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Mikel Arteta had no issue with Arsenal leaving it late to beat Wolves on Thursday, suggesting that such a dramatic victory was good for the atmosphere around his team.
Arsenal celebrated a vital 2-1 win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners climbed to fifth in the Premier League, a point behind fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand, although they had to do it the hard way.
Trailing to Hwang Hee-chan’s early opener, Arteta’s men finally equalised eight minutes from time through substitute Nicolas Pepe, who also then had a hand in the winning goal as he teed up Alexandre Lacazette for a shot Jose Sa deflected into his own net.
That decisive own goal clocked in at 94 minutes and 56 seconds, making it Arsenal’s latest Premier League winner since Alexis Sanchez’s January 2017 penalty against Burnley (97:14).
Asked if he would rather have seen Arsenal comfortable in a routine victory, Arteta told Prime Video: “Probably [I would prefer] the way we won it, because it creates such a belief, a togetherness, an atmosphere and cohesion with our fans as well.
“That’s extremely necessary. We really want to create something special here, and without our fans we’re not going to be able to do it.”
Arsenal have now won seven of their past nine league games, losing only once in that run to Manchester City.
It is a far cry from a dismal start to the season, as Arteta acknowledged as he said: “After three defeats in the first three games, we had to avoid relegation.
“That was the first thing that we had to do, and then just go game by game.”
