Unai Emery felt Arsenal showed they can mix it with the best teams in the Premier League with the help of their supporters as they defeated Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday.
Granit Xhaka’s early strike caught out David de Gea at Emirates Stadium, before a contentious penalty, dispatched by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, sealed a home victory.
Arsenal handed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his first Premier League defeat as United caretaker manager and, given the quality of their opponents, Emery was particularly enthused.
“Above all, I am very proud of our supporters,” he told Sky Sports. “They pushed us a lot and helped us a lot. This atmosphere is a big atmosphere that helped to create a big performance for our players.
“United were in a very good moment after their game against Paris Saint-Germain, but I think here we showed we can play and impose with a big performance also, because we have good players.
“Against this team, to take this confidence and three points in the table gets us in a good position for our target. I am very happy with the players.”
Arsenal are now fourth, two points ahead of United, with eight games remaining.