IF FRENCH newspaper L’Equipe are to be believed, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta needed a victory against Chelsea on Saturday night to keep hold of his job.

A loss would have seen him out of a job and the Gunners searching for their third permanent manager in three years since Arsene Wenger retired in 2017.

Instead, a first-half Alexandre Lacazette penalty and sublime Grant Xhaka free-kick gave Arsenal the lead in the before the break, with the result put to bed 10 minutes into the second-half when Hale End academy graduate Bakary Sako found the back-post with a deft finish from the edge of the box.

Tammy Abraham’s late consolation goal wasn’t enough to dampen the home team’s spirits, the win allowing the manager to avoid the trap door for at least another game.

It was the kind of emphatic scoreline the board, as well as the boss and the squad, needed. Fan reaction online has been mostly negative. And with fans not allowed inside the stadium due to London entering Tier 4 just before Christmas, social media is the only way to gauge supporters’ reaction to results.

A 3-1 win over local rivals will stop any negativity for now and allow the club to continue to build around a coach who ended the season lifting the FA Cup.

It looked like it would be a long evening for the home side when Blues midfielder Mason Mount struck the post from a free-kick midway through the first half.

But in truth it was the closest Chelsea got to beating Bernd Leno in the Arsenal goal.

And after French striker Lacazette broke the deadlock, Arsenal took their chances.

From one player who many Arsenal fans want to sell when the window opens in a few days to another in Xhaka, Arteta’s faith in certain players in this squad paid off on Saturday evening.

The Swiss midfielder looked to have played his last game for the club when he was sent off a few weeks ago against Burnley. But Arteta welcomed him back, not for the first time, and the 28-year-old showed what he can bring when he found the top corner from a set-piece.

With a large number of youth players knocking on the first-team door, it was only right that Saka once again proved his credentials and that he is the face of Arsenal’s future. His goal may have looked like a mis-hit cross from the edge of the box but replays show a player who noticed the goalkeeper was in no-man’s land and the exquisite skill to chip the ball into the back of the net is a sign that Arsenal have a special talent on their books.

Tammy Abraham gave his side a small glimmer of hope when he chested the ball in with just under five minutes of normal time to go.

That small glimmer looked to increase when substitute Jorginho stepped up to convert a penalty in added time.

But Leno guessed right, diving to his left, and helped his side pick up a much-needed three points.

Across Arteta’s dugout is a message over a group of seats home fans would occupy in a normal season, “Victory through harmony.” For the next few days at least, the red side of north London will experience just that.