LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka described a nerve-racking last 20 minutes as his team hung on for a vital 3-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday to stay ahead in the Premier League title race with three games left.
Mikel Arteta’s team were cruising after scoring three unanswered goals before halftime but ended up hanging for a derby victory after the hosts staged a late comeback.
Arsenal moved them four points clear of Manchester City who were playing the first of their two games in hand later on Sunday at struggling Nottingham Forest.
“The last 20 minutes was not nice but it was worth it,” Saka, who scored Arsenal’s second goal on the counter-attack, told Sky Sports.
“We know it’s a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home so once they got one the crowd was up and the momentum shifted their way.
“But I’m proud of all the boys, we fought to the end and we got the three points.”
Arsenal had not conceded an away goal in the league since Jan. 30 but keeper David Raya’s mistake allowed Christian Romero to score in the 64th minute before Son Heung-min’s penalty set up a frantic finale.
“We needed to be calm, it’s all very frantic, but we showed out level heads at the end,” Saka said. “It means everything, a massive win for us and now we’ve got three to go.”
Despite Arsenal’s late wobble, Saka said they were a far more robust side than last season when they faltered in the run-in to the title under pressure from City.
“There’s not much room for error, but we have got experience and we learned our lesson and we are ready for the last three games,” Saka said.
“Maybe last season that could have ended in a draw, today we showed we can come and get three points when the stakes are high.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
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