Arsenal give Mikel Arteta three things he asked for with North London derby win - The Mirror

Mikel Arteta issued a clear challenge to his players prior to the north London derby before Arsenal prevailed despite being without some of their key individuals

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta called on his team to show "resilience, depth and hunger" prior to the north London derby as they produced a battling victory.

The Gunners were without some of their leading lights as they made the short trip to take on rivals Tottenham with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard both absent. Arsenal have been able to dominate this fixture in recent seasons and made light of their issues to leave with all three points.

Gabriel headed home the winning goal in the second half as Arsenal continued to prosper from set pieces. The win means they remain within two points of Manchester City as Arteta got the desired response from his side - who had to overcome several hurdles.

He said before kick-off: "It is an opportunity. During the season you will pick up injuries. We have to adapt and the team needs to show the resilience and depth and hunger to overcome such issues."

With no Rice able to sit in front of the defence Jorginho came into the starting XI whilst Leandro Trossard occupied the No 10 role that Odegaard would usually play in. Their depth was also tested with teenager Ethan Nwaneri coming off the bench in the latter stages.

Arteta's Arsenal have become increasingly battle hardened during their time under the Spaniard. This is their third attempt at trying to overhaul the champions, and they've been able to overcome one of their top six rivals despite being without several starters.

Jorginho took on the armband with Odegaard missing and helped the Gunners keep another clean sheet. The Italian praised the squad mentality and was confident that those who stepped in to fill the sizeable voids would contribute.

He told Sky Sports: "We had to work really hard as you saw, we knew it was going to be a difficult game. On these days you have to work hard and we know we can count on each other as teammates.

"At the end it paid off and we are so happy that we won. We had key players missing but we are a total team, the whole squad. We know that whoever comes on will be ready to help the team. We are really proud of the team."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.