"We need that leadership" - Mikel Arteta heaps praise on Arsenal star

Arsenal manager <a href='https://www.sportskeeda.com/player/mikel-arteta/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>Mikel Arteta</a> will be pleased with his side's form in recent matches
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be pleased with his side's form in recent matches

Just last weekend, Southampton had knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup, getting the better of the Gunners in the fourth round.

The two sides locked horns yet again on Tuesday, this time in the Premier League.

Exacting revenge, Arsenal beat Southampton 3-1 this time to pick up their fifth win in last six matches.

Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette made in onto the scoresheet, with the latter two also picking up an assist each.

After the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on 19-year-old Saka, who has been one of the club's best players this season.

Arteta lauded the youngster's character and ability and told Sky Sports:

"He's really humble, really respectful and at the same time has that character to demand the ball, to make decisions that are not very usual for his age. We need that leadership and he's gaining that with his attitude and his performances.
"He's all the time asking to train more to improve in areas that he can do better. That was certainly one, producing the final bit in the box to score or assist. He's doing that much more often."

Notably, Saka has scored four goals and made three assists in just the last six Premier League matches for Arsenal, with his form coinciding and influencing Arsenal's recent resurgence.

Arteta further hailed Saka's intelligence and potential and said:

"If he's able to do that with the intelligence that he has, with the work rate that he shows on the pitch and with the capacity that he has to understand the game in different positions, then he becomes a really different player."

Arteta also told BT Sport:

"He's been very consistent through the season, we play him in different positions and he is adapting well. His finishing, assisting, link-up play is good, it was a really strong performance today."

This latest victory in a string of good results lifted Arsenal to ninth on the Premier League table. They breached into the top half for the first time since November after having struggled throughout the first half of the season.

The match against Southampton saw Arsenal concede as early as the third minute, as Stuart Armstrong's goal gave the hosts the lead at St. Mary's.

However, a spirited performance allowed Arsenal to come back from behind and go on to win the clash 3-1.


Arsenal find themselves within reach of top-four spot

A top-four spot in sight for Arsenal
A top-four spot in sight for Arsenal

Arsenal's recent run has seen them jump to ninth on the table but more importantly, they are now just five points from the fourth spot.

The Gunners have 30 points from 20 matches, while fourth-placed West Ham have 35 points from the same number of games.

However, Arteta downplayed talk of a top-four finish and said that a lot of work was yet to be done.

"We still have a lot to do, a lot to recover, a lot to improve still, but be humble, train good and prepare for the next game, because we haven't done anything," he reportedly told BT Sport.

He also spoke about Arsenal's position in a press conference and said:

"I don't want to look at the table, I want to look at ourselves and how can we get better, the reason why we are performing better and winning more football matches and get that consistency that we've been lacking. Improve in many areas that we have to get better at and see where we get by doing that."

Arsenal take on Manchester United next this weekend.

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