Arteta: Arsenal showed how much they wanted it

Arsenal proved "how much they wanted it" in their 4-0 hammering of Leeds United at Elland Road, so says Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners got back on course in the Premier League on Saturday, emphatically snapping their three-game winless streak in the top flight.

With Manchester City and Aston Villa not in action until Sunday, Arsenal took the chance to extend their lead at the top to seven points.

Following wins at Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Chelsea and Inter, this victory means Arsenal have won five away games across all competitions in a single month for just the second time in their history, with the previous instance coming in April 2000.

"A very impressive performance, a very impressive result," Arteta told reporters.

"And in the context that we've done it, when you have the difficulty of the game and the opponent that we're facing, with the recent form and the style of play that they have at the moment, the energy that the stadium brings, and then the fact that after three results that didn't go our way in the league, we really wanted to show how much we wanted it.

"I think we've certainly done that today.

"[The] mentality is good. To play with that level of enjoyment about where we are, and then with the conviction to believe in what we do and how good we are, and that we can beat any opponent.

"Then you have to show the quality as well in this league to do it, and it came out in great ways from different players as well."

Martin Zubimendi opened the scoring before Karl Darlow's own goal saw Arsenal take a 2-0 lead into half-time.

Viktor Gyokeres netted his fourth goal in his past six appearances to become the Gunners' outright leading scorer in all competitions, with Gabriel Jesus adding further gloss late on.

Aged 27 years and 17 days, Declan Rice became the fifth-youngest player to reach 300 Premier League appearances after Wayne Rooney (26y 58d), James Milner (26y 117d), Gareth Barry (26y 247d) and Raheem Sterling (26y 348d).

Rice told Sky Sports: "Off the back of the last three performances, we knew how big today was. To win 4-0 is a massive win for us.

"We can control what we can control, and we have to keep winning games and keep pushing. What will be will be.

"So far, we are top in the Premier League and won eight out of eight in the Champions League. We can't complain about where we are. We are in a really strong position. We know as players we have a really good squad.

"Every game is a cup final. We have a long four months ahead, but we are prepared. Let's keep going and give it a good go."

Arsenal were rocked ahead of kick-off when Bukayo Saka was injured in the warm-up, with Arteta unsure how serious the issue is.

Noni Madueke replaced Saka, and he provided the assist for Zubimendi's opener, as well as putting in the corner for Darlow's own goal.

Madueke told Sky Sports: "We were excellent in all phases of play. Today was a top performance from us. It is a tough atmosphere here; it is a tough place to play. We deserved it.

"We have been fighting on all four fronts since the start of the season. It goes without saying that everyone is ready when called upon.

"Every few days, you have to be ready to perform. It is about staying locked in and in the zone."

Leeds suffered just their second defeat in their last 11 Premier League games, but Daniel Farke insisted this result would not define their season.

"There are reasons why [Arsenal are] sitting on top of the table, why this team is the best team currently in Europe, eight wins out of eight Champions League games," he said.

"Of course, you need a perfect day in order to give yourself a chance and also a bit of luck that this side is perhaps not there with their best day and not super effective.

"We didn't have our very best day. They were on it from the first to the last second. For that, they deserved to win this game.

"This type of game is not season-defining. We will put this game pretty quick to bed, and from tomorrow, we concentrate only on Nottingham Forest on Friday."