thrilling derby victory.
When asked in the post-game news conference about his views on the game’s tense ending on Sunday, he openly admitted,”I was praying,” Arteta told reporters. “It was a really emotional game.
“3-0 up you’re in control, and then an individual error happens that clicks something. We started to deal with the situation better, but they have the players to put a lot of courage forward.”
Many would find it amusing that a tactical genius like Arteta resorted to prayer when it seemed adjustments were necessary to hold on for victory.
Many would have urged that he look at his bench and bring in a defensive player like Jorginho to close out the game. Anyway, that wasn’t the case; the Spaniard must have had faith the game would conclude in a win, and this disclosure should also demonstrate that he fully trusted his players and was not willing to display fear by making unplanned substitutions.
Darren N
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