Mikel Arteta said he was full of pride after watching his side play out a hard-fought draw with Newcastle United in a pulsating clash at the Emirates.

The manager found plenty of positives in the performance, despite the team dropping points at home for the first time this season.

However the draw increased our lead at the top of the table to eight points, against a side who haven’t lost since August.

After the game Arteta called on his players to maintain the level of performance in future games.

“The way we are playing at the moment, we have to focus on that,” he told Arsenal Media. “Results will be a consequence of that. If we play the way we played today, we will win a lot of games, and that’s what we have to try to do.

“I’m so proud of the boys, the way we played, the way we dominated the game, the approach we had from the beginning and where we took he game. We didn’t concede anything I think.

“We generated so many situations that we should have finished a bit better. We lacked the spark, that final thrust, that final delivery in the box to finish the action and then obviously there were two scandalous penalties.”

The draw means we are unbeaten in our past 11 Premier League games, and attention now switches to the FA Cup, and a third round tie against Oxford United next Monday.

“It’s a competition that is very much linked to the history of the football club. Some great memories come across straight away, and we will prepare for the game well.”

Source: dailylifeworld.com