Ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester United, Mikel Arteta has now recalled one thing he told his Arsenal players prior to the start of the season.
Arsenal are currently in the thick of a Premier League title race.
The Gunners will travel to Old Trafford on Sunday to take on Manchester United. This is a must-win game for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Whilst the North London club are still reliant on Manchester City dropping points in order to stand any chance of being crowned champions, Arsenal must still, of course, win their own two remaining matches.
The Red Devils have been in poor form of late, but given their historic rivalry with Arsenal it would be foolish to expect Manchester United not to up their game on Sunday. Arteta’s men must expect a stern test in the North West.
The Gunners won’t struggle to get themselves up for this fixture either, given the potential prize at stake. Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher still believes that Arsenal have “a great chance” of winning the title.
Mikel Arteta reflects on pre-season demand of his Arsenal players
At the start of the season, Arteta will have expected his side to mount a title challenge again, just as they did in the previous campaign. His players have lived up to those demands, and have already managed to push Manchester City even further this time around. On this occasion, the title race looks set to go right down to the wire.
Arteta has now reflected upon something he told his squad during pre-season. As quoted by the club’s official website, the Spanish coach said: “My message was we had to update and upgrade and be better than the season before. There were so many positives and learnings from last season and I want to be better.”
Arsenal have taken another step forward under Mikel Arteta
The Gunners have certainly improved since last season. The Arsenal defence has been a class of its own this season, and they have scored more goals than any other team in the top flight of English football.
If they don’t win the title from here it will simply because Manchester City are an extraordinary winning machine, who demand almost absolute perfection from any competitors looking to keep up with them.
Arteta was right about there being positives to take from last season. The Gunners’ unexpected title challenge on that occasion gave them a platform to build on, which they have successfully done this time around regardless of the final outcome after their last couple of games.
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