Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta branded Kai Havertz's performance in Sunday's Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur "sensational".

Havertz provided the assist for Bukayo Saka to double Arsenal's lead in the North London derby, before the Germany international netted the away side's third at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The 24-year-old has now scored 13 goals and registered six assists for Arsenal this season, and Arteta was full of praise for the attacker for his display against Spurs.

"He was sensational in every department today. He wasn't at 100%. He was ill before the match, he was a bit struggling and still he put the performance that he put in. I thought he was unbelievable today," football.london quotes Arteta as saying after the match.

There were question marks surrounding Havertz's arrival at the Emirates Stadium from Chelsea last summer, but he has now come up with 12 Premier League goals during a solid campaign.

© Reuters

Mikel Arteta delighted with Kai Havertz performance

Arsenal had a nervy end to Sunday's match, as Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min registered for Tottenham to make it 3-2 heading into the final stages.

The Gunners managed to hold on for all three points, with the victory moving them four points clear at the top of the Premier League table, although the gap has already been cut back to one, with second-placed Manchester City, who still have a game in hand, beating Nottingham Forest later in the afternoon.

"I was praying. There were so many Spurs players in the box. It was a really emotional game," Arteta added when asked about the finish to the match.

"A very tough place to come, an incredible atmosphere and a great team to play against, 3-0 up you're in control of the game, you come in the second half and we're dominating the game and creating chances, then an individual error happens that clicks something. It puts a wrong message in your brain.

© Reuters

Mikel Arteta hails David Raya for response to mistake

"Then we started to deal with the situation better, but they got another one and then it's game on. Then they have the players and the courage to put a lot of players forward. We had to dig in and suffer and react. I'm very pleased with the way the team has done it."

Arteta also praised goalkeeper David Raya for his response to the mistake which allowed Romero to register for Spurs, with the Spaniard's loose pass leading to the hosts registering in the 64th minute.

"It's part of football. I don't like the sequence of play, I don't like the principles that we apply in that moment and the orientation of the ball. After that it can happen. You misjudge the situation, you try to make the pass and you don't and then you are in the doubt zone and they scored and took advantage of that. Then with the penalty it's another principle which you cannot do," he added.

"It's part of football. What I love is that David does that, he picks his hands up, which are quite heavy, and he was sensational for the last 20 or 25 minutes of the game. This is what I love about our players."

Despite Arsenal's excellent 2023-24 Premier League campaign, the Gunners will need the champions Man City to slip up if they are to win the title this term.