Viktor Gyokeres claims Arsenal squad now 'closer' after fiery team meeting that led to Tottenham thrashing

Arsenal's title challenge had wobbled in recent weeks after a run of form that had seen the Gunners win just twice in seven Premier League outings. Yet Arteta's side breathed fresh life into their title bid by seeing off Spurs 4-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take all three points. Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze both scored twice for the visitors, with the Sweden striker producing one of his best performances for the club since joining in the summer from Sporting for a fee of £64 million (€74m/$86m).

Gyokeres revealed after the game that the players had spoken ahead of the match. He reporters: "It's always going to be difficult when you get a result like we had at Wolves, but it's how you handle that, and how you respond to it, and today we showed that it in a good way. To get this result and this performance, it was the perfect way to respond. So, it's a good sign. The thing is, that we have to keep showing it in the next game and the game after that. There's a lot of games to go. But if we perform like this, it's going to be good, for sure.

"It's important sometimes just to say what you feel and to let it all out in the group. Most of us spoke. Everyone can recognise how different people feel in the moment and you get a better understanding of the feeling. When you speak in the group openly like that, you come closer together and it's very important to do that sometimes. If you're not honest, I think it's hard to improve. It was a good chat, we certainly enjoyed today, and now we're going to prepare for a big game against Chelsea next weekend."

Arteta also spoke about the response his team showed against Spurs and the unity in the squad following their disappointment against Wolves.

"I think the whole team, I cannot be prouder and happier for what I've seen out there, but especially the way we lived the last 72 hours, because I think this game in particular needed some context. And after what happened against Wolves and the manner in which we lost two points in the last kick of the game, it was tough," he said.

"But that's the beauty of this game. There is no explanation watching the game, for how the hell you draw that game, from any angle. You watch it back and say it's impossible, and you have to watch it again and say it's not going to happen, but it happened. And then you have to lift yourself up because you're feeling angry, upset, ashamed at some point. 

"We are all different nationalities, we all have different feelings, and then you have to bring everybody together. It's been a joy to spend that time together with them, to align everybody and to say: 'OK, what is going to be happening in the next chapter?' This one is gone, how do we use it to be a turning point and to make ourselves better, and that was the focus, that was the intention. But after you have to do it on the pitch, and I think what we've done from the beginning to the end of the match. It was outstanding."

Arsenal now have a rare free week before they continue their title challenge. Manchester City are in action first on Saturday and have the chance to cut the gap at the top when they travel to Leeds, while the Gunners are in action on Sunday at home to Chelsea.