Martin Odegaard and Jorginho have hailed the "big step" Arsenal have taken by proving they can win ugly as they defeated Newcastle.
In a departure from their usual style of wins, the Gunners conceded the majority of possession to the Magpies. The hosts also had more shots and a higher Expected Goal ratio, but it was Mikel Arteta's men who claimed all three points at St James' Park.
The win came thanks to an early strike from captain Odegaard and a late own-goal by Fabian Schar. It moved Arteta's side back to within a point of Manchester City, who have overtaken them in the Premier League title race.
And the manner of Sunday's victory has given hope that Arsenal can embark on another title challenge next season. Odegaard hailed his team-mates for proving that they can dig deep to win when their opponents are on top.
"We showed something special here today. To come here and win is not easy. We had to be very smart and to be ugly at times. It is a big step for a young team like ours to come here and do the things we did. It shows we have come a long way," he said.
"Last year here was one of the toughest days of my career, to be honest. After dropping points against Man City, to win against Chelsea and then come here and win shows the mentality.
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"We have to keep going and digging in and fight until the end. It is football, anything can happen and we need to be ready."
Those comments were echoed by Jorginho, who played all 90 minutes in central midfield. The Italian is a veteran of Chelsea's Champions League win in 2021 and insisted that Arsenal are starting to show the qualities of trophy winners.
"The most important thing is that we go home with three points, as we wanted. We know this league, we know we can't win every game playing beautiful football," the Arsenal star added.
"I am really pleased to see that our team can play these type of games and understand it is not always possible to just go through with passes. Sometimes you need to fight. I am proud to see us fight to the end.
"This atmosphere is so beautiful. It motivates us to play and gives us fire inside. I have played a few [big games] before. We dream this as a kid and now it is time to enjoy it, it is beautiful.
“It’s a massive win. We knew it was a tough game coming here and winning the way we did, but sometimes you know you have to fight a lot to get the three points. I’m just so proud of the team, the way we fought until the end, the way we pushed."
