Arteta admits fear as Arsenal clung on at Spurs
Mikel Arteta was "praying" Arsenal clung on as the Gunners held off a late Tottenham Hotspur fightback to claim a 3-2 north London derby victory in the Premier League.
Arsenal looked to be cruising at 3-0 up after a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own-goal put the Gunners ahead at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz extended the lead.
However, a David Raya mistake allowed Cristian Romero to cut the deficit before a Son Heung-min penalty threw Arsenal's lead into further peril after Declan Rice brought down Ben Davies.
The Gunners held on despite some late pressure, a period in which Arteta conceded he was fearing the worst.
"I was praying," Arteta admitted. "It was a really emotional game.
"Three-nil 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."
Along with the derby day spoils, the win briefly extended Arsenal's lead at the Premier League summit to four points. That was cut back to one point when closest rival Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest later in the day in the first of its two games in hand over the Gunners.
The destination of the title remains in the hands of Pep Guardiola's City, which overtook Arsenal last term to claim a fifth Premier League title in six seasons after the Gunners had led for much of the campaign.
Arteta believes Arsenal is better-equipped this time to go on and win the title, however.
When asked if Arsenal has the ability to go all the way, Arteta replied: "One hudnre per cent.
"I’ve seen that the whole season. They give me reason to believe that every single day. The motivation for what is ahead is beautiful."
