Mikel Arteta extends his best wishes to Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira after his recent dismissal from Crystal Palace.

 Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 19, 2023. - Arsenal won the game 4-1. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 19, 2023. – Arsenal won the game 4-1. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Arteta’s Best Wishes to Vieira

Mikel Arteta was quick to send his best wishes to Patrick Vieira following Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace on Sunday. Vieira was sacked from his job as Palace manager just two days before the fixture, and his name was regularly sung loudly by the Emirates faithful during the entire match.

Vieira managed 74 matches in charge of Arsenal’s London rivals before being dismissed on Friday at 7am.

Arteta highlighted that the change of manager made the fixture even more difficult.

Arteta on the tricky fixture against Palace

“(Since Thursday) the focus was on Palace because we knew it was going to be tricky, even trickier with what unfortunately happened with Patrick,” Arteta said after the game.

“I want to send my best wishes to him and the coaching staff, and all the best luck for the next chapter, which I’m sure will be really fascinating.

Arsenal’s dominant performance

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 19: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's fourth goal with teammates during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on March 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 19: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team’s fourth goal with teammates during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on March 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Arteta praised his team’s performance against a difficult opponent, saying, “We had the right energy, we were dominant, we had the right purpose, we were ruthless to keep attacking and be really aggressive.”

The win against Crystal Palace was crucial for Arsenal as they continue their pursuit of their first Premier League title since 2004 and moved them eight points clear of Manchester City as we head into the international break.

You can find the full fixture Arsenal international list and key fixtures here.

Arsenal are ‘getting better and better’

Mikel Arteta was pleased with the team’s attacking display against Palace, highlighting the importance of connections and understanding among players.

“It was really good,” he said, “I think we are getting better and better. We need to keep investing in those connections, those understandings, those timings.

“We can become quite unpredictable for the opponent to try and defend it. Again, we split the goals, which is really good. Let’s continue to do it.”

Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates his successful goal during the Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace English Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, London, on March 19, 2023. (Photo credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s English midfielder Bukayo Saka celebrates after scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 19, 2023. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Bukayo Saka, with a seasonal tally of 13 goals and 10 assists, played a significant role in the match with two goals and an assist and Arteta praised Saka’s improvement, emphasising the youngster’s humility and potential for further growth at just 21 years old.

“He’s improving because he’s got the right team-mates that make him better, and that’s really important,” Arteta said.

“It’s true that he affected the game in the right way for us and he’s been really consistent. We need to maintain that.

“He remains humble, he knows that he can still be much better, do things a lot better than he does and that’s a big given because he’s still 21 years old.”