Mikel Arteta praises 'confident' Arsenal star following win over Brighton

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was full of praise for his team in the wake of their hard-fought 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend - but it was German international Kai Havertz who had the lion's share of his manager's praise.

After a rough start to life at Arsenal, Havertz has begun to grow into his role at the Emirates Stadium - his performances are improving with each passing week, as are his number of goal contributions.

In the game against the Seagulls on Sunday afternoon, Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring in the 53rd minute after a goalless and uneventful first half. The Gunners continued to pile on the pressure and Havertz put the game to bed late on as he scored Arsenal's second and final goal of the game.

What did Mikel Arteta say about Arsenal's game against Brighton?

Following the game against Brighton, Arteta said: "I think it was a phenomenal performance with a great feeling as well because of what happened last season, and the demands that Brighton put on you. The team was outstanding today from the start to the end, and thankfully we deserved to win the game, and we won it.

"I was concerned because I think we had 15 shots in the first half and we had so many open situations to put the ball in the back of the net, but we didn’t, and this is the Premier League. We kept going in the second half, and in the end we found two very different goals, a great way to score them and I’m really happy today."

When asked if he was happy with Kai Havertz's recent performances, Arteta said: "In terms of goals, yes. In terms of performances, it’s exactly the same as he was at the start of the season. You can see he’s confident and enjoying his football."