Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised the mental strength of his team after they overcame the loss of two key players to claim a third consecutive league win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Without the suspended Declan Rice and the injured Martin Odegaard, as well as missing Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksander Zinchenko, both with calf problems, Arsenal won 1-0 thanks to thanks to Gabriel Magalhaes’ second-half header.

“After the international break, we had a few blows,” said Arteta. “How the team reacted was magnificent. It showed a lot of maturity from the team.

“The resilience we showed. We knew it was going to be a really tough match, a great atmosphere but we knew we had a big threat on set-plays.”

Arteta expressed his frustration with how Arsenal played as their possession dropped to 36.3 per cent, but saved his praise for his defence.

“We weren’t the best on the ball today but the way we defended was top-drawer,” he said. “When they get into the final third, it’s very difficult because they have a structure. We were missing vital players and we had to react to that. I’m very pleased.

“We had to adjust and use different players and qualities. I was hoping they would do something with the ball and we did it. Sometimes better than others. They are a really good side.

“When we have to defend in deeper areas, we did it really well. There are things to improve but we have another victory here and it’s huge. I know how our supporters will feel about this so enjoy it.”

‘We are a total team’
Jorginho, who captained Arsenal in the absence of the injured Odegaard, also praised the commitment of the whole team.

“We had to work really hard as you saw, we knew it was going to be a difficult game,” he told Sky Sports. “On these days you have to work hard and we know we can count on each other as team-mates.

“At the end it paid off and we are so happy that we won. We had key players missing but we are a total team, the whole squad. We know that whoever comes on will be ready to help the team. We are really proud of the team.”

Spurs rue missed chances
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou rued a loss of focus for the only goal and missed chances for his team.

“I thought it was a tight game all the way along,” he told BBC’s Match of the Day. “We controlled it for the most part and got off to a good start. We didn’t capitalise on the opportunities and we were unable to get on top of them.

“We lost concentration [for the goal]. We’ve got some big guys in there who really attack the ball and we just switched off for a second.

“I think I’ve said my piece. For the most part we controlled the game today, had good territory and possession but we didn’t make the most of it and we got punished.”

‘Spurs did not do anything special’
Premier League Hall of Famer Alan Shearer felt that Spurs did not do enough to earn an equaliser and a point.

“When you go one-nil down against this Arsenal team you have to do something very special to get back,” he said. “They’ve got the best back four in the Premier League.

“Tottenham ended up lumping balls into the box which they love – it’s meat and drink.”

Nigeria forward, Ademola Lookman made sure that Atalanta warmed up for their return to the Champions League with the winner in Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Fiorentina in Serie A.

Lookman did not feature in Atalanta’s first three league matches after agitating for a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

But the 26-year-old netted the decisive strike in stoppage time at the end of the first half, jinking through the Fiorentina defence before shooting past David de Gea, seconds after Charles De Ketelaere headed Atalanta level.

Lookman, the hat-trick hero from last season’s Europa League final triumph, also floated in a pinpoint cross for Mateo Retegui to head in Atalanta’s first equaliser in the 21st minute.

“Yeah, I’m happy to be back, in front of our crowd, in front of our fans to be playing football,” said Lookman to DAZN.

His immediate impact is great news for coach Gian Piero Gasperini, whose side host Arsenal on Thursday night and entertained their home fans in the newly-completed Gewiss Stadium.

“We’re very pleased to be playing in the Champions league this season,” added Lookman.

“We deserve it so we have to demonstrate that again on Thursday with the same drive, the same mentality that we showed today.”

Atalanta, whose most recent appearance in the Champions League was in 2021, played their first three Serie A fixtures away from Bergamo to allow the club to put the finishing touches to their redeveloped home.

They are eighth on six points, three ahead of 14th-placed Fiorentina who twice went ahead in the first half through Lucas Martinez Quarta and Moise Kean but are yet to win under new coach Raffaele Palladino.

Earlier Genoa snatched a 1-1 home draw with Roma in the final seconds to continue their positive start to the season.

Koni De Winter headed home Genoa’s leveller in the sixth minute of added time at a packed Stadio Luigi Ferraris to deny Roma a first win of the campaign.

Artem Dovbyk looked to have shot Roma to victory when he prodded home in the 37th minute after Niccolo Pisilli’s effort was spilled by Pierlugi Gollini.

But De Winter’s first Serie A goal gave Genoa their second late home draw of the new season after also stunning champions Inter Milan in their opening fixture.

Genoa are 10th on five points, level with AC Milan and two points ahead of Roma who sit in 15th.

Later Inter have the chance to reclaim the league lead ahead of Juventus and Torino, who drew 0-0 with Lecce, when they make the short trip to Monza ahead of their Champions League opener at Manchester City on Wednesday.

Napoli and Romelu Lukaku are at Cagliari where the Belgium striker suffered racist abuse in 2019.

UEFA has cautioned the UK government that England could face exclusion from the Euro 2028 tournament, which they are co-hosting, if Prime Minister Keir Starmer proceeds with plans for a men’s football regulator, British media reported on Saturday.

In a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, acquired by The Times and the BBC, UEFA’s General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis emphasised the need for “no government interference in the running of football.” Theodoridis expressed concerns about the plans detailed in the King’s Speech, which would grant the new regulator authority over clubs in England’s top five leagues, stating that the sport’s independence is a “fundamental requirement.”

“One particular area of concern stems from one of UEFA’s fundamental requirements, which is that there should be no government interference in the running of football,” Theodoridis wrote.

“We have specific rules that guard against this in order to guarantee the autonomy of sport and fairness of sporting competition; the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from UEFA and teams from competition.”

Last year, the previous government had announced intentions to appoint a regulator, citing the need to protect clubs from financial mismanagement and prevent wealthy teams from forming breakaway leagues. Starmer’s government included the commitment to a regulator in the Labour Party manifesto after taking office in July.

Theodoridis informed Nandy that UEFA is “concerned about the potential for scope creep within the IFR (Independent Football Regulator).”

A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport stated, “The Football Governance Bill will establish a new Independent Football Regulator that will put fans back at the heart of the game and tackle fundamental governance problems to ensure that English football is sustainable for the benefit of the clubs’ communities going forward.”