Toby Alderweireld believes Tottenham felt they had a point to prove in beating Arsenal after recent "negativity" about the team's performances.
The Belgian headed home a late winner in the north London derby to hand Spurs a vital 2-1 victory after Heung-min Son had cancelled out Alexandre Lacazette's stunning strike.
The result means Jose Mourinho's men move ahead of their rivals into eighth in the table as the battle for European qualification intensifies with three games remaining.
Tottenham showed a great deal of improvement from their dismal display in the goalless draw with Bournemouth on Thursday.
And Alderweireld, who has only recently returned to the starting line-up after a spell on the bench, said the team were spurred on after coming under scrutiny for some below-par performances.
"I think we wanted to prove some points because in the press there was a lot of negativity about the team," Alderweireld told Sky Sports.
"Today we showed we have character and we wanted it."
He later added to BBC 5 Live "It always [hurts after a defeat], people don't see how hard we work. We tried to do better today and showed there is character in the team, like fighting spirit.
"Defensively we are getting much better in the last couple of games and you have seen we have quality up front because we could have scored more than two goals.
"Sometimes you need some confidence, like a good win and get the momentum a little bit. The only thing we can do is work hard.
"What people don't see is that everyone is putting everything into it and I believe that things will change.
"Today is a very important win for us and the fans."
