Arteta lauds ´unbelievable´ Arsenal mentality in Leicester win

Mikel Arteta labelled his Arsenal side as “unbelievable” after the Gunners left it late to snatch all three points against Leicester City at the Emirates.

A dominant first-half display was rewarded with goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, only for the visitors to turn the encounter on its head after the break.

James Justin’s deflected header halved the deficit after the break, before the Foxes full-back struck a stunning volley that crashed in off the post.

But Arteta’s side eventually prevailed in second-half stoppage time, with Wilfried Ndidi’s own-goal and Kai Havertz’s fortuitous effort sealing a memorable victory.

Despite squandering their early advantage, the Gunners head coach showered praise on his players as preparations now turn to the Champions League on Tuesday.

“I’m very happy with the performance,” he said. “I think we were unbelievable today. We deserved to win with many more goals.

“Starting the second half the way we did, conceding the first goal made things harder and then, with the equaliser, the team showed unbelievable character to keep pushing, creating chance after chance.

“We suffered more than we should have, but this is football. [I am] really happy with the team.”

Never. Give. Up. pic.twitter.com/5S0m9YYWVB

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 28, 2024

Arsenal were made to work for their victory after registering 36 shots, their joint-most on record (since 2003-04) in a single Premier League game.

But Ndidi’s own goal was the 16th 90th-minute winning own-goal scored in Premier League history, with Arsenal benefitting from five of these – more than any other side.

However, the Gunners’ display showed the winning mentality instilled in them since Arteta’s appointment, something he highlighted as a standout from the victory.

“We felt it should have been many more, and it wasn’t, and suddenly it is 2-2, but we had to deal with a very good team with difficult circumstances, and we stayed really composed,” he said.

“We had a lot of clarity, understanding what we had to do, and we kept doing what we had to do, and we earned the right to win it.”