Mikel Arteta has hailed the crowd who attended Arsenal's win over Leicester for helping William Saliba to bounce back from scoring an own-goal against the Foxes.
The Frenchman headed past Aaron Ramsdale eight minutes into the second-half to halve Leicester's deficit. The own-goal came as he again started at centre-back alongside Gabriel, having starred in the win over Crystal Palace on the opening day.
While his performance was not as commanding at the Emirates Stadium, Saliba was able to bounce back from his setback to help the Gunners secure the win. He was caught out when James Justin attempted to head the ball through to Jamie Vardy.
Rather than cut out the ball with header behind for a corner, he could only put it past Ramsdale. Rather than get on his back though, the Arsenal crowd remained supportive of him, something Arteta has now praised.
“I’m really happy with the performance, the victory, the three points and with the way we played. I think it was a really good football match against a really good opponent and it was just a joy to play in front of this crowd," the Gunners boss said.
“I think the crowd was special, especially after Saliba’s own goal. The way they reacted was something I’ve never seen in football; the amount of support and connection they are showing with us, and especially with William, lifted the team straight away. I have to thank them so much for that.
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“From the first minute, they were electric. You feel like they are totally with us, totally engaged and it is so energising for the team. The boys keep talking about it - they can’t wait to play in front of this crowd, and it’s making a huge difference.”
Arsenal went ahead thanks to two goals from Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian also laying on two assists. That left Arteta delighted with the summer signing and he also praised the way his side handled going two goals ahead.
“They’re different goals, but I think the first is a top individual action to be able to produce that at that moment, especially when the game is 0-0. It is something that brings the team to a different level and his work rate, his movement and his quality - he produced two assists in the game as well so he was terrific," he added.
“In the Premier League that cushion is very difficult to manage. I think the way the boys played in those conditions today was enormous. The energy, the passion they put in and the quality and the speed that we played at, it was really tough to do it but that’s the way they train every day.
“This boy [Martinelli] - the way he is developing so quickly is just incredible. It’s his hunger, his character and desire to be better every single day and the ambition that he has to play this game.”
