Mikel Arteta hails 'mind-blowing' Emirates atmosphere in memorable Man City win

Mikel Arteta had plenty of reasons to be pleased with his Arsenal side's work in the sensational 5-1 win over Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, but the boss said he was particularly proud of the part the home supporters played in the huge win.

It was Arsenal's biggest ever win when playing against the reigning Premier League champions and the Emirates Stadium was absolutely rocking, especially during a memorable second half.

Captain Martin Odegaard got Arsenal off to a fast start, scoring 103 seconds into the game from Kai Havertz's unselfish pass. But the real drama came in the second half. Erling Haaland equalised with a powerful header, before Arteta's side roared back to life.

Thomas Partey scored from outside the area almost instantly, before Myles Lewis-Skelly blasted home his first senior goal.

Havertz then rounded off a fantastic counter-attack to make it 4-1. Another teenager, Ethan Nwaneri, had yet to have his say. With the last kick of the game he cracked home a wonderful left-footed strike, just inside the post.

With the emphatic win, Arsenal cut Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League standings to six points although the Anfield outfit still have a game in hand. It extended the Gunners' unbeaten run to 14 games but was only their third win against top 10 opposition this season.

"It was a great day; the result: massive," Arteta boss said after the match. "The performance, the manner that we've done it; really happy, really proud of the players. Really proud, again, of the atmosphere that we created in the stadium - it was mind-blowing. So, a good day to remember.

"To live moments like this with the stadium, that energy, with that cohesion between the team and our supporters, that's something to build on."

"We were very aggressive, we played with a lot of courage," he added. "It has its risks as well because they are so talented, they understand the solutions to them. It's risky but it paid off, we had moments as well where we had to suffer and dig deep, stay deep and be uncomfortable there, have a bit of luck in the right moments and I think they were superb. With the intentions that we played, playing forward, running, attacking spaces, taking risks with the ball and it really paid off.

"The timing [of our second goal] was really important because emotionally we got in the game straight away without giving them any hope or initiative and then we went one after the other as well, so really pleased."

It was also the first time that we had two teenagers scoring for us in the same league game for nearly 40 years, with 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri both finding the net.

"Individually you need big performances throughout the team, we certainly had that, Myles had that. On top of that now, he adds a goal that is really relevant and important. The same with Ethan, he comes into a position which is quite new for him, and he scores an incredible goal." 

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