Ezri Konsa netted his first for the club to open the scoring in the first half, before Gabriel marked his 200th Premier League appearance with the second goal to help seal victory.

Mikel Arteta addressed the media after the win in N5, and this is what he had to say...

on closing the gap at the top:

We’re very happy with the victory, the performance and the week, because we were given a terrible schedule. Playing Sunday afternoon, then Wednesday night in Munich, coming here really late on Thursday and then having to play again in the Premier League against a really tough opponent on Saturday at 3pm. We have overcome some injuries, and I’m really proud of the mentality of the team in the conditions today.

on Gabriel seemingly getting injured and then scoring:

He’s a clear example when I’m talking about the mentality of the team, meaning as well the mentality of individuals. Immediately after he went down, he said he wanted to continue, and then he scored the goal that helped us win the game. That’s what we need from our players.

on Riccardo Calafiori’s fitness:

He had a light issue, we’re not quite sure what it is, something very small, but he was cautious of that.

on Noni Madueke’s performance:

I’m very impressed, and to have that availability with him is really necessary because of the injuries to Bukayo and Christos, two players who give us so much threat in the final third. I like him, and if he continues to transform his capacity to be more consistent in actions, he’s an unbelievable player.

on our midfielders rotating throughout the game:

It depends on the opponent. It’s a team that if you give them clear reference, it’s extremely difficult to break them down. That’s why we had the profile we had in midfield to start with; they decided to become a bit more active, and we understood it really well to occupy the spaces and hurt them in the right moments. It’s the dynamic and understanding that we need from our players, and it will get better and better throughout the season.

on Ezri Konsa acclimatising himself so quickly:

Unbelievable. To come to a club like Arsenal with no pre-season, Saliba is here and other players, and to position yourself in that manner with the naturality he has and put in the performances he has - the chemistry with Gabi that is so solid - is so difficult to do. We’re lucky to have him.

on our goals:

The two centre-backs scored the goals today. We hadn’t scored from a set-piece, which we were disappointed with because we generate so many chances. I believe we should have scored at least two from set pieces against Bayern Munich, and that would’ve won us the game. We want to be the best in every phase of play, and we won’t stop until we do it.

on if he’s surprised it took us so long to score a set-piece goal:

I was sure it was going to unlock something, and the belief of the players. They are already convinced, the level of attention when we train and what they believe in what Nico [Jover] does, there is no question of that. But in the end, it has to come through and make the difference - and that is a massive one for us.

on receiving his second yellow card of the season:

I do have to be careful, put sensors there [on the edge of the technical area]! There are managers that have the record in the league, 36 times in 10 minutes they leave the touchline, no yellows. I’m clipping all of that, I have a massive storage of images, I don't have the record yet. Let’s see - then it’s 36 yellow cards in 10 minutes for managers, where are we going to be then? Let’s see.

on keeping momentum going at the top:

We just have to focus on what we can do, and we’re very pleased with 90% of the performances and results - apart from the Brighton game, I would say.

on our strong defensive structure with Saliba still out:

William is not fit, and we’re desperate to have him back because we know what Wilo does for us. Mosquera when he plays will be the same, because between them in the way they train to improve, and how they look after each other, it’s the beauty of our team.

on if scoring early helped dictate the tempo today:

I think today my fear was the longer they stay in the result, score first, and it drives into 65, 70 minutes, then we have a problem. So I wanted us to be very aggressive from the beginning, go for it and try to impose ourselves early in the match.

on winning despite making five changes:

That’s great for us, and will for sure make me do it again. We have no reason not to do it, because we have an unbelievable group of players with the right mentality who are all ready to play their part when they’re ready. They did that today.