Mikel Arteta

North London derby victory was one of the finest afternoons of Arteta's managerial career, in more ways than one.

No wonder the Arsenal manager was so keen to crack on with the celebrations at the end, and so desperate to ensure there was no escalation in the post-match tussle between the two teams. It was in this period of the game, from around the 10th minute until the end of the first half, that the match was won and lost. His team had won the game playing their football, and they had done so at the home of their biggest rivals. [Unlike in the recent draw with Newcastle United](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/01/07/mikel-arteta-wont-change-behaviour-touchline/), Arteta remained (largely) calm on this occasion, and that calmness spread through his team as they claimed three deserved points. Either way, Arteta had succeeded in defusing a situation that had the potential to become a little too explosive for Arsenal’s liking. It was Granit Xhaka, and the Arsenal midfielder had a look on his face that must have been alarmingly familiar.

Mikel Arteta claimed that Arsenal must reach 90 points to have any chance of winning the Premier League, and stressed his focus was on Manchester United.

“I don't want to do too many calculations. [Arsenal’s](https://www.sportbible.com/football/takehiro-tomiyasu-litter-arsenal-spurs-premier-league-311379-20230116) comfortable position at the summit, Arteta insisted his side needed to accumulate a massive points tally if they are to win the league and added that his focus was on the club's next match, against United. [United](https://www.sportbible.com/manchester-united), who have put together nine consecutive victories, could prove to be another crucial match if [Arsenal](https://www.sportbible.com/arsenal) are to claim the title.

Former Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho could see there was something special about Mikel Arteta even early on during his ...

Then in the second half, they tried to find triangles on the side and they gave us problems, problems that we managed to resolve because the players in this moment have good tactical culture. But we deserved to win, I guess, because two amazing goals.” [Follow Yardbarker on MSN to get our exclusive content in your Microsoft News feed](https://www.msn.com/en-us/community/channel/vid-cj9pqbr0vn9in2b6ddcd8sfgpfq6x6utp44fssrv6mc2gtybw0us)