Prior to the match at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta said he wanted Arsenal to maintain their Premier League title push and his Gunners responded as they returned to action with a hard-fought comeback win against West Ham United.
Arsenal manager Mike Arteta said his Gunners showed a lot of composure and quality to secure three points against West Ham on Boxing Day.
Said Benrahma broke the deadlock from the spot in the 27th minute after the referee awarded a penalty to the East side club for William Saliba's foul on Jarrod Bowen.
The Gunners remained calm and stepped up a gear in the second half as goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Eddie Nketiah handed the hosts a brilliant 3-1 win on Monday.
However, Arteta was quick to laud Arsenal prodigy Nketiah, who is filling the void left by injured Gabriel Jesus.
The victory sends Arteta's team seven points clear of second place Newcastle and eight clear of champions Manchester City, who play Leeds at Elland Road on Wednesday.
"We showed a lot of composure"
Speaking to Amazon Prime, Arteta said: "We showed a lot of composure and quality. We didn't start to play the game they wanted to play, we kept pushing, believing, and deserved the win."
"I just gave him [Eddie Nketiah] a big hug because he totally deserved that with the play he played. He showed his strength, quality, and timing, the composure of the finish. It was an outstanding performance from him.
"He has been trying in the last few games and has the capacity to score. We see it every day in training and that will give him confidence."
'We deserved to win the game'
Arteta told BBC's Match of the Day: "I'm delighted with the result and performance because I thought we deserved to win the game."
The Spaniard gave his view on the penalty Arsenal conceded in the first half: "It was a single action, we didn't defend the direct play well enough and then the referee made the decision from there. Then we showed composure and never panicked and did what to had to do to earn the right to win the game.
"We scored at the perfect time and the crowd was incredible, also in the moment we conceded the goal. They kept on believing. When we scored it got loud and we generated the momentum we needed."
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