Arsenal’s manager Mikel Arteta is confident his team can win the Premier League title despite Manchester City’s lead. Arsenal will play Chelsea on Tuesday.
Arsenal’s manager Mikel Arteta says his team can still achieve the Premier League title despite Manchester City’s lead. On Sunday, Arsenal lost top spot to Manchester City, who beat them 4-1 on Wednesday and hold a one-point advantage with a game in hand. Arsenal have spent 247 days at the top this season compared to City’s 16. Arsenal, who are without a win in four games, want to “put things right” at home to Chelsea on Tuesday.
“We can still achieve the Premier League because there are five games to go and a lot of things are going to happen still,” he said. “When I look at it, this is not over. It is not in our hands any more. What is in our hands is to try to win the games we have left and the rest is down to City.”
Arteta added that he has not had to pick up the mood of the players as they keep the fire in their belly. “What we have to do is forget about what happened last week, learn from it and move on into the next game.”
Brighton’s defeat by Nottingham Forest on Wednesday sealed Arsenal’s place in the Champions League next season for the first time since 2016-17.
Arteta said: “I am incredibly proud and thankful to everyone who has contributed to bringing Champions League football back to this club. So congratulations, but also thank you for still being upset and accepting that the Champions League is not enough and we want more.”
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard says the progress made by Arsenal under Arteta this season is reward for the club showing patience with the Spaniard even when results were not going their way early in his tenure – something he believes the Blues could take inspiration from.
“There is a long process in terms of getting to where you want to get to. I remember going up against Mikel in that early stage,” said Lampard.
Arsenal, who have not won the title since 2004, will again be without France centre-back William Saliba against Chelsea at Emirates Stadium. The 22-year-old has not played for more than a month because of a back injury which Arteta says has “not improved at all” over the past week.
