Mikel Arteta thinks his Arsenal team are better prepared this year for the pressure of an end-of-season title race.
Arsenal survived a late Tottenham Hotspur fightback to win 3-2 in the north London derby on Sunday, maintaining their position as Premier League leaders ahead of Manchester City.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
37 | +61 | 86 |
| 2 |
Man City
MCI
|
36 | +58 | 85 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
36 | +43 | 78 |
Man City chased Arsenal down and overtook them last season, when the Gunners went FOUR matches without a win in April. Indeed, it was almost exactly a year ago today that City beat them 4-1 to take control of the title race.
This year, Arsenal have won five of their six April matches, and Arteta says he can see in his players' eyes that they are ready to become champions.
"I think so," Arteta said when asked if Arsenal can handle the run-in better than last season.
"Last year we didn’t. We went to West Ham and we needed a result and we missed a penalty, and then against Liverpool we conceded in the 91st minute and we are not capable. The judgement is going to be based on the result.
"If we concede a goal in the last minute [against Spurs] and it’s 3-3… the margins are so small."
On if his team will fight until the end this season, he added: "100 per cent - I have seen that the whole season and they have given me reason to believe that every single day. They have the motivation so I am expecting that they will have a real go.
"We are hopefully going to make it a great one, and the players can be more convinced. To win here [at Spurs] two years in a row is extremely difficult. The manner here last year was different, we had to suffer in the second half to win the game. The team has another tool, something else to grab when you come to the bigger stage, you just have to win it."
Arteta: Wenger gave me advice
Arteta revealed that legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke to him ahead of Sunday's match.
"Yes, he gave me the advice as well of trying not to make it too hard for yourself!" Arteta revealed. "You can’t just pretend that you will come here, not suffer, have a comfortable afternoon. That doesn’t happen here."
And Arsenal's manager was keen to heap praise on Kai Havertz, who wasn't at the club for their title challenge last season, but has scored 12 times in 2023/24 and got a goal and an assist at Spurs.
"He was sensational in every department," Arteta said.
"He wasn’t 100 per cent today, he was ill before the match and was struggling a bit but he still put in the performance that he put in. I thought he was unbelievable today."
