Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was quick to send his best wishes to Patrick Vieira following victory over his former club Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The former Gunners midfielder left his job as Palace manager just two days before the fixture, and his name was regularly sung by the Emirates faithful during the second half.

Vieira had 74 matches in charge of Palace before being dismissed on Friday, and Arteta said the change of manager made the fixture even more difficult.

“(Since Thursday) the focus was on Palace because we knew it was going to be tricky, even trickier with what unfortunately happened with Patrick," Arteta said after the game.

“I want to send my best wishes to him and the coaching stuff, and all the best luck for the next chapter, which I'm sure will be really fascinating.

“We had to play against a difficult opponent, which they proved that they are. We had the right energy, we were dominant, we had the right purpose, we were ruthless to keep attacking and be really aggressive."