‘Never seen it like this’ – Mikel Arteta delights in Emirates atmosphere after Arsenal beat Liverpool

The Gunners won a gripping clash thanks to two goals from Bukayo Saka after Gabriel Martinelli’s early opener.

Arsenal have now won eight of their nine games in the league and are a point above Manchester City as their youthful group continues its rapid development.

“Thank you so much to the boys and our supporters for experiencing an afternoon like this,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “It’s why we are here, and I really enjoyed it, especially the way we won.

“I’ve never seen it like this. You cannot imagine how much it helps the players and how much belief and confidence, how much support… it’s one of the nicest things we’ve done since we’ve been together here – to unite everybody and feel like you go here and you’re going to have some experience. It’s great.

“The feeling of winning is so powerful and so meaningful for me. I saw a team I really identify with, the personality they show in difficult moments, how they stick to what they have to do but at the same time, the belief, the courage, and the free mind to just go for it and attack them and put them under pressure.”

Liverpool twice fought back to level through Darwin Nunez and Roberto Firmino.

But Arteta says Arsenal did “everything better” in the second half after seeing their early advantage from Martinelli’s first-minute opener slip away.

“It was a lively half-time team talk, but I wanted to give them some encouragement and confidence the game was there for the taking,” said Arteta.

“There were obviously a few things we had to adjust and be better at; more composure and more courage to play.

“Everything was better in the second half. The organisation, the timing of the press, we won every duel and second ball. I was really happy with that.”

Arteta was also full of praise for Martinelli, who scored and then set up the second for Saka on the stroke of half-time.

The Gunners boss said: “When you see what he was when he started a year ago against Brentford, to what he is today, the development is just phenomenal.

“But it’s his hunger, his desire, how much he loves to play, to train, to get better every single day.

“It’s a nightmare to play against him. The same with Bukayo and Gabi [Jesus] up front, we have a real threat up front, we know that, teams and players are respecting us on that.”