GOING GREAT GUNS
Arteta calls on Arsenal to justify Wenger’s title talk
ARSENAL royalty Arsene Wenger says the Gunners are back in business as the likeliest bet to topple champions Manchester City.
“Hopefully he is right,” pondered Le Professeur’s old captain Mikel Arteta. “Just like he has been right on so many occasions.
“It’s great that people who love the club so much have such an opinion about us. Now, unfortunately, we have to show that on the pitch.”
A rare victory against Liverpool at the Emirates tomorrow would open up a 14-point gap between the clubs and would signal a seismic change in Arsenal’s approach to games where they have too often flinched.
In fly-on-the-wall documentary All Or Nothing: Arsenal, two league meetings with Liverpool last season betrayed the Gunners’ trepidation.
Arteta piped recordings of the Anfield atmosphere through speakers erected around the training ground. They then lost 4-0.
Before Liverpool’s visit to the Emirates, the Arsenal boss wrote ‘A Great Night’ on his whiteboard before basing his pre-match call to arms on one of his own great nights – pulling his wife in a nightclub. The Gunners lost 2-0.
Arteta, though, does not need gimmicks to beat Liverpool any more. He may simply have a better team.
Ageing or not, Arteta is wary of writing off Liverpool, warning: “As you have seen, there can be a lot of turnovers in this league and I’m not making assumptions.
“To be 14 points clear of Liverpool, we need to beat them and it will be difficult. The incentive is there, 100 percent. The moment that you get momentum, you are in a good run and you can leave an opponent as far [behind] as possible, psychologically also it is really important.
“We have to show against this opponent that we have raised the level and we are ready to compete against them.”
The acquisition of title winners Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City in the summer has brought a winning mentality to Arsenal, which should serve them well in big games. Arteta said: “Yes, that is the next step, and winning against those teams requires you individually and as a team, to be at your best as well a level of belief. We have players now who have been participating in those matches.
“I’m really happy and proud for how the atmosphere and belief around the club feels. But I’m also looking ahead at what we want to be and we are not there yet.”