Mikel Arteta says he takes great pleasure seeing Arsenal top of the table and has urged his players to carry the confidence gained from a 3-1 win over Sp*rs into matches against the rest of the big six.
The Gunners haven’t qualified for the Champions League since finishing runners-up behind Leicester in 2015/16 but a run of seven wins from our opening eight games at the start of the new campaign suggests we’re strong contenders to finally end their exile from Europe’s top table.
There’s a long way to go and big matches lie ahead, but the boss is feeling positive after a thumping result in the north London derby.
“One hundred percent needed,” said the Spaniard in his post-game press conference when asked if Arsenal needed a win over a big team.
“Because when you play such a big game, you want to win, and those opinions are correct because when you look at the stats and if you just put it in that context, you can do it. It’s how you give and receive information, it does affect you.
“For me the message is for the players, and everybody here that is connected to the club, that we are able to play at this level, against this kind of opponent. That should give them confidence and belief.”
It’s not guaranteed that Arsenal will be top when Liverpool visit the Emirates next weekend – Manchester City could take six points before then – but we’re in the mix and that’s what matters.
“It’s great always looking at it and seeing the club where it is, in this position,” said Arteta.
“It’s great, it gives you a great feeling obviously. But we are focused. It is a really hungry and humble team, believe me.
“We know where we are. There is nothing that we have done yet, and there are still a lot of things to improve, and that’s the direction that we are taking.”
While the main ambition for the season is to finish in the top four, the longer the Gunners keep winning, the more talk of a title tilt develops.
For the moment, Arteta is happy to let others do the talking.
“I’ll leave that to you guys, honestly. We are just at the start, and we are really happy with where we are, and understanding that you cannot control [everything]. Because emotion is related, and the table says what it says, but it is not something that we look at.”
Sure, by now in 2022 there should be a law set in place just for sp*rs so they can make 11 subs. I am not sure their first team is good enough. Loris was amazing. MOTM performance and long may it continue. Great day 👍🍻
True. It still amazes me a little to see so many subs being brought on. It may be that the number will be increased even further one day.
Oh, for the good old days when you couldn’t be taken off unless you have a serious leg break or fracture – and even then it was usually fixed with the famous “magic” sponge and a few plasters in most cases.
We trust the process… We start to believe.. will be there soon…COYG..
Always love to beat the scum, but they’ve never been a big team.
Yeah, there’s more to being a big team than being talked up by the ignorant fucks in pundit land.
Their empty trophy cabinet got a fresh coat of paint! Just look at the ambition
I really feel that after the red card we felt sorry for them. We had 3-4 more gears to step up and score 6-8 goals if we really wanted. I am always happy with a win but I feel we can always do better. If Saka can work on his finishing he will be unstoppable. Zinchenko was a bit flat today compared to his usual performances and it could be injury related. The fact that we beat them so comfortably makes it even better. If we beat Liverpool it will mentally move us to believe something special might happen this… Read more »
This team doesn’t have an ounce of pity in it. With a two goal lead the sound game management approach is exactly what we did, continue to try and score through a methodical build up through the phases and not be naive and go all out to score another opening us up. We controlled the second half and comfortably closed the game out. Remember last season when it was all helter skeltor at the back as we defended one goal leads? Mikel got the balance perfect yesterday.
Arteta’s most Wengerlike interview today. He even said “I didn’t see the incident” about the red card! 🤣
Conte said the same thing after the game. Arteta might be like Wenger, but he’s far more ruthless. The way Arteta dealt with Ozil and Auba is the antithesis of Wenger.
Quite right. We had a terrible record generally against the other “big” teams, particularly in AW’s later years and beyond. I’m sure we can all remember those humiliating defeats. That’s slowly improving and it’s important not only for confidence but so that we pick up points where we weren’t getting them, or just couldn’t get them more often, before. Liverpool will be an interesting game as they are currently playing below their usual standards, but as we also know they have a good record against us in recent years at The Emirates. If we can beat them, quite a “bogey”… Read more »
One of the keys to the successful start to the season is the togetherness of this team. It’s been so long since you’ve seen the unity and joy with which the team plays now and how excited they all get when a goal is scored no matter who gets it. Love the leadership Xhaka has shown like when he brought everyone together after the first goal. Odegaard and he make a great combo of the official captain (sets a great example on the pitch and in training) and unofficial captain.
Arsenal can win the EPL They should keep believing in themselves. The wining mentality is there. COYG……
“We know where we are. There is nothing that we have done yet, and there are still a lot of things to improve, and that’s the direction that we are taking.”
I loved this. Easy to get carried away but we’ve just gotta keep at it and prove that we really a force to be reckoned with again. One game at a time!