LONDON -- Unai Emery urged Arsenal to move on quickly from their North London derby victory against Tottenham and focus on the midweek clash with Manchester United.
Arsenal beat Tottenham 4-2 at the Emirates after coming from 2-1 down in the second half for arguably the biggest statement win of Emery's short reign at the club.
But while players and fans celebrated wildly at the final whistle after restoring local bragging rights and climbing above Spurs in the Premier League table, Emery attempted to turn attention to Wednesday's trip to Old Trafford.
"Now I'm thinking about the match on Wednesday in Manchester," Emery said when asked whether this was his most significant win so far.
"It's a very big victory. We show our supporters and we give them this victory because it's a very special match against Tottenham. For us it's the same, special, but above all three points. Like last week in Bournemouth, and like Wednesday in Manchester."
Emery also used Spurs as an example of how a team's momentum can change quickly, as Tottenham beat Chelsea 3-1 just last week and Inter Milan in the Champions League in midweek before coming crashing back down to earth against Arsenal.
"I think for our confidence it's a very good match," he said. "But let's not forget, last week they were winning against Chelsea also, Tottenham, with a very big match and today they are losing against us. And Wednesday is for us a good example, we need to think now about the Manchester match."
Asked if it was his best day as Arsenal manager so far, Emery said: "The best day is when I signed."
Emery's two halftime substitutions helped turn the game around as he brought on striker Alexandre Lacazette and midfielder Aaron Ramsey for Alexi Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Ramsey set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Arsenal's equaliser and assisted Lacazette to make it 3-2, before Lucas Torreira finished off the win.
It was a bold move from Emery, but one he said he had considered even before the match started.
"Before I started the match I prepared in my mind different situations in the game. And this was one," Emery said.
"Why? Because Lacazette has very big experience scoring against every opposition team. And because Aaron has experience against Tottenham, he has experience in derby matches, he has experience to help us come back in the 90 minutes against every team."
The Spaniard remained tight-lipped about Mesut Ozil's absence, though. Ozil was left out of the squad and the club said he had back spasms, having been left on the bench against Bournemouth last weekend.
But Emery said he didn't know when Ozil started struggling with the problem this week, or whether he was even at the Emirates to watch the game.
"He has a back ache," Emery said.
When asked whether Ozil had attended the game, he added: "I don't know. It's a good day to speak about the players who played."
Ozil also missed a game with an illness earlier this season, sparking reports of a rift between him and Emery over his role in the team.