‘I love that’ - Mikel Arteta on Arsenal players ‘pushing each other’ after Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko clash

Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko appeared to have a heated discussion at the full-time whistle following Arsenal’s victory over Nottingham Forest, something Mikel Arteta says he has "to encourage."

Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka were on target for the travelling Gunners who sealed a vital 2-1 win in their hunt for the Premier League title.

Leading 2-0 in the 89th minute, Taiwo Awoniyi pulled a goal back for the hosts which sparked a debate between opposite full-backs White and Zinchenko after the final whistle.

Arteta had a quiet word with the Ukrainian to diffuse the situation and said that he “loved” the fact his players were pushing each other to perfection.

“That’s pushing each other and being not happy to concede,” Arteta told TNT Sports’ Laura Woods at the City Ground.

“I have to encourage that and promote it in the right way and the respectful way.

“Sometimes after the game, it can be a bit too emotional and too heated, but I love that the players are pushing each other in excellence.

“Today we conceded a goal that is not at the level that we want.”

Arteta was delighted with the performance from his centre forward Gabriel Jesus who was involved in both goals, and revealed the Brazilian was struggling with a knee issue before the game.

Jesus had his right knee strapped, but the Arsenal manager said he was determined to play.

"We really need him at his best," the Spaniard said. "I had a great feeling before the game. I told him, because he had some fluid on the knee and he was struggling. He was kicking every physio out there two days ago.

“He was saying I want to be on that pitch and he pushed everybody to be there and when someone has that attitude and desire in this moment, something good is going to happen because he has the ability and that quality.”

The result meant Arsenal overtook Manchester City and moved up to second in the Premier League table, with Pep Guardiola’s side in action against Burnley on Wednesday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

The Gunners remain two points behind leaders Liverpool with Jurgen Klopp’s side travelling to Emirates Stadium on Sunday in a crucial match in the race for the title.

Arteta said it was “really important to get some momentum” in the build-up to the blockbuster tie against the Reds.

“We were really good against Palace, we won after the break and today we wanted to generate that momentum and we’ve done it,” Arteta told TNT Sports.

“I think we had a really strong performance, we were dominant and we had to be very patient, but at the same time we need to keep having the intention to hurt them all the time, and I think we done that.

“At the end, we suffered much more than we deserved, but this is the Premier League.”

Arsenal enjoyed vast amounts of possession during the first half but struggled to break down the stubborn Forest defence.

They finally broke them down after an hour when Jesus squeezed a shot through Matt Turner’s legs from a tight angle, before Saka doubled their lead, finishing off a sweeping counter-attacking move.

Arteta said he was pleased with the way his side are capable of scoring different types of goals.

“We need different tools and we need to find the right moments,” Arteta said. “These are a great way to score because we generated a lot today and afterwards as well we generated quite a lot of chances but we didn’t convert them.

“But I’m really pleased because we’ve conceded nothing and against this team at home, I’ve seen a lot of teams - we were one of them last year - that have suffered.

“I’m really pleased with the performance and to win the game.”

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