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Arsene Wenger proud after Arsenal beat Everton

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Arsene Wenger said he was proud of his players for the focus they showed in their Premier League win over Everton

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was full of praise for his side's mentality after they held on to beat Everton 2-1 at home in the Premier League on Saturday night.

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal the lead after 36 minutes, and Laurent Koscielny doubled their advantage just a couple of minutes later, but a deflected Ross Barkley effort before half-time set up a nervy second half for the Gunners at Emirates Stadium. 

And Wenger, who oversaw their famous 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek, was proud of the way his side secured the three points against Everton.

"At 2-1 it was a bit edgy, especially after we had given such a lot on Tuesday night [against Bayern]," said Wenger. "We thought the last 20 minutes could be difficult as we couldn't score a third. Both teams had chances and it could have gone either way.

"When you win such a big game, and you can win straight after, that tells you a lot about the mentality of the team. You need to be very focused to do that and that's why I'm proud of the players today. We were a bit jaded physically, but the focus was there."

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Olivier Giroud produced a man of the match performance to help Arsenal seal a 2-1 win over Everton in the Barclays Premier League.

Wenger was also full of praise for striker Giroud, who started on Saturday after coming off the bench against Bayern to open the scoring.

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The Gunners boss added: "He comes on and makes the difference and when he starts he makes the difference as well. There were a lot of questions about our strikers but both are outstanding at the moment."

The win for the Gunners saw them climb to the top of the Premier League on Saturday night, and although either Manchester United or Manchester City can knock them off with a win in the derby on Sunday, Wenger said his side had responded to their critics by leading the table.  

"We lost the first game here [against West Ham] and no one would have said [then] we would be top of the league tonight," he said. "So that shows you how we've recovered from setbacks. Work hard together and you have a chance." 

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