Mikel Arteta believes his Arsenal players are starting to enjoy his methods after securing a maiden win with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

Record signing Nicolas Pepe fired the Gunners ahead after eight minutes at the Emirates and Sokratis Papastathopoulos added a second before half-time.

It was a richly-deserved lead for the hosts and although United made changes early into the second period, Bernd Leno largely remained untroubled.

“After they scored the first goal, it seemed like they got loads of energy,” he added. “Their heads got loads of energy and our heads got a little bit tired and they were the better team.

“They were aggressive, regained the ball, we couldn’t find a way out of their press and it was hard to get the ball off them because I thought they played really well.

“It was a good game by two good teams and the goal just before half-time is a killer blow really because at 1-0 down you are in the game all the time, but at 2-0 you need a goal to get the energy to make them nervous again.”