Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says the manner of victory at Bournemouth made him proud to be coach his players.
Bukayo Saka gave up a late penalty to Kai Havertz, who duly converted to score his first goal for the club and ease some pressure from his shoulders.
Arteta later said: “I am really happy for the win but even happier to be part of something, part of a team that shows the human qualities that they have shown today, without me telling them absolutely nothing to show that and that empathy towards a player that has some question marks to resolve externally, they won me even more today, they’ve done in a really natural way, I am delighted they have made that decision, I’m so thankful to our supporters the way they sang his name, have made him feel in the way he has felt today and if there’s a person in a dressing room that deserve that, it’s Kai Havertz. So happy for him.
On what the goal will do for Havertz’s confidence, he said: “It will probably change everything, but first of all if he had any question marks about how we feel about him, how much we love him, how much we appreciate everything that he does, I think that’s out.
“I think in sport, Usain Bolt said it once, I have to train four years to run nine seconds, sometimes you have to do a lot and you don’t see that, but in that moment you see it, I’m sure what he’s been through in the last few weeks, this moment is worth every moment of the other moments.
“We have all tried to give him support and the right tools to do what he has to do, he’s doing so many great things in the game, it was about that moment, that was the question that had to be resolved, and today’s he’s done it and to show that level of empathy and understanding and worrying and caring for somebody, it’s just great.”
