Mikel Arteta was not interested in celebrating 100 wins as Arsenal manager after his team's 3-0 triumph against Fulham on Sunday.
The Gunners strolled to victory at Craven Cottage thanks to first-half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard. Arteta has now won 100 games since succeeding the sacked Unai Emery as Arsenal manager in December 2019.
Arteta was asked about his latest achievement after Sunday's game, but he was keen to play down his success. The Spaniard is focused on winning the Premier League title, with his team sitting five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
"To come here and perform the way we’ve done against a team like Fulham in this stadium, I think the players deserve a big compliment," Arteta told the club's website after Sunday's game, which was Arsenal's 21st Premier League win of the season.
"With the way we played, the goals that we scored, the clean sheet and the determination and purpose that we showed today to play the way we want to play."
Arteta's win ratio of 59.5 per cent is the highest of any Arsenal manager in history (not including caretakers). Second on that list is Arsene Wenger (57.3), while Emery is third (55.13). Arsenal have won 73 per cent of their games in all competitions this season.
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Arteta added, "It’s great [100 wins], we have to continue like that, I’m delighted to do that. Unfortunately, it’s not a title, so there’s still a lot to improve!"
Arteta's time in charge of Arsenal has been a bit of a rollercoaster. The ex-midfielder won both the FA Cup and Community Shield within eight months of his appointment, but an eighth-placed finish during his first full season led to calls for him to be sacked.
Arsenal narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League last season after finishing fifth in the table, but that will not be a problem this time around. If the Gunners go on to win the Premier League title this May, it will be their first in 19 long years.
"It is incredible and that means that we have a lot of people doing the right things at the club," said Arteta when quizzed on Arsenal's win ratio this term. "In the team a lot of players contributing immensely and especially the support that we have, which in my opinion, has absolutely transformed this team with that energy, so I’m really happy."
Oleksandr Zinchenko was also in a good mood on Sunday. He told Arsenal's website, "Fulham are a very good team. They’ve played well this season, especially at home. We knew that they are so dangerous so we obviously prepared quite well.
"I think our first-half performance was quite good - we controlled almost everything on and off the ball. It’s a very important three points, a clean sheet. A perfect day for Gooners. Let’s keep going."
