‘He was unbelievable’: Mikel Arteta says one Arsenal star played through illness in today's North London Derby

Mikel Arteta has claimed that one key Arsenal star played through illness against Tottenham Hotspur today.

Arsenal picked up a 3-2 win in the North London Derby thanks to three first-half goals.

The Gunners opened the scoring via a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own goal before Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz added to their tally ahead of halftime.

It proved to be a nervy second half for Arsenal following an unforced error from David Raya. The Spaniard gifted Cristian Romero the ball and the Tottenham defender got his side back into the game with a simple finish.

Heung-min Son then made no mistake from the spot after Declan Rice was judged to have fouled Ben Davies in the area.

Arsenal held on to pick up a crucial three points and Arteta was full of praise for one of his players after the game.

Arteta says Kai Havertz played through illness

Speaking to Football.London, Arteta lauded Kai Havertz for his display in the North London Derby after the German forward was struggling with an illness ahead of the game.

“He was sensational in every department today,” the Gunners boss said. “He was ill before the match and still he put the performance that he put in. I thought he was unbelievable today.”

Havertz stats vs Tottenham

Once again, Havertz got on the scoresheet for Arsenal and it turned out to be the decisive goal in the game.

The 24-year-old received his fair share of criticism during the early stages of his Arsenal career but he’s certainly proving his doubters wrong at the moment.

Havertz has now netted 13 goals and provided six assists in his debut campaign in north London.

His display against Spurs today was also impressive, with Sofascore handing him an 8.3 match rating.

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