Mikel Arteta spoke with the press after Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Leicester and explained what he believed was behind Arsenal’s away form this season, with the Gunners taking 10 points more than Manchester City on the road so far.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, reacts during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Arsenal FC at The King Power Stadium on February 25, 2023 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, reacts during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Arsenal FC at The King Power Stadium on February 25, 2023 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

After their away win against Brendan Rodger’s toothless side, Mikel Arteta attributed Arsenal’s success to the quality of their performances.

Despite a brief period where they lost control and gave the ball away, Arteta said that Arsenal dominated the game with an “excellent understanding of spaces and positioning”.

However, he was right to acknowledge that the team lacked a final pass to help them create more opportunities and score more goals.

Despite having a wrongly disallowed goal, Arteta said the team remained “focused” and “determined” to succeed, and they found a way to do that in spite of VAR’s bitter best efforts.

Defensively, Arteta was impressed as they restricted Leicester to only one shot during the entire game, and that didn’t come until the 72nd minute.

“I think performances [are responsible for Arsenal’s away record this season],” Arteta said.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: The LED board shows the decision of "No Goal" after a VAR check during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Arsenal FC at The King Power Stadium on February 25, 2023 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: The LED board shows the decision of “No Goal” after a VAR check during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Arsenal FC at The King Power Stadium on February 25, 2023 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

“I think to do what the team did today is very, very difficult. We dominated the game almost from start to finish.

“We had a period of 10 or 12 minutes where we gave so many balls away and lost a little bit of control.

“In general, I think our play and understanding of spaces, how they were pressing, how we got into the final third positions was excellent. We lacked that final pass to score more or create bigger chances.

“We had the decision with the disallowed goal which was difficult to take, but stayed really focused and determined to do that.

“Then, I think defensively we were incredible because to restrict Leicester to one shot in the whole game is really difficult and I think the players did really well.