Arteta says it ‘doesn’t get better’ as Arsenal strike late against Man Utd

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said beating Manchester United in the last minute made victory even sweeter after the Premier League leaders edged a five-goal Emirates thriller.

Eddie Nketiah netted his second goal of the game at the death to earn a crucial win and retain Arsenal’s five-point lead over closest rivals Manchester City.

Marcus Rashford fired the visitors in front early on before Nketiah equalised, while in the second half Bukayo Saka’s strike was cancelled out by Lisandro Martinez before the last-gasp drama.

“Emotional, a lot of passion, a lot of quality. It doesn’t get much better than that,” Arteta told Sky Sports.

“After the derby [against Tottenham], to come here against this team and play the way we played. The second half especially, the performance was incredible. To win it in that way makes it even better.

“We were composed and determined at the same time. We managed the moments in the game. We never panicked. We always believed that we could win it.

• Last-minute Nketiah strike sees Arsenal win thriller
• Haaland hits hat-trick as Man City dominate Wolves to close gap to Arsenal

“We showed the right composure in the box a lot of times, but the ball didn’t go in. Thankfully at the end it did.”

Arsenal have now got off to their best-ever start to a Premier League season after picking up 50 points by the halfway stage.

“It’s great and we deserve to be where we are because of how we’re playing. But there are a lot of things that we can do much better,” Arteta said.

He added: “We’ve been talking about pressure for the last 12 or 13 games. Premier League teams will always make it difficult and we have to prepare for that.”

Oleksandr Zinchenko was also blown away by winning in the dying moments, securing the Gunners’ 16th win in 19 league games this season.

“I love this winning, you know? The winning feeling in the last minute, the last second. It’s something you cannot describe,” Zinchenko told BBC Sport.

“Today was unbelievable. I need to watch it again before I go to bed because these are the magic moments.”