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Arsenal midfielder Jorginho has heaped praise on his teammates for the fighting spirit they showed in Sunday’s victory over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
The Gunners showcased their steely resolve in the north east to down the Magpies in front of a vociferous home crowd and the club’s 2-0 triumph allowed the Londoners to return to the capital with three points, keeping their title hopes alive in the process.
Arsenal moved back to within a point of leaders Man City following their hard-fought success, though the defending champions from Manchester still have a game in hand on their challengers.
Jorginho reveals pride at Arsenal performance
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Speaking in the days that followed Arsenal’s triumph over Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, anchorman Jorginho spoke in glowing teams about the spirit shown by the Gunners in what was arguably their trickiest remaining fixture of the season.
In conversation with Arsenal’s official website, the 31-year-old said: “It’s a massive win. We knew it was a tough game, to come here and win the way we did.
“There are some times you know you have to fight a lot to get the three points, and I’m just so proud of the team the way we did, the way we fought until the end, the way we pushed. It’s just so nice.
“We knew it was going to be tough and it was just realising that sometimes you can’t play just beautiful football.
“Sometimes you need to adapt and that’s why I am saying that I’m really proud of the team, because when you realise that and you adapt and you do what maybe everyone doesn’t expect you to do, it’s just really, really good for our team.”
Jorginho pulling the strings so far… 🤝 pic.twitter.com/vXAi9HAzGT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 7, 2023
Arsenal put in the hard yards to beat Newcastle
Arsenal arrived at St. James’ Park fully focused on their task and keen to right the wrongs of their 0-0 draw with the Magpies at The Emirates Stadium in January – a clash that featured plenty of game-spoiling and time-wasting tactics from the visitors.
After a tumultuous opening period that saw Newcastle rattle the post and have a penalty claim eventually turned down by match official Chris Kavanagh, Arsenal hit the front through a sublime Martin Odegaard strike in the 14th minute.
The Gunners had more nervy moments to overcome however, and they needed keeper Aaron Ramsdale to be at his commanding best to protect their lead.
With 19 minutes left on the clock, Gabriel Martinelli enjoyed a stroke of luck to seal the win when his cross flew into the Newcastle net off home defender Fabian Schar.
Arsenal did ‘extremely well’ says Arteta
Shortly after their triumph, Mikel Arteta was quick to compliment his players for their efforts in a taxing test against a formidable Newcastle outfit.
“When you have question marks, you have to resolve those question marks, it’s the only way.
“And when you had the emotions that we had last year in that dressing room, you have to make sure you feel them again to realise how difficult, how nasty and how unpleasant they are.
“Then you have to find a way to approach the game in a different way because demands were going to be different from last year. The boys did that extremely well so I’m really proud of them.”
Arsenal’s next Premier League fixture arrives on Sunday when they host Brighton in North London.
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