“Emotionally we cannot…” – Mikel Arteta sends important title race message to Arsenal players

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has sent an important message to his players regarding getting too emotional about this season’s Premier League title race.

The Gunners are currently top of the table and will be desperate to get over the line at last after finishing in second place for three consecutive seasons.

Arteta’s side have some so close in recent times but haven’t quite managed to go the distance, and that will undoubtedly be something that he and his Arsenal players have to address again this season.

When asked about dealing with that pressure in his press conference on Friday, Arteta simply called for calm over what will ultimately be a long season with plenty of ups and downs.

Discussing the feeling of being top at the moment, Arteta reminded reporters that the narrative felt like a defeat away to Newcastle United recently would have been the end of the title race, only for things to change very quickly.

Arteta has made it clear he wants his players not to get too caught up in emotions like that if they are to keep a cool head and finish the season as champions.

“We cannot pay too much attention to that, because the feeling was you go to Newcastle and if you lose at Newcastle the Premier League is over,” Arteta said.

“And one week later, you are where you are. So, honestly, let’s focus on what you can control, focus on our performance … and achieving what we want to achieve.

“And the rest? It’s 30 games … so many things are going to happen, and emotionally we cannot be dragged in to these things because we have much more important things to do.”

Arsenal won’t find it easy to topple reigning champions Liverpool, or to keep an impressive Manchester City side at bay over the course of the season.

Still, the north London giants gave themselves the best possible chance with a strong transfer window during the summer.

Big names like Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke have joined, and Arsenal’s squad depth now looks a lot better than it did last season.

AFC have also had a difficult start, and have managed to stay top of the league despite those trips to Manchester United, Liverpool, Newcastle, and a home game against Man City.

Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.