Sunday 19 November 2017 16:34, UK
Hector Bellerin believes Arsenal silenced their critics by beating Tottenham convincingly in the north London derby.
Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez both scored in the 2-0 win at the Emirates, a result which took Arsenal to within one point of their fiercest rivals in the Premier League table.
But it was the manner of Arsenal's victory which Bellerin believes put the doubters in their place.
He told the club's official website: "There's always a lot of talk but I think it was one of those games where we showed what we could do. We shut some mouth as well.
"There are people who talk a lot and now, after watching that game at home, they'll be thinking that these guys have a chance."
Arsenal visit in-form Burnley next weekend and the question is whether they can now replicate their intensity against Tottenham on a regular basis.
"That's what we're trying to do," Bellerin said. "Sometimes, for different reasons, we haven't been able to do it, but this is how we set the bar and show what potential we have.
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"That's what we've got to work hard to do every single week, week in, week out."
The defeat was Mauricio Pochettino's first north London derby reverse in the Premier League and left Spurs 11 points behind pace-setters Manchester City.
"It's a low, it's a big hit for us," midfielder Christian Eriksen told Tottenham's official club website.
"I went into the game feeling confident, feeling fit. It didn't go our way. We tried our best to come back and try to create something but they took their goals and it was tough after that. The last pass, the last shot, it just wasn't there."
Defender Ben Davies added: "We know we can do so much better than that. When their goal came it was a bit of a sucker-punch and to concede another before half-time was a bit sloppy and killed us. We were confident in ourselves.
"We were up for a big game and ready for the challenge but we didn't put our best foot forward and that's the most disappointing thing."
