Mikel Arteta made no attempt to dress it up. Arsenal's 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday evening, in the seventh round of the Premier League, was hard graft from start to finish.
Substitute Noni Madueke settled it, lifting Arsenal to 18 points and second place, three points behind a Manchester City side with a perfect record.
Speaking to "Match of the Day" on BBC, Arteta said: "We knew this would happen, and last time we couldn't win, but we did it today."
He added: "We had to put in a huge effort right until the final moment. They are a well-organised team and it's hard to break down their defence. We had to take risks, because they are a dangerous team. We had to control the emotional side extremely well. We kept our focus, and the forwards had a big impact."
Those forwards were the difference, and the Spaniard knows why: "Some of them played three days ago, some of them will start the next match, and they understand that everyone has to be fully ready. If the need arises after 60 minutes, or 45 minutes, or even after two minutes, we now have a squad capable of settling matters in the decisive moments, and we have to make use of that."
He continued: "Noni (Madueke), Jurrien (Timber) and Mikel (Merino) were excellent when he came on, and Viktor (Gyokeres) completely changed the course of the match. They all did that, and that's what we need. Noni is the standout without doubt because he scored the goal, and that's what made the difference."
Frustration had been building before that, as Arteta acknowledged: "Sometimes you can feel frustrated against teams whose defence is hard to break down. In the first half, we didn't have a single shot on target, and that's what we discussed. We had two dangerous chances in the second half, but the only shot that was on target took a slight deflection and went in."
Eberechi Eze came off at half-time, and Arteta explained the call to Sky Sports: "The way they were defending was the reason I took him off. Three days ago, he scored a goal and could have scored three, and we are all happy. But this is football, that's why you need fresh legs, different profiles, and to try different things."
Bayern Munich away comes next, and the manager signed off: "Let's enjoy the win a little because it was an extremely difficult victory, and on Wednesday we have a very difficult match against Bayern Munich away from home."