HECTOR BELLERIN claims Arsenal shut up their critics by blowing away Tottenham in the north London derby.
Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez were both on target at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal sealed a 2-0 victory over their fiercest rivals on Saturday.
The result was all the more satisfying given Spurs had been hailed as overtaking the Gunners since finishing above them last season for the first time since 1995.
But Bellerin believes Arsenal silenced the doubters with a ruthless performance that moves his side to within one point of Tottenham in the Premier League table. Bellerin told the club's official website: "There's always a lot of talk but I think it was one of those games where we showed what we could do. We shut some mouth as well.
"There are people who talk a lot and now, after watching that game at home, they'll be thinking that these guys have a chance." Arsenal visit in-form Burnley next weekend and the question is whether they can now replicate their intensity against Tottenham on a more regular basis.
Bellerin added: "That's what we're trying to do. "Sometimes, for different reasons, we haven't been able to do it, but this is how we set the bar and show what potential we have.
"That's what we've got to work hard to do every single week, week in, week out." This was the first time Spurs had lost to Arsenal in the league since March 2014, with Mauricio Pochettino's side now sitting 11 points behind Manchester City.
Midfielder Christian Eriksen told the official club website: "It's a low, it's a big hit for us.
"I went into the game feeling confident, feeling fit. It didn't go our way. We tried our best to come back and try to create something but they took their goals and it was tough after that.
"The last pass, the last shot, it just wasn't there." Tottenham could justifiably point to dubious refereeing decisions in the build-up to both Arsenal goals but few could argue with the result.
Ben Davies added: "We know we can do so much better than that.
"When their goal came it was a bit of a sucker punch and to concede another before half-time was a bit sloppy and killed us. We were confident in ourselves.
"We were up for a big game and ready for the challenge but we didn't put our best foot forward and that's the most disappointing thing."
From The Sun
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