Mikel Arteta could not hide how proud he was of his team after we defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at Emirates Stadium.

Martin Odegaard's first goal of the season and a Georginio Rutter own goal proved too much for the Seagulls as we returned to the top of the Premier League table.

We were forced into changes in our backline as Declan Rice filled in at right-back, as well as making a late switch to the starting line-up when Riccardo Calafiori picked up a knock in the warm-up.

Despite that, we made it three wins in a row in the league, something that left Mikel bursting with pride.

"I thought we were very dominant throughout the game," Mikel said. "We generated so many chances, so many big situations and I think we did a lot of great things where I think the margin should have been much bigger than 2-0. But when you don't do that, teams have quality, they have a lot of individual quality, and they score the goal, then it's game on.

"But overall, after playing every three days, the performance that the boys put in today, with all the difficult situations we're going through, again, especially in the backline, we lost Jurrien [Timber] yesterday, we lost [Riccardo] Calafiori today in the warm-up, the way the boys step up to the task. 

"When Declan is on as a right full-back, it's just unbelievable, and I'm so proud of them. [Declan at right-back] is a really good example to describe how I feel about the team and the spirit, and the willingness to win of this team.

"We're going to need everybody, some who are in a different position and to go through what we are going through in the manner that we are performing. It's great to witness."

Martin opened the scoring to net his first goal since the final day of last season against Southampton, and kept the team ticking over as we attacked Brighton from the off.

Commenting on our captain's performance, Mikel said: "I think he was superb today. I think it was probably the best game that he's had this season. Super active, very positive, very aggressive with the ball. So, very pleased."

The games come thick and fast and with our game against Aston Villa coming up on December 30, the boss said we need to keep energy high to take three more points.

He said: "The way the boys are performing and getting results in this incredible schedule, with the injuries that we've gone through, it’s remarkable. We're going to need everybody's energy. On the 30th, let's all be together again to go for it and win again."