Arsene Wenger has praised his side’s team for their fighting performance against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Arsenal jumped ahead of Manchester United into third place after goals from Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud saw them beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
And, boss Wenger has credited his side for their efforts in securing the three points.
“It was about fighting for the win,” the 65-year-old told BBC Sport.
“Crystal Palace made it a really tough game and we had to dig deep on a difficult pitch against a good team so I’m very happy with the win.
“Palace gave everything they had. It was like a cup game. They closed us down and stopped us playing.”
Meanwhile, Palace boss Alan Pardew has praised his group of players, calling the defeat an ‘unfortunate’ one and that he was ‘fulfilled’ after the loss.
“I can’t remember being as fulfilled by a defeat for a long time. I’m so proud of the players and I feel so despondent for them to not get anything out of the game,” he told reporters.
“From the start to the finish we had a game plan to threaten them and give them no time. We were superb, but sometimes this game can be very cruel.
“The performance from the players and the fans was exemplary. We couldn’t have done any more. I was kicking myself that we were 2-0 down because we had been so much better than that. We played the best football that we have done since I’ve been here.”