What Mikel Arteta told Mesut Ozil and Arsenal players on pitch after Manchester United win

Mikel Arteta congratulated his Arsenal players – and

Mesut Ozil in particular 

 On their excellent performances and work rate in the side’s New Year’s Day win over Manchester United .

The Gunners had not won a Premier League game at the Emirates since the start of October but gave an impressive display against United, with Arteta picking up his first win since taking over the managerial reins.

Summer signing Nicolas Pepe got the scoring under way early on, while Sokratis doubled the lead in the first half – with the side defending resolutely in the second period to see out a 2-0 win.

When the full-time whistle went, Arteta exploded with emotion and shook hands and hugged the players in the dugout as well as his coaching staff.

He quickly made a beeline for Ozil, who gave an excellent display, and embraced the German playmaker before telling him: ‘Well done. Well played!’

Arteta then walked towards other players, praising Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang despite the club’s topscorer failing to get on the score sheet in an otherwise lively performance.

Arteta shared another touching moment with Reiss Nelson and then a group hug with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Granit Xhaka before yelling at the players, ‘together!’ and urging them to salute the fans in unison and applaud the vociferous support they had received.

Arsenal’s squad has often been accused of being disunited, but they fought hard for each other on the pitch against United and celebrated just as hard afterwards, with Arteta clearly keen to forge a tight bond.

The result gets Arteta’s 2020 off to the perfect start and ends a run of four defeats in a row at the Emirates, while the win sees them move back into the top half of the table and nine points adrift of the top-four places.