Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal’s past experience of losing an eight-point lead in the title race offers hope of catching Liverpool, who currently hold the same advantage.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot recently cautioned his players against complacency after extending their lead at the top with a win at Southampton, pointing to Arsenal’s collapse two seasons ago despite leading the Premier League for 248 days.
In response, Mikel Arteta reminded Liverpool that dominating the table for most of the season doesn’t guarantee lifting the trophy.
He said: “We’ve been there and to sustain it for 10 months is extremely difficult – everything has to go your way. Just when you think you have it, plop! Everything collapses.
“Results can change through injuries, decisions and it can happen at any moment.
“You have to be ready for that but it’s something you can’t always control.
“All you can control is to do your very best.”
Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal must be near-perfect to dethrone Liverpool from their dominant position, emphasising the need for consistency, focus, and hard work to close the gap.
He said: ”If they continue then that’s for sure, with the numbers they’re producing and the amount of games they’re winning.
“But the focus is on us to maintain the consistency especially and performances that will give us the right to win games and keep the availability in the squad. This is a long run.”
Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal have regained their confidence following dominant victories over Nottingham Forest and Sporting Lisbon in the past week.
With 12 of their next 13 matches set to take place in London, the Gunners have a golden opportunity to capitalise on home advantage, starting with today’s trip to West Ham – a fixture they emphatically won 6-0 last February.
He said: “It’s crazy that we have that many games so close to us, and less travelling is always better.
“Winning lifts the energy and our confidence up.
“We’ve had two big wins for us and now it’s about consistency and building that momentum.
“But I don’t link character to winning.
“This team showed unbelievable character against Inter and we lost, unbelievable character against Chelsea and we didn’t win despite being the better team.
“Same players, same intentions. It’s about being more efficient and winning matches – that’s the difference.”
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