Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ARTETA: FANS TO BACK US TOTALLY
MIKEL ARTETA is convinced everyone at Arsenal is finally pulling in the same direction – from the boardroom to the dressing room to the stands.
And he is equally certain that show of unity will be evident this afternoon when his Gunners host bitter rivals Chelsea.
After opening the campaign with a humiliating 2-0 defeat at newly promoted Brentford, many of the usual fears among the north Londoners’ faithful resurfaced.
Arteta said: “We’re going to have the help of our fans against Chelsea, which is very, very important
“No, I don’t think they will be in an apprehensive mood, they will be right behind the team. They know what we are trying to do, they can see it.
“If you can’t see this, it’s because you don’t want to… and you want to see something different. But our supporters know what’s coming.
“They will be there for us because they know, as well, that our young players need them more than ever.
“Arsenal fans, when things are a bit difficult, are always behind the team.
“I can say that, for sure, as I’ve felt it as a player here.”
Arsenal have spent well over £100million this summer.
The number of arrivals, which include £50m Ben White and £30m Martin Odegaard, would seem to suggest that the club hierarchy still consider Arteta the right man to revive the glory days.
Yet, according to the Emirates coach, they are still operating in the market at a very different level to Chelsea, who last week spent £97.5m to sign Belgium striker Romelu
Lukaku for a second time.
“We’re bringing in players we can afford and that can help us achieve what we want,” insisted Arteta.
“We’re happy with what we’ve done in a difficult window.
“But Chelsea have a different plan. We can see what they’ve done in the last 10 years. The amount of titles they’ve won and the type of titles.
“We’re in a different phase, at a different stage.”
Arsenal did the league double over the Blues last season.
But Arteta added: “In order to beat Chelsea, we need to be perfect – individually and collectively, we must have an extraordinary game. We have to perform at the highest level.”