Mikel Arteta says it was 'unbelievable' to captain Arsenal after leading them to victory in the third round of the FA Cup.
Midfielder overjoyed after captaining Arsenal to win
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta says it was 'unbelievable' to captain the Gunners after leading them to victory over Leeds in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday.
The Spaniard donned the armband in the absence of regular skipper Robin van Persie and vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen as Arsenal triumphed 1-0 at Emirates Stadium.
Gunners legend Thierry Henry came off the bench to score the winner in an emotional comeback as the North Londoners clinched a spot in the next round.
"It was really pleasing for me to be captain for a club like Arsenal, it's unbelievable," Arteta told
Arsenal Player.
"I just want to thank my team-mates for the effort, my manager for the support and hopefully we can build on this and win against Swansea (in the Premier League on Sunday)."
Patience
Arteta concedes the Gunners could have wrapped things up earlier against their Yorkshire visitors but was pleased to see their patience pay off.
"We had many chances to finish it off much earlier but it seems to be like it a lot this year at the Emirates," he said.
"It is (frustrating) because if you score two goals in the first half it makes it much easier. It becomes harder to control a game (when it remains 0-0), everybody is getting a bit anxious to score and it makes it harder.
"But we were really patient and in the end made the right decision to win the game."
