Unai Emery praised his Arsenal team and Lucas Torreira for finding the goal that secured a 1-0 victory over Huddersfield after a frustrating afternoon which nearly cost them two points.
After Alexandre Lacazette harshly had a first-half finish ruled out and Shkodran Mustafi was denied a penalty, the hosts struggled to create chances and were at risk of failing to win at home against one of the Premier League’s struggling teams.
While their unbeaten run that now stands at 21 matches was rarely under threat, Arsenal had to demonstrate a self-belief and tenacity that had largely been missing until Emery’s appointment as manager.
Torreira’s 83rd-minute finish maintained the sense of momentum and, more importantly, their pursuit of a top-three finish, and the Spaniard said: “This is a very important result.
“They stopped (for) about nine minutes this rhythm – a lot of cards, fouls and time lost and we needed patience and we needed to win by waiting for our moment.
“The first half we had chances and one goal maybe and the second half the same. Our goal is coming later, but is giving us the deserved result.
“Torreira has quality and his interpretation on the pitch tactically and in attacking and defensive moments, he is very fast in his mind and his ability and he can do very good work in defensive moments and he can get into the box and score.”