Mikel Arteta says his Arsenal players are full of hunger and adopting a siege mentality following their Champions League frustration in midweek.
The Gunners secured an impressive 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night but still left Spain with a sense of injustice after seeing a second-half penalty award overturned by VAR.
Arteta was furious in the immediate aftermath and although he said today he would focus on the return game on Monday, he did admit the sense of wrongdoing had brought his players together.
He said: “We certainly have that, and we need to face any context, any situation to achieve our goal. What happened the other night was extremely disappointing, and we need to make it happen at home now. I think we have enough fuel in the tank; we’re playing to win the Premier League, and it’s exactly where we want to be. Four games to go, it’s game two, I’m ready to go.”
Arsenal players have hunger, according to Arteta
Arsenal can stretch their lead over Manchester City to six points tomorrow afternoon and place the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side, who will have two games in hand, when they go to Everton on Bank Holiday Monday.
Asked what he sees in his players, Arteta said: “Hunger, hunger to win, that’s it. To compete, to prepare and to achieve the goal that we set at the start of the season.”
It is a swift turnaround for Arsenal but Arteta says his side have coped with it previously, adding: “I want to think about all the turnarounds that we have had, so difficult but that we won.
“We have prepared the best possible way since the moment that the final whistle went [so] let’s go. We’ve done everything that we possibly can to give ourselves the best chance to recover, to bring the right energy, to prepare the game in the right way, and now it’s about the selection and performing on the pitch.”
Arteta bemoans loss of injury-plagued Havertz
Arsenal will be without forward Kai Havertz and defender Jurrien Timber against Fulham and Arteta admits the team miss the Germany international, in particular.
“He’s been a huge miss – we’re talking about one of the most important attacking players we have, and he’s been out for seven or eight months,” he said. “Unfortunately, he’s not been the only one with long-term injuries and players who have been missed. The team has shown an incredible capacity to overcome these kinds of scenarios and still be very, very competitive.”
Fulham beat Aston Villa last weekend and will arrive at the Emirates still in contention for a place in Europe next season.
Boss Marco Silva has been linked with the Chelsea job and Arteta is a fan of the Portuguese.
He said: “Marco is doing a remarkable job. I’ve said it many times, in my opinion, he is one of the best managers in the league. The way he sets up his teams, what he’s done for the club, it’s incredible. We know how tough it’s going to be tomorrow.”
