Bukayo Saka admits Arsenal need to be perfect if they are to win the Premier League title. The Gunners moved four points clear in top spot by holding on to beat north London rivals Spurs 3-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes his side are better equipped to win the league this season as they continue to battle with Manchester City and Liverpool. Bukayo Saka believes Arsenal’s derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur shows they have what it takes to win the Premier League this year.
The Gunners survived a second-half fightback from their bitter rivals to register a 3-2 victory.
It is a result that left them four points ahead of Manchester City in top spot, piling the pressure on the defending champions ahead of their late kick-off against Nottingham Forest. Mikel Arteta’s side led the title race for much of last season, but collapsed in April when they started a run of just two wins in eight matches.
As such, they ended up some way adrift of the Citizens, but Saka is confident the tables can be turned this time around.
“City are an amazing team, but they’re not perfect,” he told Sky Sports. “Nobody’s perfect. They can drop points.
“We just need to do our job and see where it leaves us. There’s not much room for error, like they showed like last year, [and] the years before.
“We’ve got experience now. We learned our lessons last year. We’re ready for the last three games.”
Arsenal were clinical in the first half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, taking the lead through a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own-goal, before Saka and Kai Havertz made it 3-0. Their hosts were not about to roll over, as Cristian Romero pulled one back after a dreadful error from goalkeeper David Raya, while a late Son Heung-min penalty ensured a nervy finish.
The visitors clung on though, keeping their hopes of a first Premier League title in two decades alive, although City will finish top of the pile if they win each of their remaining fixtures.
Even so, Saka believes the victory at Spurs shows how much they have grown over the last 12 months.
“Maybe last season, that could have ended in a draw,” he continued. “Today we showed that we have the experience now. We can come here and get three points, even when the stakes are high and it’s a massive game. I’m delighted.
“We know it’s a big derby and they don’t want to just lose 3-0 at home. Once they got one, the crowd was up, they were up, the momentum shifted their way, but I’m proud of all the boys. They fought to the end and they got the three points.
“We know what it means to the fans and what it means to us. It means everything. We know this is a massive for us and we’ve got three to go.
“We’re going to give it everything and see where it leaves us.”
Arsenal manager Arteta believes his side are better equipped to win the league this season than a year ago.
“I think so,” he said. “When you win it’s always the case. Last season we didn’t because we went to West Ham and we missed a penalty and against Liverpool we conceded in the 91st minute and then you’re not capable. “At the end the judgement is going to be based on that outcome. If they got the goal in the last minute to make it 3-3 then we say ‘wouldn’t have been ready’.
“The margins are so small. Don’t get carried away with yourself. We want to be better. There are margins for improvement. Go again against Bournemouth because it’s going to be really tough.”
Arsenal host Bournemouth next Saturday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
POSTECOGLOU: GAMES NOT REFEREED IN THE STADIUM ANYMORE
Defeat for Tottenham is a big blow to their aspirations of a top-four finish.
It leaves them seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who have played two games more and were held to a draw by Chelsea on Saturday.
Spurs were left frustrated by a couple of decisions against Arsenal; first Micky van de Ven seeing an equaliser ruled out for a tight offside and then Dejan Kulusevski having penalty appeals waved away before Arsenal broke to score their second.
“It doesn’t matter how I saw it,” said Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou when asked about the calls.
“What matters is what I’ve said all along, games are not refereed in the stadium any more. They are refereed somewhere else and no one will convince me otherwise.
“It’s not even re-refereed, it’s refereed somewhere else. That’s why I don’t celebrate goals any more. I wait for somebody down the road. I just don’t think referees in the stadium any more have that authority they used to to make decisions.
“They just go ‘you know what, I’ll just wait and see what the bloke down the road thinks’. It’s a shame. I don’t like it but it’s here to stay and I’ve got to accept it like everyone else.”
Postecoglou did like what he saw from Romero, who hit the post with a header in the first half and then scored after the break.
“Yes, he was outstanding,” said the Spurs manager.
“He’s a World Cup winner and I’ve just got to get some of what’s in him into some of the others.”
Spurs travel to Chelsea on Thursday evening and then go to Liverpool on Sunday.