“I love it!” - Mikel Arteta offers honest reaction to ‘heated’ argument between Arsenal duo in win against Nottingham Forest

Mikel Arteta recently reacted to the heated argument between Arsenal defenders Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko following their 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest on Jan 30.

Despite winning the game after utter domination, the Gunners conceded a late goal that saw substitute Taiwo Awoniyi get on the scoresheet in the 89th minute. Disappointed by his side's leaked goal in the dying moments, Zinchenko was seemingly involved in a spat with the former Brighton defender.

When asked about this, Arteta said post-match (via Goal):

"I love it! I love it because they demand more from each other. They are not happy the way they conceded that [goal] and they are just trying to resolve it. It was a bit heated but that means it is not enough playing the way we played, the result has to be bigger and the clean sheet has to be there."

The north Londoners dominated proceedings, keeping 74% of the ball, managing 19 attempts compared to the opposition's nine. Both sides registered three shots on target.

Despite failing to find an opening in the first half, Gabriel Jesus managed to sneak his low strike through Matt Turner's near post (65') from a tight angle. He then set up Bukayo Saka for a second on the break seven minutes later.

Following this victory, Arsenal is placed second in the Premier League standings, just two points behind Liverpool, who is yet to play their midweek clash. Up next for Arteta's side is an important home tie against the Reds on Sunday, Feb 4.

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Mikel Arteta reacts to Arsenal's 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest

Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta said that he was pleased with Arsenal's performance against Nottingham Forest after suffering a 1-0 defeat at the City Ground in the Premier League last season.

Arsenal saw their title hopes slip away towards the back end of the campaign after leading the race for 248 days. They lost two of their last three matches in the league last year, the second of which came against Nottingham Forest on May 20, 2023.

After managing to secure a victory this time, Arteta said (via the club's official website):

“I'm really happy with the performance and with the result. It was still in our tummy, what happened here last year, and we wanted to put it right. We want to generate some momentum now in the league. I think we've got that and the performance was very good."

After this loss, Nottingham Forest are two points above Everton, who is 18th in the league. The club's next match is a trip to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on Sunday, Feb 4.