Arteta: I will take the bullets
Gunners boss up for the fight, but are his players?
MIKEL ArtEtA last night said he is ready to ‘take the bullets’ as he tries to stop Arsenal’s plunge towards the Premier League relegation zone. the Arsenal boss is preparing his team to face in-form Southampton tonight after losing four straight home games. ‘I feel the pressure all the time,’ he said. ‘this is our reality and we have to face it by being brave, fighting and no one giving up. It’s not time to hide. ‘It’s time to put your face and your body on the line. ‘We have to take the bullets. We are not winning matches and you have to put your chest there and say, “hit me”. ‘When you are not getting results, the manager has the maximum responsibility. ‘this club is too big to accept this many losses in the last weeks. So my chest is here. Hit me.’
MIKEL Arteta was quick to thank Arsenal technical director Edu for his public show of support last night. What he needs now is a similar level of appreciation from some of his players.
Arteta made it clear ahead of tonight’s home game with Southampton that he is not about to deflect any of the criticism that has accompanied his Arsenal team’s alarming slide down the Premier League table.
‘My chest is here — hit me,’ is one of the stand-out managerial quotes of the season so far.
Nevertheless, it is Arteta’s players who must deliver for him now. The Spaniard’s side has started to exhibit some of the character traits allowed to take root under Arsene Wenger and grow inexorably under Unai Emery, who replaced him.
Missed opportunities, carelessness and individual abdication of duty are classic modern Arsenal traits.
‘Edu showing appreciation is welcome because in good moments it’s very easy to do,’ said Arteta yesterday.
‘In In difficult moments, when people who know very well what we’ve been going through give you their support, it’s much appreciated. ‘I feel more responsible than a anyone about the situation. ‘Everything that we can say, we have to show it on the pitch with our results.
‘I’d like to tell the fans we are fighting to put this right. It’s the least we can do. We k know it’s not good enough an and we’re doing everything we can to change it.’
Arsenal’s results since winning at Manchester United have been alarmin alarming — four defeats and a draw from their last five in the league and four losses on the spin at home. Some of those performances — namely defeats by Leicester and Aston Villa — have been insipid while others — Wolves and Burnley — have simply contained too many missed opportunities and mistakes.
Arteta said yesterday that some of the problems he is wrestling with have been around for some time, even while the team were winning.
‘Before we look to the future we have to look at the past and the things that have happened and work out how we move forward,’ he added. ‘We need to look at the things that are working and the things that have to be changed. We all knew the bumps were coming. It’s how we deal with them and how strong we are.
‘Sometimes it’s necessary for things to get ugly to get brighter and better. Nobody likes to be in the situation we are in and it’s not good enough and not acceptable. So just because it’s not a quick fix doesn’t mean we are accepting this situation.’
Villain of Sunday’s defeat to Burnley was the midfielder Granit Xhaka. Sent off for grabbing Ashley Westwood by the neck, the incident carried the hallmarks of a player reacting to pressure.
Arteta did not add to the noise surrounding the Swiss player yesterday but did admit that playing matches against a background of poor recent results is testing some of his squad. ‘Fighting with the top teams in the table is a very re-energising energy but the other one is a pressure that constrains you a little bit and makes you a little tighter and nervous,’ he said. ‘You have to live with that. For some of them it’s something new and we need to get through that as well. ‘With Granit, what happened has been resolved internally.
‘Players have rocky moments. What I would say about him is that he is professional and his commitment to his club and team-mates is maximum. ‘He knows and we all know that he had a moment where he lost it. I know the reason why but I can’t throw everything he has done away because he made a mistake. We all make them.
‘I am here to protect the players when I see that they deserve it. For sure, Granit is one of them for the way he approaches every training session, the way he wants to do things the right way all the time and because of the professional he is.’
Tonight’s opponents are in significantly better form than Arsenal — with Southampton fourth in the table and ten points better off than their hosts.
‘They are building something over time and you see the results and the progressions they have had,’ said Arteta.
‘They had some difficulties last year but have come through and they look really strong. We all knew when I took this job it wasn’t a quick fix at all. There were too many things that had to be resolved, too many big decisions and a lot of changes that are happening. But are we pleased with the results? Absolutely not.
‘It is our own fault and we need to look to the future while knowing that the present is really important.’ TV: