Mikel Arteta has revealed that his Arsenal players had to fend off a sickness bug in order to secure an excellent 2-0 win at Wolves which sent them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Gunners captain Martin Odegaard scored twice to secure all three points at Molineux in their final match before the World Cup, but it wasn't only the home side that Arteta's men were battling. After Granit Xhaka was substituted in mysterious circumstances just 16 minutes to the match, it's emerged that a number of Arsenal players fell ill after eating the same pre-match meal.
"[Xhaka] wasn't feeling good, he was sick and he could not carry on," Arteta explained, speaking to Sky Sports. "Unfortunately, we have another four players with the same symptoms. So, I don't know what exactly happened.
"There were a few players who were not feeling great but obviously make three or four substitutions at that period. The good thing is that under any context with difficultly, away from home every three days, [the players] still come here and manage to play well."
The Gunners did indeed play well, as their boss heaped praise on a gutsy performance - quite literally for some. "Today was about being very patient, the game they proposed made it difficult with very little space," the Spaniard affirmed.
"It was frustrating because they were waiting on that mistake to catch us on the break The speed, the purpose and the courage to take more initiative was much better in the second half and then they won the game. The whole week there's been a lot of talk about individuals and about us collectively.
"Mentally it was a tricky one, but that's the mentality you have to have when you're at the top. Our focus is to be better every day and we still have things to improve.
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"It's been a long time since we've been in this position, it's a full transformation from the fans energy and passion that they've transmitted to these players. The unity from the top to every single member of the team and the staff, they [the fans] are the soul of this football club."
Captain Odegaard, who was far and away the star of the show, echoed the his manager's sentiment by saying: "We have to stay calm, it's a long way to the end of the season, we play every game as a final and that's all."
Gunners goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale added: "Massive win going into break and a bit of a bumper but that means nothing really. Things will change over the break and we have to come back how we finished it."
