UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko said the Gunners were capable of winning the league just weeks after they arrived in North London.
The striker and the defender arrived from Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, where they each won the league title four times.
Arteta is relying on such experience in the weeks to come, with the Gunners currently sitting top of the table, five points ahead of Man City.
Arteta relying on key duo
Both Jesus and Zinchenko have missed key parts of the season with injuries, with the Brazilian sidelined for a large chunk of the campaign.
But their manager has revealed that their attitude and previous title wins will be key as Arsenal aim to lift the prestigious trophy this season.
They have a five-point gap over Guardiola’s side, but the Manchester outfit have two games in hand, as well as boasting a better goal difference ahead of their clash this evening.
“I think experience is key when you’ve been in those moments, to handle those moments and to understand the importance of certain things when you are competing in a football match,” said Arteta, as quoted by the Arsenal website.
“The capacity to transmit as [Jesus and Zinchenko] have done for the rest of the team is very, very important. They’ve done it in a very natural way. Two or three weeks [after they joined], because of where they’ve been, they said ‘We can win this league’.”
Arteta still confident of league title
The huge clash comes amid a very trying time for the Gunners, who have been slipping of late with three draws in their last three matches.
The North London outfit blew 2-0 leads against both Liverpool and West Ham, with their opponents fighting back to draw 2-2 on both occasions.
And most recently, Arteta himself had to guide his men to a fightback against Southampton, drawing 3-3 with the Saints after going 3-1 down.
The latest draw will be of particular worry to the Arsenal boss, with Southampton sitting rock bottom of the Premier League table, with the match coming at the Emirates.
Goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka in the 88th and 90th minutes respectively were needed to secure a point at home to the struggling Saints.
Their form comes in stark contrast to that of their upcoming opponents, with Man City unbeaten in nine Premier League matches and unbeaten in 16 matches in all competitions.
When asked if he is still confident that his side can win the league despite recent events, Arsenal boss Arteta said: “One hundred per cent.
“We knew from the beginning that City was the team to beat, probably alongside Liverpool, because of what those teams have done in the last six or seven years. They’ve fully deserved that credit and to be at the top.
“We were the ones that wanted to be closing that gap as much as we possibly could, and we are toe-to-toe with them. We knew we had to go to the Etihad, we know that after that they are going to have another five very difficult games.”
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!
