MIKEL Arteta has praised the “special chemistry” that is buzzing all around the Arsenal dressing room.

The Gunners travel to Aston Villa tomorrow (Saturday) evening to tackle a tough fixture that comes with very fond memories.

The north Londoners scored twice in stoppage-time at Villa Park last season as they battled back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to seal a thrilling 4-2 victory.

And the Premier League leaders set-off to the West Midlands displaying the same fortitude after Declan Rice’s last-gasp header earned Arsenal a 4-3 win at Luton on Tuesday night.

The Gunners are developing a real knack of grabbing late wins, having also scored vital goals in the dying seconds of matches against Brentford and Manchester United this season.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Arteta insisting that such victories really galvanise his squad for the challenges that lie ahead.

“I think it gives a special chemistry between them to live moments like that in football,” said the Arsenal boss following the midweek win at Kenilworth Road.

“That’s the beauty of it, it’s not about you, it’s about doing it with a team and the energy you feel in that dressing room is something unique.

“The way we want to play, we are never satisfied with a draw – we want to win games.

“The risks that we take, the initiative that we take, how we suffocate the opponent, how we want to play forward – and the team got rewarded.

“We had many other chances to score against Luton before that but we left it until the end.”

With games coming thick and fast, Arteta isn’t afraid to demand more from his players.

He added: “Playing every three days and you have to win every game, and every game the demands are there.

“It’s the way the players go about it, how much they want it. We had a talk at half-time, they think we have to do better, and they are so willing. Sometimes it was better than others, against Luton we conceded some goals that we are going to be disappointed with but that’s part of it as well.”

Gunners goalie David Raya was at fault for two of the goals conceded at Luton. But Arteta was in no mood to play the blame game.

He said: “We have to defend better the situations as a team. There are certain things leading to the goals and it’s not about blaming, we have never done it, and we’re not going to do it now.

“It’s about how the team reacts to that, because it’s going to happen, and I love that response.”