'We had to do the ugly things'- Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal's grit in derby victory over Spurs

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his team's resilience after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over rivals Tottenham, despite missing key players.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hailed his side's resilience as the Gunners overcame the absence of key players Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win against bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

The gritty performance helped Arsenal maintain their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign as they eye a first league title since 2004.

The win did not come easy for Arteta’s men, with Arsenal missing their captain, Odegaard, who was sidelined due to an ankle injury picked up on international duty.

Meanwhile, Declan Rice, the Gunners’ summer signing, was suspended following a red card in their last match against Brighton.

"We had moments in the game where we had to suffer," said Arteta as per AFP.

"We had to adapt a little bit because of some of the players we lost. I prepared for Tottenham for five days, then in one moment I lost one player and in another I lost another. I didn't sleep much!"

Despite these challenges, Arsenal's determination shone through as Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes' second-half goal, his first since February, sealed a victory that made it three wins in four league games for the Gunners.

The win keeps them two points behind leaders Manchester City, who they will face next weekend in what promises to be a crucial top-of-the-table clash.

The North London derby win was particularly sweet for Arsenal, marking their third consecutive victory at Tottenham's home ground.

Arteta could not hide his delight, especially considering the context of missing key players.

"I loved it because day after day the players are hungrier and hungrier. Sometimes to win you have to do the ugly things, and they love to do that," Arteta added.

Arsenal’s success was underpinned by their impressive set-piece play, which has become a hallmark of Arteta's reign.

Since the start of last season, the Gunners have scored more goals from dead-ball situations than any other Premier League team.

Gabriel's goal was yet another example of this, and Arteta was quick to give credit to Nicolas Jover, the set-piece coach he brought to Arsenal from Manchester City.

"I made the decision to bring him to City when I was there and to Arsenal," Arteta explained.

"Together with the rest of the staff, they have injected the belief that there are many ways to win games, and this is one of them."

For Tottenham and their manager Ange Postecoglou, it was another frustrating derby day. Spurs have now lost back-to-back matches and continue to struggle with their defending, particularly from set-pieces.

Despite Tottenham’s wastefulness in front of goal, Postecoglou rejected the notion that set-pieces were the sole cause of their defeat.

"We handled them well for the most part. We switched off for one and paid the price. It wasn't just Romero that switched off, it was a couple of others," the Tottenham boss said.

Postecoglou, however, was more critical of his side’s lack of composure in the final third, as they struggled to capitalize on promising situations.

Tottenham's star forward Son Heung-min was unusually subdued, and recent signing Dominic Solanke failed to make an impact in his first game back from injury.

"We had some good opportunities but we could have had so many more. We wasted our good play, similar to other games when we haven't had the conviction in the front third. You keep opponents in the game when you do that," Postecoglou reflected.

Despite their set-piece struggles, Postecoglou dismissed claims that he overlooks that aspect of the game.

"There's a narrative for some reason that people think I don't care about set-pieces. We work on them all the time."