'We won ugly', Mikel Arteta left unsatisfied despite Arsenal win over West Ham
- Planet Sport writer
- 1 May 2022
Arsenal regained their precious fourth spot in the table on Sunday with a hard-fought victory over London rivals West Ham.
Arsenal relied on their centre-backs for the goals on Sunday, with both Rob Holding and Gabriel scoring in a 2-1 win.
Holding opened the scoring after 38 minutes, but Jarrod Bowen drew the Hammers level on the brink of half-time.
After the break, the Gunners restored their lead through Gabriel in the 54th minute, and Mikel Arteta's side held on to claim all three points despite playing below par.
The result was crucial to Arsenal's top four hopes - the three points lifting them back above rivals Tottenham after they beat Leicester 3-1 earlier in the day.
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ā Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 1, 2022
With a north London derby fast approaching on May 12, Mikel Arteta suggested his side will need to improve their performance if they are to come out on top in the derby.
"Today we won ugly. Big teams have to find a way to win ugly when they don't play their best," said Arteta.
"We were really poor. We lacked composure and the dominance to play the game we wanted to play.
"But we found a way through set-pieces and defending extremely well, apart from the goal. Full credit to the boys, they showed the spirit we have."
After opening the scoring, Holding added that the rivalry with Tottenham to end the season will be one to keep an eye on.
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ā Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 1, 2022
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"We knew coming off the coach they (Spurs) had scored an early goal. It's going to be like that.
"We might play before them some weekends and they'll play before us and have to deal with the pressure. It's nice and close and we'll have to keep going for the rest of the season.
"Your heart-rate will be going high at times, but if we can keep controlling what we do and picking up points that's all we can worry about."
But before Arsenal can start preparing for the north London derby, they first have to overcome relegation-battling Leeds United, while Tottenham travel to title-chasing Liverpool.
