´Madness from the first second´ – Arteta thrilled by Arsenal´s comeback win

Mikel Arteta described Arsenal’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Bournemouth as “madness” as he hailed his side’s determination.

The Gunners trailed 2-0 in the second half, with the Cherries’ goals including Phillip Billing netting the second-fastest goal in Premier League history, to leave the league leaders with a mountain to climb.

Thomas Partey and Ben White struck to restore parity, before Reiss Nelson’s fierce drive completed the turnaround and re-established the Gunners’ five-point lead over Manchester City to leave Arteta delighted with a fourth win in a row.

“It was madness from the first second. We kept trying and dominating the game. We had a mountain to climb and we took it bit by bit,” he told BBC Match of the Day.

“We had the hunger to go for the first goal. From then the atmosphere changed. Reiss hasn’t featured much because he has been injured.

“He comes on and puts in that performance. It was incredible to experience the emotion with the crowd. It’s going to stick with us.

5 & 90 – Reiss Nelson has been directly involved in more Premier League goals as a substitute than any other player this season (5 – 3 goals, 2 assists), also netting Arsenal’s second latest Premier League winner (96:57) on record (since 2006-07). Gasp. pic.twitter.com/ML4zEQpdSj

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 4, 2023

“I am going to remember this day for a few things. I loved the initiative, the courage, their personality, and the way they made things happen.

“When its ugly and when its difficult, that’s what big teams do. We have to make it easier for ourselves. But this is the Premier League.

“The opponents are good, and they make it hard for you. Now we have the Europa League – many games coming up. We’re going to need everyone at their best.”

Nelson added of his late winner: “We need moments like this if we want to go all the way. We’re not looking at any other team at the minute. We are focusing on ourselves.

“We will keep going day-by-day, game-by-game. As an Arsenal fan, I’m just delighted with the result.”