Mikel Arteta hails Arsenal ‘character and belief’ after Man City draw

Mikel Arteta joined Arsenal from Everton in 2011 Photo: Twitter/Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s character and belief after the Gunners fought back to earn a 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

Mathieu Flamini scored a second-half equaliser for Arsene Wenger’s men on Saturday as they bounced back from the disappointment of the 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea and the 2-2 draw with Swansea.

We all came together again and fought a lot and deserved at least a point

Mikel Arteta

The result left Arsenal fourth in the table with six games left to play, but Arteta was thrilled to see a response of sorts from the Gunners.

“It means a lot [in terms of self-belief] after two disappointing results in a row,” he said.

“After we went 1-0 down, mentally we were really strong and showed great belief. We were playing against one of the best teams in the country and we had the best situations in the game.

“We all came together again and fought a lot and deserved at least a point.

“The lads had a great response, and I thought we could have nicked a goal to win it. I liked the character and the desire the team showed.”

The Spaniard added: “We have got the crowd back with us now and hopefully we can finish the season strong because there is still a lot to play for.”