The Gunners had to dig deep to secure three points at the Emirates Stadium to keep their dream for European football alive.
Substitute Alexandre Lacazette got the winner for Arsenal 12 minutes from time - a goal which was eventually given by VAR after initially being flagged for offside.
Arteta admitted Arsenal were lucky to have won against David Moyes’ men, but insists it was due to some players putting in a good shift.
"We had the moments of luck we needed but as well it was because we had some really good individual performances at the back, sometimes to clear the ball, sometimes to make the save," the Spaniard told Sky Sports.
"I'm really happy with the result because big teams find a way, when they don't have the best day - which is obvious, it wasn't our best day in terms of performance - they find a way to win it.”
"You can build from there and you can learn and you can take the positives and the negatives in a much better way.”
"The unity, the solidarity the players are showing, at the end it pays the price. It didn't pay the price a few days ago when we played Olympiacos here but it did today."
Arsenal are now unbeaten in their last five league matches and are five points off Chelsea, who currently sit fourth on the Premier League table.
