Arsenal had to dig deep on Wednesday night at the Emirates before grinding out a 1-0 win over Stoke. That sort of performance has led boss Arsene Wenger to declare his side are showing a new level of maturity in their quest to win the Premier League.
It was a big result for the Gunners, who have been criticised as being a soft touch in the past, and Wenger feels they are showing signs of growing up.
He said: "We faced a tough team in Stoke who defended well. They were very compact but we were intelligent, calm, patient and overall I believe that we were resilient as well when they had their strong moments. We didn't give in.
"I think we have matured, certainly, because we won a game tonight when we were less creative and fluent, with intelligence and calm and that is what has changed.
"One or two years ago we would have dropped points. Tonight they said they couldn't make mistakes. We must take a lot of credit because of that." The result came as a relief after Sunday's 1-1 FA Cup draw against Leyton Orient, and Wenger urged his team to now kick on in the league.
"This kind of wins shows that your team is really hungry for success," he added.
"We were less sharp on the creative side but you could tell that my side didn't want to make a mistake and that was a very positive sign for me."
