Mikel Arteta praised his Arsenal side’s dominant display and lauded Bukayo Saka as “unbelievable” after a 2-0 victory over West Ham sent the Gunners to the top of the Premier League table.
Goals from Declan Rice and Saka secured three points for Arsenal, who leapfrogged Liverpool to the summit, where they will remain through the international break following the champions’ 2-1 defeat to Chelsea later on Saturday.
Rice struck in the 38th minute against his former club before Saka doubled the lead from the penalty spot after El Hadji Malick Diouf brought down Jurrien Timber. The result ended a poor recent run against the Hammers, who had won on their previous two visits to the Emirates Stadium.
“The last two games have been very special,” Arteta said. “Newcastle, because we had a history there with a lot of scars, and we put that right. Then West Ham, after losing two games at home in the past two seasons. I told them it was a big opportunity. The team is performing, playing well, and winning today with absolute dominance.”
Saka marked his 200th Premier League appearance, becoming the seventh-youngest player to reach the milestone at 24 years and 29 days, and the second youngest to do so for Arsenal after Cesc Fabregas. The forward also reached 100 Premier League goal involvements, the youngest to do so since Romelu Lukaku in 2017.
“When you look at those numbers, it’s unbelievable,” Arteta said. “His age, what he’s doing, the way he’s doing it — it’s really impressive. Those are the kind of players we need to achieve what we want.”
West Ham, meanwhile, are still without a win under Nuno Espirito Santo and have now faced more shots on target than any other side in the league.
