Mikel Arteta hails Granit Xhaka's response in Arsenal's resurgent victory over Chelsea

Mikel Arteta has hailed Granit Xhaka's fighting spirit after the Swiss midfielder helped inspire Arsenal to a convincing victory over London rivals Chelsea.

The Gunners went into the Boxing Day derby winless in seven Premier League matches, and their manager was under intense pressure to get a result. Fortunately for the Spaniard, they delivered one of their best performances under his leadership, with Alexandre Lacazette, Xhaka, and Bukayo Saka netting in a resounding 3-1 win.

But it was Xhaka, whose strike doubled their lead on the brink of half-time, who Arteta singled out for praise. The 28-year-old had come under the microscope after a daft red card against Burnley, but his manager was delighted with his response.

He told reporters: "Since I've been here he's always shown fight and leadership. That's why I've been really supportive of him. He makes mistakes like we all do but his commitment and his character and how much he wants to fight for this club and team is unquestionable.

"I think today he showed that again."

The dominant nature of the win came as something of a surprise given how poorly Arsenal had started the season. Losses to Aston Villa, Wolves, Burnley and Everton rung alarm bells, but Arteta, who celebrated his year anniversary in charge of the club last week, believes his side's Boxing Day heroics were indicative of their true ability.

He went on: "It's a really important win for us, because some of the performances have not been enough to win football matches and that's something obviously difficult to handle all the time.

"We needed the points, that's for sure, and today we've done it against one of the best teams in the league in a really convincing way. That shows you we're able to do it when we're at our best. Can we do it every three days?

"That's the question mark we need to respond in the next weeks or so, but today we needed that lift. The boys are delighted and of course for our fans because it's been some difficult weeks."