Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was pleased with his side's response to the mid week defeat against Monaco as they battled to a 2-0 home victory over Everton.
After suffering an unexpected 3-1 Champions League defeat at the Emirates, the Frenchman and his players desperately needed to perform in front of their own fans.
And the response was immediate as Olivier Giroud and Tomas Rosicky made sure of the three points which saw the Gunners move up to third in the table.
"We were focused, it was a mentally determined performance," Wenger told BBC after the game.
"You could see we suffered on Wednesday night against Monaco and that was still in our mind but we were patient, that got us a good chance and we got a good win today.
"We were a bit cautious.
"We just wanted to do our job and win. I am very happy with the mental aspect of our response. With the ball we could do better but the win was the focus today.
"We just needed the win because the result was very significant for the rest of the season.
"It is tight at the top of the table. It is down to consistency.
"I defended Olivier Giroud because nobody misses chances on purpose. Everyone misses chances and even if strikers don't score if you finish 0-0 it is still a good result.
"He deserved his goal today."
