Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has given his assessment on a hard-fought victory over Sheffield United in the FA Cup, which saw his side book their spot at Wembley.
The Gunners have struggled for consistency since returning to action after a three-month hiatus but a win at Bramall Lane was their second in a row across all competitions.
That has given Arsenal a platform to build upon over the course of the coming weeks but there have still been some concerns about their recent performances.
A shaky defensive display was once again witnessed against the Blades but Arteta was pleased with the result at the final whistle.
"We are back to Wembley. (This is) a really tough place to come. We got the result we wanted. We fought right until the end and I really liked the spirit and the attitude of the team," he told BT Sport.
“Sheffield United are really good at what they do. They put you in trouble. We dealt with it really well for long periods of the game, but we knew at some point, we would suffer. We did, but the reaction from us was really good.
"The young players are really willing and they have a lot of personality to play. Eddie Nketiah, when he came on, and how he fought with everybody, he doesn’t care. I really like that.
“We needed that. We played four away games after the coronavirus [lockdown], which isn’t an easy thing to do in the Premier League, hopefully, we can get some momentum.
“We still have a massive gap to fill in. We have to improve a lot in many departments. We have to respect that the process has been really difficult. We will get it right, I’m convinced of that. We need a little bit of time, that’s all.”
